The Challenges Of Homer's Journey In The October Sky

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.

The character Ulysses Everett McGill from “O Brother, Where art thou?” is a worthy representation of Odysseus from the “Odyssey”. Ulysses Everett McGill, or Everett, was the main character of the movie who was trying to get back home. Odysseus was a king and warrior who spent 20 years away from home due to obstacles and distractions. Both characters share many personality traits and events that make the movie a modern adaption of the epic poem

In order for determination to thrive in a person, a strong foundation of motivation must exist. Homer Jr.’s motivation for his determination comes in the form of wanting to escape the dying town of Coalwood, so that he may escape the economic hardship and make something of himself in the outside world. This motivation of escape comes in chapter 3, when Elsie Hickam, Homer’s mother, recognizes that he may have a skill that can get him out of Coalwood and she tells him, “You’d be some kind of clerk working for your dad, sitting at a typewriter pecking out forms, or writing in a ledger about how many tons got loaded in a day. That’s the best your dad thinks you can do. You’ve got to get out of Coalwood, Sonny.” This idea that Homer can make something of himself and that he must leave the town sets him up on a journey that would eventually lead him to the national science fair, which acts as Homer’s next piece of motivation. Homer now wants

Homer applied, got the job and was a coal miner. For weeks all he did was get up at the crack of dawn and not come home until late at night. For once, Homer’s father was proud of Homer, and showing it. Homer’s mother, Elsie Hickam, had shown she believed in Homer, but until Homer got a chance to go to the science fair, she did not show it. She stayed out of Homer and his dad’s fights, which is almost as bad as following John blindly. But, when Homer needed her most, she was there, fought John and had John help Homer. “Homer once said you loved the mine more than your own family. I stood up for you because I didnt want to believe it. Homer has gotten a lot of help from the people in this town. They’ve helped him build his rockets. They’ve watched him fly ’em. But not you. You never showed up, not even once.” Now, Homer’s brother, Jim Hickam, on the other hand had still followed their dad but he was closer to helping and believing in Homer than their dad was. Homer’s brother had told everyone about the rocket launch and told them all to come and see it without Homer’s consent or knowledge of everyone showing up. Originally, Jim wanted to embarrass Homer in front of everyone, but it backfired and worked well for Homer in the end. Although Family doesn’t show it much, they still do love you, they may disagree with your beliefs, and your dreams, but they should still help and support you, even if they do not have the money to help.

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.

he Odyssey, as written by Homer, intricately and excitingly weaves Colin Renfrew’s Subsystem Theories throughout the entire play. Many of the five subsystem theories can be seen and support understanding of the novel. Of the five systems, trade/communication, social/ political hierarchy and symbolic subsystems will be the focus of analysis in this paper. All of these subsystems come together in The Odyssey to explain the characters and their lives, and also how they fit into the society which they live in. To understand the growth and development of the characters, we must understand the systems theories, “many human actions have a meaning at several different levels, with undertones and overtones… it is the complex interconnectedness of the subsystems which gives human culture its unique potential for growth.” As this paper will demonstrate within The Odyssey, trade and communication, social and political hierarchy and lastly symbolic subsystems create adventure in Odysseus’s harrowing, yet exciting journey back to his kingdom and family. These specific subsystems add depth and excitement because we see how each specific one impacts Odysseus’s journey back home. They help us understand who Odysseus is a man and sympathize with all that he goes through. The communication subsystem helps explain how communication between people (and gods) in different lands aid to the success of his return home. We are able to see from the social subsystem how Odysseus and other men

All heroes around the world go through a journey of their own. Those journeys can be a physical, , mental, emotional journey, and lots more. These types of personal journeys are demonstrated in an epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, an interview, The Hero’s adventure by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, a short poem, Courage by Anne Sexton, a graphic novel, The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds. They all show how journeys can be transformative and show a person’s strengths and/or weaknesses.

