Literary Analysis Of The Odyssey And A Thousand And One Nights

Homer’s great literary classic, The Odyssey, represents and illustrates many emotional and mental values. All of these values can be classified under three different main themes that are constant throughout the epic tale. These themes are: A boy’s struggle to be a man, a king’s struggle to reclaim his kingdom, and a man’s struggle to return home. As one reads this book it will become more and more evident to them that a man’s struggle to get home is the most important theme throughout Homer’s adventure.

In reading the first four books of "The Odyssey" we see a lot of different struggles going on but once we focus on Telemachus we begin to capture a more metal picture of this main character. Odysseus's son, Telemachus has lost his father, suitors are pursuing his mother, and he is learning how to grow up without the legendary guidance of his great father. Telemachus appears to be a young, lost boy who is trapped in a world that he has no control over. Feelings of being left behind and not getting the recognition he so rightfully deserves to take over the throne, Telemachus will set out on a journey to find the answers he needs.

Brains over brawn, who will win this battle?Homer's tale of Odysseus' adventures in “The Odyssey” show that being intelligent and cunning can be far better than having physical strength. Being physically strong certainly has its advantages, but not in all circumstances. Strength in intelligence shows new meaning of strength. Odysseus is amused with himself when he defeats Polyphemus. His great skills with a bow outweigh the others abilities. Knowledge of the placement of his bed win his beloveds heart.

Homer's great literary classic, The Odyssey, represents and illustrates many emotional and mental values. All of these values can be classified under three different main themes that are constant throughout the epic tale. These themes are: A boy's struggle to be a man, a king's struggle to reclaim his kingdom, and a man's struggle to return home. As one reads this book it will become more and more evident to them that a man's struggle to get home is the most important theme throughout Homer's adventure.

‘The Odyssey’, like other epic poems, is patriarchally centered. The poem is focused on “godlike” Odysseus and his laborious journey home (Homer __). In Ancient Greece, the time of Homer, women were commonly viewed as part of oikos headed by the male kyrios. They were expected to be submissive, domesticated, and viewed as their master’s property. This raises an important question in the context of this epic: are women only secondary characters that blindly follow the decisions of their male counterparts or do they have the ability to make their decisions freely? Homer, a forward thinker for his time, allowed the reader to make this judgement by including two paradoxical characters: Penelope and Calypso. Penelope, the “faithful” wife of Odysseus, spends most of her time crying and longing for her husband. She is compliant and passive, never making a decision without her husband (homer __). Calypso, on the other hand, takes her sexuality into her own hands. She traps Odysseus in Ogygia and attempts to force herself on him, showing that she does not follow the norms of being an obedient woman. Through the inclusion of Penelope and Calypso, Homer is able to address the view of women in typical epic poems by both accepting it and challenging it in order to redefine what is expected of epic tradition.

In the Epic, “The Odyssey", spoken by Homer, conveys a heroic tale of an epic hero named, Odysseus, who faces many challenges as he sails to get home. One of the tasks Odysseus faces is, "The Sirens", who challenge Odysseus 's will power. Another challenge Odysseus encounters is, “The Cyclops", who torments and slaughters some of Odysseus 's men due to his curiosity. One of the hardest threats he had to confront was, “The Land of Dead" which tested his self-restraint, and revealed his human weaknesses of sorrow. The Epic Hero, Odysseus, struggles with many challenges such as, the taunting Sirens, the brutish and cruel Cyclops, and one of the arduous territories Odysseus has ever crossed, The Land of the Dead.

In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.

Many years after the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus still hasn’t returned home to Ithaka. Many believe that he is dead, but the author lets us know that he is being held as a sex captive on the goddess Kalypso’s island. Kalypso has no plans of letting him go to return home either.

Many forms of popular culture today are inspired by themes, characters, and other references in various types of classical literature. John Denver's song 'Calypso'; is about the relationship between men and women, and he bases this comparison on the relationship between Kalypso and Odysseus in Homer's the Odyssey. In 'Calypso'; Denver portrays women in general as being superior to men by using the beautiful and enchanting goddess, Kalypso, from Homer's epic. John Denver encompasses all women in his song by providing Kalypso as a universal symbol. Along with the relationship between Odysseus and Kalypso and men and women, there are other interpreted allusions from the Odyssey to Kalypso's song.

Focus on the descriptions of the palaces of Nestor and Menelaus. Find quotations that describe their virtues:

Warfare. Rejection. Trickery. Peace. One word stands out and doesn’t belong in Homer’s story The Odyssey; peace. Odysseus went through 20 years of being kept from his wife and son. He fought men and monsters, was rejected by wooers in his own city and people tried to tricking him during his journey back home. He didn’t find peace on his journey. He was always lamenting over missing his home and family. When he finally did make it home he hid his true identity as a beggar while he planned his revenge against the wooers who stole from him and took over his home. In the end he revealed himself and there was a battle where the wooers were killed. I think Odysseus was justified in his actions against the men and women he killed. Odysseus’ actions were appropriate based on the loyalty he showed his family, the terrible behavior of the wooers towards Odysseus and the fact that he showed mercy to some innocent people.

Throughout vast journeys of many heroes, no other hero had a more complex journey than Odysseus. This journey is called The Odyssey, written by Homer. It is an epic poem or story told of a hero name Odysseus on a 20-year voyage trying to get back home from the Trojan War. The great epic poem known as The Odyssey and attributed to Homer was probably first written down around the eighth century BC, but the origins of the ancient story in myth, legend, and folklore and art appear to be much older. Greek Epic Hero When you think about Greek Epic heroes, Odysseus will most likely come to mind. Odysseus is the main character in Homer's poem "The Odyssey." "The Odyssey" is a narrative poem that describes Odysseus' adventures

Reading the epic poem The Odyssey I was reminded of my own homecoming story. I much like Odysseus am a member of the military. I serve as a medic with the 2nd Battalion 23rd Marine Regiment of the 4th Marine Division. In December of 2009 I was deployed in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. While I didn’t have anything close to the difficulty that Odysseus had going home, I did have quite a long journey home from that deployment filled with many tribulations. It was the day before I was to get on a plane and depart the combat zone when a massive sandstorm swept through the area and grounded all non-urgent air assets for 72 hours. I like Odysseus wanted nothing more then to see my wife and daughter and after long hard

The Odyssey is a celebrated epic filled with many different themes, motifs, styles, and characters that could be examined in vast detail, but the theme of hospitality is a reoccurring one throughout the entire narrative. Homer writes about examples of both great hospitality and very inhospitable characters in his epic poem. Hospitality in The Odyssey creates definition of how individuals are either punished or rewarded by the gods.

The Odyssey story reborn! Highs, lows, battles with cyclopes, death, these two stories have them all. The Odyssey is an adventurous story with lots of twists and turns, just like “O Brother Where Art Thou” From Everett and his dapper dan, to Delmar thinking Pete was turned into a frog.