Penelope: First Impressions Of A Popular Girl

Connie starts out in the story as someone that is self-absorbed, concerned for no one but herself. Arnold Friend is really the same way. He tells her that he saw her “that night and thought, that’s the one” (Oates 480). In spite of the words he uses, the reader knows that Arnold does not have any true feelings for Connie because he says “My sweet little blue-eyed girl” (Oates 483). Arnold is oblivious to the fact that Connie has brown eyes. “In Arnold’s view, Connie’s personal identity is totally unimportant” (Wegs 3).

Penelope is a great example of how Greek women should act in early society. Penelope was loyal to her husband, she was clever, and she was a good mother to her son Telemachos. Penelope honored her husband and didn’t go against him even though he was gone for over 20 years. She also had to face over 100 suitors while Odysseus was gone. Penelope showed her cleverness when she told the town she would remarry when she finished weaving the rug. Every night Penelope would undo the work she weaved so she could buy time for her husband. She was very faithful to her husband and believed him that he would return to her. These traits that Penelope show are how other Greek women should act in society. The roles women played in society was that they

Evidently, she has begun to question herself on what is real or not. This subconsciously starts to change Arnold’s world into reality and her own as fantasy. When Arnold first appeared at the door, Connie responded with a blunt and clear-cut “Who the hell do you think you are?”; compared to now where responses muddled and unsure like “I don’t know” or “things” (Oates, 4). As the conversation progressed, she uncomfortably backed farther and farther away into the kitchen, but the space of the room also lost familiarity as interior worlds broke down (Rubin, 69). To Connie, the next few scenes have become a turning point; a point where her childlike innocence has been taken and she is left vulnerable with an emptiness. With that vulnerability, Arnold is now able to say “you’re better than them because not a one of them would have done this for you,” which creates a greater impact now than if he said it when he first appeared at Connie’s door. At this time, Connie moves toward Arnold, not because he has gotten into her thoughts but because Connie believes this is the only way to escape.

While traditional readers of Homer’s, The Odyssey, view Odysseus as a hero, they often reduce Penelope to Odysseus’s helpless wife, but Penelope is more than just a damsel-in-distress. Penelope proves to be Odysseus’s heroic equal, as through her resilient, witty and strategic actions she ensures Odysseus fighting advantages over the suitors.

Before we can analyze Connie’s interaction with Arnold Friend, we must first look at how immaturity affects her behavior on a daily basis. Since she is only able to focus on her social status, Connie often acts vain. She is consistently glancing back at her reflection to make sure is still pretty. She wants to remain young and beautiful, two qualities that are important to her. This demonstrates her immaturity by illustrating how she is afraid to become an adult. As Connie turns to check her appearance in every mirror, she is looking back into the past rather than the future. She is

The painting “Penelope and the Suitors” by John William Waterhouse shows that Penelope is oblivious to the scene happening behind her. She is in deep thought, consumed in her thoughts for her true love, Odysseus, and is not paying attention to the men behind her. It shows a deeper meaning in life saying that, some women in the world will cut off many guys for one specific person. They will not look at anyone else until that person they love notices them or returns back to them in terms of long distance relationships. They wait for that person to love them. She is neglecting the other men because she believes Odysseus will return someday.

Atwood’s take on the character of Penelope in The Penelopiad first describes her as an average and modest woman with a single defining trait of intelligence, whereas Odysseus is introduced to the story as a cheat and a thief. In due time, Odysseus leaves to fight in the war against Troy, and then starts his ten year voyage back to Ithaca. However, in the twenty years he was gone, Penelope has learned to independently manage the land, and use her wits to trick the Suitors and learn of their plans. When Odysseus finally returns home, Penelope knows to not reveal his true identity and doesn’t tell him of her deceptive ways. The two characters have flipped traits in this way, as now Penelope is the master of tricks and Odysseus follows her lead.

In literature and art there can be many origins for the inspiration of the writer or artist this inspiration can sometimes be biblical, mythical and historical. In fact, Greek mythology has been the inspiration for much literature and art for its unique stories and tales. Some of the most memorable works influenced by greek mythology is the painting Penelope and The Suitors by John William Waterhouse and the poem ¨Penelope¨ by Dorothy Parker. Both Penelope and The Suitors ¨Penelope¨ by utilize the myth of Odysseus and Penelope. This mythology portrays the sorrow of penelope as she waits for her husband's return from ten years of war and ten years lost at sea. The mythology illustrates her undying love and faithfulness to Odysseus.