In Homer’s historic epic The Odyssey the protagonist, Odysseus, is venturing home to his native land of Ithaca. Throughout the story Odysseus is faced with many great challenges and is forced to make many decisions that will greatly affect his life and that of everyone around him. Each decision is crucial to his survival and his journey home. Homer portrays many patterns that are susceptible throughout the tale. One of the major themes that he portrays is that temptation can befall any man, even Odysseus. Many times throughout the story Odysseus and his men fall or are delayed due to the sweet temptations that the world offers them. These temptations do not end even after Odysseus

Homer and Ovid are two of the oldest, most influential poets that have ever lived. Although they are both poets, they have several differences in their writings. Homer, a Greek poet, is most famous for his epic poems Iliad and Odyssey. Ovid, a Roman poet, is most famous for Metamorphoses a 15 book poem containing over 250 myths. To compare and contrast these two poets and their writing styles, I will use Achilles’ battle with Hector in Homer’s Iliad book 22 and compare it with Achilles’ battle with Cycnus in Ovid’s Metamorphoses book 12. The comparison of these battles will give us a better understanding of these poets different views on the Trojan War.

On a ten-year voyage across cold and choppy seas with nothing but the bitter wind at one’s back, physical strength is a necessity. The chances of successfully trekking home with weak limbs are not great. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is the epitome of power. His brawny physique undoubtedly grants him the strength to swim, climb, run and even kill his way back to his wife. But Odysseus cannot return home on physical force alone, as many of the obstacles he faces are mental. Perhaps the greatest of these obstacles is temptation. The "battle-weary" man’s odyssey is brimming with temptations of the mind, body and soul that he must not only grow out of, but conquer, in order to return home and stake his glory.

Fiction is a powerful genre. In McMahon’s “The Function of Fiction: The Heuristic Value of Homer.” She says “(F)iction gives individuals the opportunity to explore a greater range of experiences than are actually available.” This is true on so many levels, fiction can take us to another world or realm or it can alter our reality here on earth. Fiction can pull you out of your day to day and put you somewhere more enjoyable, more exciting, more exotic than that of the four boring white walls of your dark apartment. In films and literature writers take us on adventures to millions of places, they take us to the Wild West for an exhilarating quick draw gunfight, they take us to lush rainforests filled with snakes, apes, and jaguars to find hidden treasures, they can even take us to a faraway castle where we can learn magic and go on ridiculous adventures to fight off an evil dark wizard named Voldemort. These are some situations that we are most likely never going to experience in real life ourselves but we are able to because of fiction. A favorite fiction of roughly 400 million people is the Harry Potter books and movies. This series prompts its readers to live in a world that is much like our own but with a little twist, Magic.

A hero isn’t shaped by his strengths but by the values he possesses. Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, reveals the moral and ethical constitution of the ancient Greeks. Over time, certain cultures have grown to value a number of human characteristics. Those who acquire such values become respected heroes. After the fall of Troy, the protagonist of the epic, Odysseus, set sail for his home, Ithaca, where his faithful wife and son were waiting for him. Over the course of his journey, Odysseus faced some of the most ferocious opponents known to the Greeks. Even through this formidable journey, Odysseus and his family have stayed true to the diverse aspects of the ancient Greeks. The Odyssey exemplifies the human ideals of hospitality, loyalty and

There are many ways to interpret The Odyssey as allegory for life’s journey. It can be seen as a long and strenuous hike with many hardships to get to something much

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.

For most of Homer “Sonny” Hickam’s life, he worried about what his dad thought about him and didn’t want to disappoint him. His father would have like him to be a mining engineer in the Coalwood mine, but Sonny had his own dreams. Even though his father had high expectations of him, he let his dreams take hold of his life and transform him for the better. In the book, October Sky, the main theme that doing something people are passionate about can transform them, is prevalent throughout the entire book, especially with the change that Sonny goes through building his rockets. In the real world, hard work and persistence will bear results in more than just someone's work, but also in their character.