Odysseus Violent Scenes Analysis

Stay on your benches and beat the deep surf with your oars!” (12. 216-223). After he and his men manage to escape the reach of Scylla and Charybdis, Eurylochus praises Odysseus for his leadership and almost godlike abilities, that of a hero’s, saying, “You’re a hard man, Odysseus, stronger than other men, and you never wear out, a real iron-man,”(12.287-289). The situation that Odysseus and his men were set in was extremely dangerous, posing an imminent threat to his journey, full of dire. Nevertheless, he disregards this and continues on, showing determination to ensure he and his shipmates are safe.

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles completely illustrate Odysseus’s journey home after The Trojan War. Separated into twenty-four different books, the poem describes the hardships Odysseus faces and how he overcomes obstacles. Though this poem is composed for listeners and may seem incomprehensible, Homer includes a plethora of literary devices to help audiences better understand, follow, and enjoy the context of The Odyssey. Throughout this poem instances of epic simile, foreshadowing, epithet, and xenia are included to help the poem flow.

Although Odysseus is one of the most well known greek heros in the world, he is also very controversial among the people as well. In the book, “The Odyssey” written by Homer, Odysseus made some choices that makes the readers question his role as a leader. In “The Odyssey”, it tells the story about Odysseus’ long journey home from the Trojan War. Along the way, Odyssey has extended his times away from home by making unintelligent decisions that led him to encounter one disaster after another. Although Odysseus has some positive attributes, he is a poor leader for the following reasons: he is too cocky and overconfident, he make careless decision, and finally, he is very selfish.

The Odyssey by Homer is a literary classic that presents many themes about the natures of both man and god. Although the characters of the book display characteristics relatable to those of the people today, one of the most prevalent differences between the two eras and their people is the intense violence that takes place throughout the entirety of the epic. This violence serves several functions in the work as a whole. The violence that is enacted upon the characters of The Odyssey serve as a device to convey the Greek cultural value of reverence of the gods and as a method for the author to create nuances to his characters.

I will argue that we may view the woman as representative of Odysseus’ grief in his moment of pity and pain, the simile in its entirety may be regarded as analogous to a potential future for his own oikos. Should he fail to return home or succeed to return only to deceit and demise, Odysseus will initiate the splintering of his home into the rabid hands of the suitors. The simile shifts from referring solely to Odysseus to encompass the possible fate of his entire household. This promotes the idea that this hero reaps what he sows for, as the perpetrator of like monstrosity, he faces the tragedy of a future akin to that of his own surviving victims.

Odysseus tends to make rash decisions and does not take the full brunt of the aftermath. His men gave up their lives to protect each other and the captain. Odysseus has not used their sacrifices to preserve the rest alive. He only uses his crew for his own agenda. While Odysseus is good at fabricating solutions to get out of a pinch, he is too headstrong and that cost lives. He often confers with himself on plans and heeds no warning or advice. Since Odysseus has authority over his crew, it causes his men to be caught in the “crossfire”. At the island of Polyphemus, his search party came to him. He says, “My men came pressing round me pleading, ‘Why not take these cheeses, and make a run for it? We’ll drive the kids and lambs aboard. We say put out again on good saltwater’“ (Butler 9).

What happened was that he was trying to see if that Giants were "Friend or Foe". As it would turn out they were pretty mean and brutal, but he wanted to see what the Cyclops would do if they were ever in his cave, well they found out really quick. He locked the in his cave an everyday hey would eat 2 of his men in the Moring and at night. But finally, they escaped by using a hot wooden stick and jamming it into the Cyclops's only eye. Odysseus thought he was all mighty and humble, well think again he tried to get his whole crew killed by trash talking the Cyclops, "now who do you think would do that."

Throughout The Odyssey, the audience often feels sympathy for Odysseus and his men: our idealistic minds want to root for the long lost king to make it home to his true love and his kingdom. His return home takes priority in our minds, causing us to root for the fall of anyone and anything that may come in between him and his happy ending. At a closer glance, however, it seems that Homer does not want us to blindly root for the human adventurers. It may be his intention to reveal the humanity and redeeming qualities of the so-called monsters in the epic. In Book 12, lines 251 to 256 of his epic, Homer demonstrates this point with the following simile, describing sea monster, Skylla, capturing six of Odysseus’ men out of their ship:

