The Odyssey And Oedipus The King : How Bonds And Abilities Shape Our Lives Essay

The Odyssey , is the second epic written by Homer. It talks about Odysseus being ripped away from his homeland, Ithaca, and trying to return back home after the Trojan War. He is known as a heroic figure, the King of Ithaca and an epic hero. When he was torn away from Ithaca, he had to leave behind his people including his family to fight in the Trojan War. On his way home he encountered many obstacles, monsters and other creatures. He finally returns home from his long journey home 20 years later; to find suitors were trying to take his home and wife. Most people will say that Penelope had it rough being by herself for 20 years never knowing if Odysseus would ever return, but Odysseus never knew if he would make it to live through the next day. Odysseus had suffered more than Penelope when Odysseus was dragged to Troy to fight in the Trojan war.

“When long years and seasons wheeling brought around that point of time ordained for him to make his passage homeward, trails and dangers, ever so, attended him even in Ithaka, near those he loved.” (Homer 274).The ancient Greek story titled, “The Odyssey,” was created by the author, Homer. The story follows the protagonist named Odysseus and his journey back home. He was not present in his hometown since he was needed in battle and the travel home was filled with obstacles as well. This caused Odysseus to be apart from his family, his wife, Penélopê, and his son, Telémakhos, who he barely knows. Something that stood out from the book was the theme that went across to the readers which were how loyalty is important to create bonds with others.

“Oedipus” written by Sophocles and “Odysseus” written by Homer both are Greek poets. Both stories share the same themes in ways where both of the epic heroes endure a conflict. The characters in these plays are attributed certain characteristics by the author. The characteristics suggested by the authors are intrinsic to the audience. They both have a complete and subjective understanding of work. Their characteristics are displayed through the characters actions, what the writer says about them, and what they portray on themselves. This will be the focus of the essay. Both Oedipus and Odysseus, spoken by others, they describe character traits.

Laertes was not only the King of Ithaca at the time but also raised Odysseus to be the most powerful, cunning, well-venerated man in all of ancient Greece. Odysseus’ success was the result of an effectual father-son relationship. Many of the examples of father-son relationships result in the son gaining valuable information to progress from an ignorant boy into a well educated man.

Homer’s The Odyssey, a magnificent story of lust, deceit, greed, and heroism, still fascinates scholars and casual readers alike today in the same way it fascinated its audience at the time it was written. The Odyssey, a journey of determination, patience, and virtue, tells the tail of Odysseus, the main character, on his voyage home to Ithaka after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus goes through many unforeseen trials and tribulations, which exemplify his character. During these different happenings, Odysseus makes decisions that do not correspond to his character.

Throughout time, views and ideals change drastically—what was seen as crucial or even sacred in one generation can come to be disregarded or abandoned in the next. These shifts reflect what the people of that particular time period decided was important, as seen when comparing and contrasting Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey. In The Iliad, might is right, and physical strength—and sometimes even mindless brutality—is viewed as the most important and noble trait a person can possess. In The Odyssey, however, cunning, wits, and contemplation become what the people value most. Odysseus’s ability to think rationally and use a well thought-out plan to escape trouble elevates him to a mythic and almost godlike stature. However, this ability for deep thought can also cause him to overthink, especially in regards to his own abilities and sense of pride. While Odysseus’s cunning makes him closer to the gods, his prideful need for recognition and revenge keeps him flawed and human, holds him back from achieving his full potential, and greatly prolongs his journey home.

Back in Ithaca, Odysseus travels to Laertes’ farm. He sends his servants into the house so that he can be alone with his father in the gardens. Odysseus finds that Laertes has aged prematurely out of grief for his son and wife. He doesn’t recognize Odysseus, and Odysseus doesn’t immediately reveal himself, pretending instead that he is someone who once knew and befriended Odysseus. But when Laertes begins to cry at the memory of Odysseus, Odysseus throws his arms around Laertes and kisses him. He proves his identity with the scar and with his memories of the fruit trees that Laertes gave him when he was a little boy. He tells Laertes how he has avenged himself upon the suitors.

The influential feminine roles in The Odyssey also have important effects upon the whole poem. It is in The Odyssey that such ideas as love, family loyalty, and devotion, and other such important ethical attitudes, are illustrated. It is the presence of these unconscious moral lessons that makes The Odyssey so unique to its genre.

