Essay on The Odyssey

Brains over brawn, who will win this battle?Homer's tale of Odysseus' adventures in “The Odyssey” show that being intelligent and cunning can be far better than having physical strength. Being physically strong certainly has its advantages, but not in all circumstances. Strength in intelligence shows new meaning of strength. Odysseus is amused with himself when he defeats Polyphemus. His great skills with a bow outweigh the others abilities. Knowledge of the placement of his bed win his beloveds heart.

When the Cyclops returns, he kills some of the men. Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his name is Nobody and plans his escape from the barricaded cave with his crew. They trick the Cyclops into drinking lots of wine, he falls asleep, and the crew stabs Polyphemus in the eye. As they escape onto the ship and begin to sail away, Odysseus yells to Polyphemus: “Cyclops, if any mortal human being asks about the injury that blinded you, tell them Odysseus destroyed your eye, a sacker of cities, Laertes’ son, a man from Ithaca.”(9.662) The Cyclops in response prays to his father, “Poseidon, Enfolder of the Earth, dark-haired god, if I truly am your son and if you claim to be my father, grant that Odysseus, sacker of cities, a man from Ithaca, Laertes’ son, never gets back home.”(9.696) Odysseus tells Polyphemus his true name just to get credit for overpowering the Cyclops. In result, Polyphemus prays to his father Poseidon and this makes his father avenge his son and make Odysseus’ trip home as difficult and as painful as he can. After visiting Aeolus in Aeolia, Odysseus returns to the ship with a bag of winds and refuses to tell his crew what is

The monsters of Homer’s The Odyssey as written by Robert Fitzgerald all share traits in common, but there is always the small differences which make each close encounter more gripping than the last. When the not-so-glorious Odysseus, son of Laertes just manages to elude the cannibalistic clutches of the blinded Kyklops (IX) and takes to the high seas, he becomes arrogant and taunts his nemesis. He does not realize this, but the very words he uttered then sets the holy executioner upon the necks of his crew. Every island he passes or makes port at, his men become feasts for native monsters; however upon the beautiful island of Aiolia his men are not eaten, nor do they die at the hands of any mortal or immortal foe. What is so significant

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.

Focus on the descriptions of the palaces of Nestor and Menelaus. Find quotations that describe their virtues:

This passage is told as a flashback, as Odysseus sits in the palace of the Phaeacians telling the story of his wanderings. Odysseus reluctantly tells his story after King Alcinou notices his weeping during a minstrel, which was about the fall of Troy. So in answer to the King, Odysseus reveals his identity, background and adventures: from Troy, the winds sweep him and his men to Ismarus, city of the Cicones. The men plunder the land and, carried away by greed, refuses to leave until the Cicones turn on them and attack. Odysseus and his crew finally escape, having lost six men per ship.

The Odyssey is a Greek word meaning 'the tale of Odysseus.'; Odysseus, the King of Ithaca; husband of Penelope; father of Telemachus; and son of Laertes was not able to return home after the war he was once in: the Trojan War. Stuck on an island, he is presumed dead. In his absence, suitors for his wife ruin his house with lavish feasts. This epic poem, by Homer, describes how Odysseus, with the help of the gods, gets home and regains his kingship. Justice is always harsh in the Odyssey; there is either no justice or a lot of it; the punishment however, is always severe. Justice in the Odyssey plays out among these characters: Odysseus and his crew, the suitors, Poseidon, Aeolus, Hyperion, Agamemnon, Aegisthus, Melanthius, Melantho,

This edict of Zeus summarizes the journey Odysseus makes in order to return home. He endures dire hardships to make the journey home, yet he still chooses to continue forward. Although Odysseus accepts this hardship as a mere speed bump, many people today would not prevail through such adversity. A knack for finding the easy way out has seemed to blossom as the one uniform skill possessed by most young people today. With today’s technology, a person rarely spends an afternoon by himself, and if so, would not like it. With this in mind, choosing to continue on with the journey in present times would be much harder of a decision to make than in ancient times.

