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The Simile Of Odysseus

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“As calves in stalls when cows come home, droves of them herded back from the field to farmyard one they’ve grazed their fill-as all their young calves come frisking out to meet them, bucking out of their pens, lowing non stop, jostling, rushing round their mothers-so my shipmates there at the sight of my return came pressing round me now, streaming tears. So deeply moved in their hearts they felt as if they’d made it back to their own land, their city, Ithaca's rocky soil where they were bred and reared.” (book 10, 452-461)

In this Homeric Simile, Homer uses powerful comparison and word choice to further extend the reader's knowledge of Odysseus as a leader and how much his crew cares for him. The simile also furthers the reader's understanding how the crew views Odysseus not just as a leader but also as a parental figure. This simile occurs after Odysseus has convinced Circe to turn his men from pigs back to men, and he returns to his ship and reunited with the rest of his crew. Odysseus’ crew are being compared to calves being reunited with their mothers after the mothers have returned from grazing their fill. Comparing the crew to “young calves” implies Odysseus views his crew almost like children. The reader can imply this since Odysseus is the narrator in this situation. When the calves are also described as “bucking,” which gives the reader the image of the crew being eager and almost unable to wait for the great leader to return. When Odysseus compares his

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