A great number of classical literature portrays a relationship between a father and son that appears quite distinct compared to relationships in today’s society. Mothers are known to be more emotional and soft, whereas fathers are more stoic and stern. Fathers hardly have physical interactions with their son’s, in fact, they do not express much emotions like a mother would. Homer’s epic poems “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” have emerged from a patriarchal society, where fathers held the dominant role in a family. However, these books show that father and son relationships are shown to have a special bond that is formed through respect and honor. Both poems cover many fathers and son’s relationships, however, I will be

A great number of classical literature portrays a relationship between a father and son that appears quite distinct compared to relationships in today’s society. Fathers hardly have physical interactions with their sons, in fact, they do not express much emotion like a mother would. However, fathers and sons have a special bond that is formed through respect and honor. Homer’s epic poems “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” are emerged from a patriarchal society, where fathers held the dominant role in a family. Both poems cover many fathers and sons relationships, however I will be focussing on the relationship between Odysseus and Telemachus, and Priam and Hector. The Iliad goes beyond tales of the Trojan war, it portrays the relationship between fathers and sons based on respect and pride that they have for each other. The Odyssey, on the other hand, portrays the strong bond between Odysseus and Telemachus, even though Odysseus had been away for twenty years. One thing both epic poems have in common is that the father and son connection is attained through distance. Both father and son pairs, Priam and Hector, Odysseus and Telemachus, have spent more time apart than they had together. Distance gave these characters the psychological and physical space to consider the nature of their relationships, and it is through that distance apart, they developed love, respect, and admiration for one another.

In Homer’s, “The Odyssey”, Odysseus struggles to return home not only to rejoin his wife Penelope and son Telemakhos but also to fulfill his duty as ruler and legend. As Odysseus struggles homeward, the idea of his true self and what defines him shifts. His longing for family and sovereignty serves, at times, as a raging fire that propels him home. At other times it seems to be lost in the shadows of his adventures. At the end, when all conflicts are resolved and Odysseus is reunited with his wife and son, He becomes the Odysseus that is truly himself. We learn that a united family can overcome any obstacles and that true devotion and dedication will triumph in the end.

In Homer 's The Odyssey, a growing adolescent, Telémakhos, resolves to search for his war-lost father after realizing that his home is teeming with rude, power-hungry suitors that wish to marry his mother, Penelope. With inspiration from Athena, Telémakhos travels to former comrades of his father, Odysseus, in a journey that is eerily similar to that of his father. Telémakhos and Odysseus 's journeys to bring the latter home are distinguishable in very few ways, most notably in how they are guided by men and women, respectively. The similarities in their experiences, due to conditions that affect their journeys, have differing results than the distinctions, which are a product of their emotional accustomations. Together, these situations lead to the collecting of information achieved by both parties, Telémakhos and Odysseus, as well as allowing both to further develop in maturity and social-emotional knowledge.

Homer was a man who lived in some of the darkest ages in history (8thcentury). The poetwrote and collected numerous ancient legends and stories told by the travelling narrators andstorytellers. This particular poet took all the stories narratives about king Odysseus and put themtogether in a book, which, he later called The Odyssey. This paper, therefore, will discuss andanalyze one of the major characters in the book The Odyssey, and the character in question isOdysseus. Odysseus is one of the most crucial characters in the book and the paper will look atthe role his character plays in building the stories told in the book and in this paper, we perform acritical analysis of the text as a work of performance art and aesthetic object. More

Poet and Scholar Robert Graves wrote in 1995, “Myth has two main functions. The first is to answer the sort of awkward questions that children ask, such as ‘Who made the world? How will it end? Who was the first man? Where do souls go after death?’…The second function of myth is to justify an existing social system and account for traditional rites and customs.” Oedipus the King written by Sophocles in 430 B.C. focuses around the second function that Graves noted. The play has been around for centuries, has evoked psychological theories, and will remain a classic. Sophocles has managed to touch on social, ethical, psychology, and more importantly philosophical issues in one play. Perhaps one of the most popularly known psychologist,

The characters in a novel or play are attributed certain characteristics by the author. The opinions one might form of a character are based on these; therefore, the characteristics suggested by an author are intrinsic to the reader having a complete and subjective understanding of a work.  Characteristics are often displayed through a character s actions, in what is said about them, and what they themselves say, which shall be the focus of this essay.  Both Oedipus, in Sophocles'  King Oedipus  and Odysseus, in The Odyssey of Homer, oftenare spoken of by others, but their own words are telling, as certain emotions and traits can be seen.  Traits of a character can often be