Hunger, whether a literal hunger or a hunger for power has always been a downfall for humankind. In the Odyssey hunger destroys the lives of many men. Even though the Odyssey is just an epic it reflects in many ways how hunger can ruin and sometimes even destroy someone’s life. In history, hunger has shown itself in many different and unique ways. For example Hitler’s hunger for power destroyed millions of lives. It forced millions of people to move their homes and change their lives or to even lose their lives. Hunger has caused people and even entire nations to be decimated. If people could control there hunger the world and

The Odyssey is a celebrated epic filled with many different themes, motifs, styles, and characters that could be examined in vast detail, but the theme of hospitality is a reoccurring one throughout the entire narrative. Homer writes about examples of both great hospitality and very inhospitable characters in his epic poem. Hospitality in The Odyssey creates definition of how individuals are either punished or rewarded by the gods.

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.

A common characteristic of heroic epic literature is that the stories they unravel celebrate the unusual exploits of their respective heroes who are either being helped, being hindered, or a little of both, by divine beings throughout the tale. This trait of capricious interaction between gods and humans is seen throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus’ journey is directly affected by the interactions he has with some of the gods and goddesses and their offspring. His travels are negatively affected by his dealings with Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and are positively affected through his interactions with the goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the messenger of the gods, Hermes.

Thinking about school sometimes hurts, especially about important assessments. Quiz on Friday for this class, test on Thursday for another class, it's a rough week. It is a Tuesday, and there were no worries in my mind as I enter school that day. Suddenly, I realized that there was a language arts test in 1st period! I zoomed to my locker, quickly went to my class, and snagged a book from the counter and started to study. As I frantically cram in information about The Odyssey for the test that is anticipated in 10 minutes, I begin to think how I should have studied the night before. Similarly, I notice many of my other peers doing the same. When the time passed by 10 minutes, our language arts teacher, Ms. Paschal, informed us that there was no test. Though having mixed emotions about this, I kept my composure and awaited what was planned for the day. Ms. Paschal informed, "I know you are disappointed that the test was canceled, but instead, we are going to write a comparative essay on The Odyssey instead. You will choose one book or movie to compare to The Odyssey. The factor that we are using to compare The Odyssey and your book or movie is the hero's journey." The class suddenly exchanged worried looks as if the essay was the end of the world. I thought to myself, "Oh, this won't be so bad." I later regretted this statement.

The Odyssey details Odysseus’ arduous return to his homeland. Ten years have passed since the end of the Trojan war and Odysseus, the “most cursed man alive”, has been missing and presumed dead by many. (10.79). Throughout the novel, gods play a significant role in the fate of Odysseus and other characters. The extent of the gods’ role though is not unqualified, contrary to Telemachus’ suggestion that, “Zeus is to blame./He deals to each and every/ laborer on this earth whatever doom he pleases” (1.401-403). While Zeus does have this power, his description of how humans meet their fate is more accurately depicted throughout the novel. As he aptly points out, “from us alone, the say, come all their miseries, yes,/ but they themselves, with their own reckless ways,/ compound their pain beyond their proper share” (1.38-52). While the gods do doom certain mortals, many of these mortals exacerbate their ill fate by making rash decisions and ignoring the gods’ warnings. The gods are also not always disrupting mortals lives; they often aid mortals in need. In fact, mortals who effectively court the favor of the gods often benefit greatly. While the gods’ powers are unquestionable, no one god’s power is insurmountable. Gods can be outsmarted and their wrath escaped. The Odyssey, in congruence with Zeus’ statement, ultimately, portrays human freedom as existent, but limited.

POLI 283: Model United Nations was the most fulfilling Odyssey project that I have experienced during my time at Hendrix, on both a personal and academic basis. Preparing for the AMUN conference using a semester’s worth of simulations and research has facilitated growth in multiple areas of my life, and the experiential component in Chicago was highly rewarding in its own right. Serving as a representative from the Republic of Indonesia to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific vastly improved my ability to work with a partner and to organize large groups of people. This Odyssey experience also increased my confidence as a public speaker, broadened my area of study within the International Relations department, and has introduced me into a close-knit group of teammates who share my interests and passions.