The reader’s first impression of Arnold Friend is a regular-looking teenager with a bold attitude, lusting after Connie. He is of average height, wearing faded jeans and a white t-shirt, and is persuading Connie to get into his car with him. He is compelling

Connie’s thoughts in this quote painted a clear picture of the type of relationship she had with her parents, and despite the point of view in third person, I got a sense of Connie’s attitude towards the life she was living and the people involved in her life. However, I wonder if the story would have been told in another perspective other than Connie’s if we would have been given so much insight of her view of the type of person she is. Additionally, I think it would have been quite a unique point of view from Arnold, because although we had several details about him, it would have been interesting to see what exactly he thought about Connie. There is so much unanswered about Arnolds character, such as if Arnold had seen her more than that one time she was on a date with the boy from the dinner, or why at the end of the story he referred to Connie as, “‘My sweet little blue-eyed girl’” (par 161). Because the story was told in third person limited, I felt it lacked clarification on Arnold’s character, but simultaneously the lack of clarification on this character leaves an opening for the reader to interpret what it is they read and form many different conclusions. Overall, the narration gave the readers so much insight into Connie’s real world and fantasy world, moreover really demonstrating how she was on a journey searching for her real identity that was the cause of her two worlds clashing.

Penelope has a very complex and interesting character. For example her determination to wait and to mislead the suitors for so long shows that she had great intelligence and perseverance. Penelope's wit is acknowledged in this quote from Antinous "For all the Achean beauties of former times, none had at her command such wits as she."(Page 20, Book 2). Penelope's wit is also shown in her scheme to mislead the suitors by saying that they must wait for her to weave a shroud for Odysseus's father Laertes. She told them

At first, they were totally two opposite people. Penelope was keep ignoring Arnold for his poverty and his race, because she was from white and rich family. She was kind of teasing him in class on his first day at Reardan. Penelope was making fun of Arnold for not knowing his name, because the teacher called him Arnold Spirit and he told her his name was Junior. After the “Halloween” chapter, they became closer, because Penelope dress like homeless and wanted to help out the homeless people for revenge.

Homer's Odyssey is a story of the homecoming of Odysseus after the Trojan War.  Odysseus left his wife, Penelope, and their young son, Telemachos, almost twenty years before the telling of this story to fight in the Trojan War.  His absence places Penelope in a rather precarious position.  Faced with many different circumstances, both good and bad, Penelope is on her own to decide the path she wishes to take.  Depending on her decisions, the situations could either be filled with wonderful opportunities or perilous dangers. The strong character of Penelope is revealed by her decisions.

Since most choose to talk about Penelope I will talk about Atwood's Helen of Troy. She is portrayed as good-looking, cruel, malicious and vain. Helen wouldn’t be portrayed as a heroic figure in the tale of Penelopiad. Her character provokes some funny and ironic comments by Penelope. I believe that Atwood uses Helen to make fun of and cast more positive light on Penelope. Although Helen is defined as very attractive, she does not seem to be very keen in Atwood's novel which is quite different to Penelope. Helen was very tall and very attractive, Penelope was short and people highlighted her intelligence because she visibly wasn't as attractive. I have actually read and seen both books and both movies. Greek mythology was my favorite part of

Actually, her father had helped her move in and he had begun various physical therapies a week later. As expected, the first drive off the cliff had been a stressful ordeal. Luckily, Penelope had enough forethought to bring along Edgar, he used his exceptional abilities to calm her father’s anxiety. She had explained as much of the experience as she could, but it was still rather taxing. Unlike Cassandra, Penelope’s drive had been far more gentle, she accelerated just far enough so the first tires hit the barrier and then let the field glide the car to the ground. Regardless of the delicacy, his knuckles were pure white against the door-jam when they finally reached the ground. Penelope had planned on asking Cleo for a favor, she wondered if they physicals therapist might be capable of doing the majority of their work at their home.