Homer also uses cacophony to describe this losing fight: "'...my doomed companions and me. They fought a pitched battle by the swift ships and exchanged volleys of bronzed spears'" (9.53-54). By combining plosive consonants (doomed, pitched battle, etc.), fricatives (fought, volleys) and sibilants (swift ships, spears), Homer successfully expresses the Cicones as stronger, better and well-trained fighters. Another example of cacophony is when the Achaeans continue to battle with the pitiless sea : "'Our ships pitched and plunged in the wind, and the force of the gusts tore their sails to shreds and tatters'" (9.71-72). The heavy concentration of plosive consonants and sibilants, effectively reflect the never-ending struggles of the journey home. Furthermore, repetition of the consonant "p", as in "pitched and plunged", creates an unpleasant sound which again emphasizes on the violent waters and winds. The progression of the battle is shown in the different positions of the sun. A rising sun symbolizes life and hope, as the early morning was the only time Odysseus and his men held their grounds in the battle. However, as the sun begins to drop, the slightest hope is gone, and the Cicones gains the upper hand and end their revenge. Another symbol found in this passage is the white sail being hauled up after Odysseus has rested for 2 days (9. 77). Not only does the colour white represent peace after the battle has ended. But it also symbolizes a start of a new adventure

Odysseus and his men must navigate the straits between Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla is six-headed monster who, when ships pass, swallows one sailor for each head. As instructed by Circe, Odysseus holds his course tight against the cliffs of Scylla’s lair. As he and his men stare at Charybdis on the other side of the strait, the heads of Scylla Swoop down and gobble up six of the sailors. “Avoiding this we skirted the cliff where Scylla exacts her toll. Each of her six slavering maws grabbed a sailor and wolfed him down”.

The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus encounters the trial of The Cyclops and he is put in the position where his survival is jeopardized and that leads to fear. In The Odyssey ,while Odysseus is venturing back to his homeland in Ithaca, one of the three trials he faces is a deadly cyclop. After experiencing the trial of the Lotus Eaters, Odysseus and his men sail to the islands of the Cyclops. When they land, the crew notices a lot of dairy and sheep. Odysseus and his crew explore the island and they meet a cyclop. The cyclop appears approachable and humane until he starts eating two of Odysseus’ men. Additionally, the cyclop keeps Odysseus and his men as hostages in his cave.“He clutched at my companions and caught two in his hands like squirming puppies to beat their brains out, spattering on the floor. Then, he dismembered them and made his meal, gaping and crunching like a mountain lion” (The Odyssey 233-237). Odysseus realizes that him and his men’s lives are in jeopardy if they do not find a way to escape the Cyclop, they will die. The horrific scene of when his men were severely beaten and killed causes Odysseus to fear but, actively think of a way to escape. Odysseus is aware that he can not just go and kill the Cyclop. He has to devise a smart and sly plan to inflict pain on it some way to escape and survive. His plan was to revert to violence by stabbing the Cyclop’s eye to take away his sense of sight so that they could have a swifter escape. Violence and fear are dependent to each other. If one feels very fearful they will go to the extreme to try to alleviate their

In The Odyssey, Homer emphasizes revenge throughout the text, as it progresses an endless cycle of characters harming each other because of the wrong inflicted to others. He employs figurative language, word choice, and dialogue to describe the vengeance between characters. To start, vivid figurative language elements are used to depict the violence aspect of revenge as Odysseus kills the suitors one-by-one. Dramatic similes and imagery are used to when the passage describes, “Backward and down he went, letting the winecup fall from his shocked hand. Like pipes his nostrils jetted crimson runnels, a river of mortal red,” (22.17-20).

This reveals that Zeus is declaring dominance over Odysseus by wielding his powers over the men. Zeus displays cruelty by shattering the ship with lightning to indicate

In Epic Poem “The Odyssey” Odysseus is the protagonist. Odysseus’ over-the-top ego caused him to lose his men and his son’s childhood, but taught him a valuable lesson about humility. The Odyssey, written by Homer, tells the story of Odysseus and how he faced misfortune in his attempts to return home after the Trojan War. Odysseus is not famous for his great strength or bravery, but for his ability to deceive and trick. To his friends, he was a brilliant strategist. To his enemies, he was a deceiver and a manipulator of the worst kind.

Violence is a common theme in the Odyssey. There is not a part of this book that is more violent than the final series of the book. Odysseus is constantly fighting during his adventures; whether he is fighting a man, a satyr, or battling with one of the gods, the battling never ends for Odysseus. Only after the final violence of the last few scenes of the book does Odysseus finally get what he has wanted for so long, a happy ending. “Odysseus scanned his house to see if any man still skulked