Light and Darkness in The Odyssey

The Odyssey English Final Essay The story of Homer's the Odyssey is and is not a heroic story; Odysseus is a hero because of his return; however it is also not a heroic journey because he cheated on his wife and the lack of a treasure One of the reason that the Odyssey is considered a heroic journey is because of Odysseus return from his long journey. When Odysseus returns, the workers are overjoyed and wake up Penelope saying, "Wake up, Penelope, my dear child, so you can see for yourself with your own eyes what you've been wanting each and every day. Odysseus has arrived" (Homer, Book 23, line 70).

The epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, is about a character named Odysseus and his journey from the Trojan War back to Ithaca. Odysseus showed what type of man he was within his choices. His choices displayed traits such as, wisdom, loyalty, and leadership.

When people think of a hero, they think of a tall, handsome, loyal, brave, and a type of man that could do no wrong. The “hero” that is portrayed in the Odyssey is a man named Odysseus. This “hero” may be tall and handsome, but he is often arrogant, disrespectful, conceited, and rude. Odysseus consists of positive and negative characteristics that is shown in the text by Homer. These characteristics impact the characters day to day, or in the book’s case, the quests. In the Odyssey, Homer values the characteristics hospitality and cunning, but he objects bad leadership.

The Odyssey is an epic about Ancient Greek culture written by Homer. This is one of the two major Greek poems. Odysseus is on a long journey back to Ithaca after the fall of Troy. The most valued life traits in an Ancient Greek culture is respect. Odysseus helps portray this by worshiping gods through the epic.

Lastly, Odysseus treats people atrociously. For example, when Odysseus killed an abundance of his own men, who revolted against him, he demands a few women to drag the corpses into the courtyard, “As he spoke here came the women in a bunch, all wailing, soft tears on their cheeks. They fell to work to lug the corpses out into the courtyard” (XXll. 464-467). Nevertheless, Odysseus keeps on commanding the women to do more, “In fear these women bore the cold weight of the dead. The next thing was to scrub off chairs and tables and rinse them down” (XXll. 469-472). Women should be treated with respect, but Odysseus lacks respect for women. Odysseus does not think twice about putting women to work. The dirty work Odysseus did he asked women

Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus experiences many ups and downs throughout his journey home. He is throw into peril and there often seems to be no hope for his return home. While he remains victorious in the end, returning to his wife, son, and father, the poem itself is filled with many darker moments filled with doubt and sadness. Odysseus is the hero of the Odyssey, and in order to exist as a hero he must be relatable. His story cannot be one entirely of triumph, it must include a more human perspective. Triumph cannot come without strife, and heroism cannot come without tribulation. Athena and Odysseus’ experiences as divine and human, respectively, and define whether or not they are heroes. By comparing Odysseus to Athena, it is apparent that what makes Odysseus a hero before anything else is his humanity.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus and Telemachus each have a journey of their own, which in turn makes up a double plot in the epic. Odysseus’s plot has many more struggles and is the central role that creates the actual story in the whole novel. To many, the act of Odysseus moving across the sea in search of his own solutions to his issues is just a quest that is constantly being blocked by various obstacles. In all reality, with the help of the sea being a very important symbol, the journey turns Odysseus into a dynamic character as he proceeds through his travels. It is easily seen that in the beginning of his journey, starting when he and his crew landed on Polyhemus’ island, he is portrayed as a rash, egotistical young

The Odyssey is a story about a man named Odysseus and his difficult journey back home from the Trojan War. Throughout the Odyssey, the main character Odysseus, faces numerous obstacles such as fighting Polyphemus the Cyclops, Scylla a six-headed monster and Charybdis, a whirlpool. During these trials, the author Homer uses diction to create a tragic and mournful tone.

Odysseus is the main character in an epic poem called the Odyssey. In the poem Odysseus has had some bad luck getting home, with some of the gods helping him and some hindering him; his journey towards home is a constant struggle. In this poem we see a man being broke and rebuilt, through constant irony his faith was damaged and without the help of Athena he probably would have given up on his journey. Through his hard work and wise spirit he finally does achieve his goal.

The Odyssey is an epic poem that is taken place after the Trojan War. Odysseus and his men were sailing from Troy to Ithica. The trip lasted 10 years and they had some positives and negatives. So even though they had their ups and downs, throughout the adventure they learned many lessons throughout their journey to Ithica. As Odysseus home from Troy, he changes physically and mentally as he learns the following lessons: cunning overpowers physical strength giving into temptations has negative effects, and loyalty and perseverance are heroic and admirable.

The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.

The Odyssey, an epic poem written by Homer, tells of the struggles the main character, Odysseus, went through to return to his home, Ithaca, and reunite with his wife, Penelope. The Odyssey is an allegory, meaning it has hidden, interconnected symbols. In other words, while it tells the story of Odysseus, it is also a metaphor for the challenges that everyone faces during their lives.

The change in Odysseus’ mercifulness towards innocent women accentuates his grasp on self-possession. Before, Odysseus did not show mercy towards anyone, especially women. When his army stormed a town, he himself states, “Plunder we took, and we enslaved the women, to make…equal shares to all” (146). When Odysseus enslaves the women, Homer seems to particularly emphasize the negative quality of mercilessness in him as a raider of cities. Odysseus does not feel any compassion when he enslaves innocent women handing them off to men as if they are objects. Moreover, Odysseus plunders and enslaves without any self-control, which highlights that he is glorifying and enjoying himself. Destroying a city, killing many people, and raping innocent women evidently shows the immense amount of self-possession that Odysseus completely lacks. Later on, Odysseus seems to change his stance on mercy. After he kills every suitor, Odysseus tells Eurykleia, “‘To glory over slain men is no piety…Your part is now to tell me of the women…who dishonored me, and the innocent’” (422). Homer accentuates the change in Odysseus with respect to his mercifulness towards innocent women. Rather than disregarding innocent women, he now differentiates between them and the dishonorable. Furthermore, he himself says that it is impious to glory over murdered men, which reveals the transformation

Homer's epic tale The Odyssey is a story of the triumphs and downfalls that are in store for one warrior's long pillage home.  Odysseus, the hero from the Trojan wars, has led his people of Ithaca and other Achaean soldiers to victory and now wishes to return home to his wife and family of Ithaca.  Through his twenty year journey Odysseus is often tested not only of his physical strength, but his wits as well.  The many accomplishments he achieved earned him great status and recognition throughout ancient Greece.  The mistakes he made caused the deaths of many men.  Consequently, we as readers are able to see the many personas that Odysseus carries with him.

The relation of The Odyssey to modern life accounts for its continued appeal. The story of Odysseus’ journey can in many ways relate to the typical life of humans today. The story is life, but mythologized. For example, missing a loved one is something that often occurs today. In The Odyssey, Odysseus’ mother dies because she misses her son too much. Her story is told while Odysseus sees her in Hades. Second, individuals intervene in the matters of others. Other people provide their input of a problem today, while in the epic poem it was the gods. This intervening of the gods was a large part of the story. For example, if it wasn’t for Athena “erasing” the memories of the suitor’s deaths to their families, then the families would have attempted to assassinate Telemakhos and his father. Also, Odysseus’ journey would have been incredibly shorter if it weren’t for Poseidon intervening after Polyphemos prayed to him to make Odysseus’ journey longer. One of The Odyssey’s universal qualities is the relation of it to life today.