Modern Day Retelling In The Odyssey

Heroes, as shown in literature, often undertake the most difficult tasks and place themselves in mortal danger in order to bring back, for themselves and their societies, both knowledge and treasure. Their stories follow “Hero Journey.” The Odyssey, as the epic story of the hero Odysseus, follows closely the complete cycle of a Hero Journey, both as a physical and as a psychological undertaking. The Hero Journey, used as a framework for both Odysseus’ physical and mental journeys, serves to bind the two together. Each of Odysseus’s physical difficulties can be viewed as a metaphor for a psychological hardship that he must overcome, and by overcoming these hardships, Odysseus matures—achieving a more complete understanding of himself and

In addition to all of the people Chris met on his trip, he made his family anxiously worried about him as well. “Chris had instructed the post office to hold them until August 1, apparently so we wouldn’t know anything was up” says Billie. “It made us very, very worried. ”(22) Once again, Chris foolishly did not consider the emotions of his family and made them very miserable and

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.

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 was about Odysseus and his men and how they were going back home. They were coming back from the Trojan War. In the beginning Odysseus and his men were trying to find their way back home. In the middle of the book they had to go to the underworld to get directions to get back home. In the end of the book Odysseus is back home with Penelope and his son.

Sing I me, Muse, and through me tell the story of the lady nymph goddess Calypso. Oh so beautiful and immortal who lives in the sea- hollowed caves on the island Ogygia. She craved the hero of Troy, king of Ithaka, son of Laertes, a mortal and took him as her own. Nine long years they spent on the island together.

In the Hebrew Bible and The Odyssey there are heroic figures that play an important role through out each of the books. These heroic figures from the Bible and The Odyssey have many similarities and differences that reflect the different cultures they are from. These heroes are called upon by greater beings, such as gods, to complete difficult journeys and or tasks that the god has made them destined to complete. Each of these legendary heroes demonstrates a particular culture’s needs. Through these journeys and or tasks they are forced to overcome challenging obstacles and make sacrifices.

The Hero’s Journey is portrayed and widely known in many of the most popular films, songs, and novels. The Odyssey follows this format, and many of these entertainment pieces were inspired by this epic, such as The Chronicles of Narnia. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is led through many different adversities while trying to return home from the Trojan War. He finds himself and his crew in many situations that lead to death or put them in danger, before eventually making it home and being reunite with his family with the help of the goddess Athena. In the Chronicles of Narnia, three children are led into a strange new world in the wardrobe, where they face challenges with their enemies and have to eventually return home. They

Ten years after the fall of Troy, the victorious Greek hero Odysseus has still not returned to his native land Ithaca. A band of rowdy suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, has overrun his palace, courting his faithful—though weakening—wife Penelope, and going through his stock for food. With permission from Zeus, the goddess Athena, Odysseus' greatest immortal ally, appears in disguise and urges Odysseus' son Telemachus to seek news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. However, the suitors, led by Antinous, plan to ambush him upon return.

A modern adaptation of Homer 's Odyssey – one of the most widely read ancient literary works in the world – Margaret Atwood 's novella, The Penelopiad, retells this classic story, this time from the perspective of Penelope, Odysseus ' wife, who spent ten long years waiting faithfully for him to return form the Trojan war, and is now lameting her life from the greek underworld, Hades. The Penelopiad deconstructs the portrayal of penelope in the Odyssey, showing that instead of waiting and wasting away, she instead employed her wits, feminine charm and strength of character to build a strong empire and achieve her own ends, or at least, that 's what she would like us to believe. Chapter 26 is a courtroom scene, where Odysseus is on trial for the hanging of the 12 maids, which he justifies by convincing the judge of their supposed indescretions. Atwood employs various literary devices, such as the exploitation of genre and dark humour, to convey the double standard between genders, the failures of the justice system, and the lack of consequences awarded to those in power.

The film O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a reinterpretation of the epic poem The Odyssey. The Coen brothers, writers and directors of the film, did not over analyze their representation. “It just sort of occurred to us after we’d gotten into it somewhat that it was a story about someone going home, and sort of episodic in nature, and it kind of evolved into that,” says Joel Coen in Blood Siblings, “It’s very loosely and very sort of unseriously based on The Odyssey” (Woods 32). O Brother, Where Art Thou? contains ideas from The Odyssey for the sake of modernization and entertainment of an audience that comprehends the allusions to the epic. The Coen brothers utilize elements of Homer’s The Odyssey to improve and to give direction to O

It is important to keep reading, “The Odyssey.” Even though it is 2800, years old, students still need to learn about it. It is important to continue studying “The Odyssey” because is it a moral story, the historical significance is important, and it is essential to study other culture’s mythology.

The Odyssey models many challenges faced in our modern life. Throughout the epic, Odysseus and his men found themselves in situations very similar to ones we might face sometime in our lives. Situations such as being away from family or loved ones for along time and scenarios that transcend across many ages and cultures such as him avoiding eating the lotuses or resisting the temptation to eat while at Helio’s castle. The Odyssey relates to modern day because it has examples of many modern situations and because it models modern virtues such as loyalty and accepting consequences.

Chapter 1- Ten years after the Trojan War, everyone reached home except for Odysseus. He remained a hostage at Ogygia by Calypso. Meanwhile, Telemachus (Odysseus’s son) is told by Athena, disguised as Mentes, that his father will return home and tells him to dispel the suitors who keep devouring his father’s estate.

Classic literature often provides insight to an ancient society, their values, and their beliefs. Many books that are considered classics today focus on ancient Rome and Greece. Revenge, hubris, and other themes, and the relation of this book to modern life, classifies the poem The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Fitzgerald, as a classic. For this reason, it is still read today.