The Use of Disguise in Odyssey
In Homer's Odyssey, the use of disguise to help convey a false identity assists the characters in accomplishing their plans. Without the use of disguise it would thwart Odyssey’s attempts at arriving back to his homeland.
Each disguise has its own individual purpose, for example Athene's image as Mentor to advise Telemachos. The main intention being to assist and encourage Telemachos into searching for news of his long lost father without revealing her true identity of divinity. Being old and wise, and more specifically male, enables Athene to place more power behind the words spoken by Mentor. This is since men were received with greater influence and reverence than women were culturally
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“Fame and fortune is the ultimate goal of any man”(Van der Valk 61).
One lives to strive for the best and conquer the world, metaphorically speaking to reach his highest potential.
“Although not everyone can achieve such high status, if a man can conquer a feat thus similar, his name can be passed on and he will be immortal” (Van der Valk 63).
In Homer's Odyssey, the ultimate goal of fame and fortune entices Odysseus to disregard his morals by using cunning and trickery for lying and killing others, to ensure his homecoming to Ithaka.
First of all, Odysseus is deemed a hero in the eyes of the Achaians. His intelligent mind renders him a heroic figure among his people. Although he has killed many people, his actions are deemed justifiable because the suitors were "reckless" in their action against his household. He is praised by Athene for his ability to quickly devise a false tale. In the Achaian world, intelligence is more highly treasured then the hard working man. Odysseus' aptitude makes him "godlike" and comparable to the immortals, and he even had opportunities to be among the immortals, as exemplified by Calypso's offer for eternal life and youth. Despite the fact that he is cheating on his wife, an immoral act, Odysseus is still regarded as a great man; glorious and honorable.
Contrast to the modern American view of evil, Odysseus' blinding of Polyphemus is not an evil
Around the 1200 B.C., Odysseus was sailing the Mediterranean Sea for the purpose of reaching home. In his long narrative poem, The Odyssey, Homer conveys how Odysseus desperately wishes to go home to Ithaca. However, he faces brutal treatment and obstacles from several different antagonists, and more obstacles appear when he reaches home. Odysseus came across many external conflicts, which he dealt with intelligence, determination, and loyalty.
In the latter, however, some of his more ignoble traits are revealed: he is a braggart, he almost dishonorably uses poisoned arrows, and he shows conceit in his victory over the Cyclops. It is sometimes difficult to reconcile this man with the one who willingly gives up eternal life for the moral condition and the chance to return to his wife. Largely, the problems with understanding the moral position of Odysseus stem from his immense experience and cleverness, which make him at once mortal and fantastic.
Deception is defined as a crafty procedure or practice meant to deceive or defraud. People tend to view this as a sinister action. No matter how sinister it can be, it can also be utilized to gain information and knowledge. How a person uses deception varies among different people. Generally, the more clever people tend to utilize deception very efficiently. Odysseus masters deception in the Odyssey by disguising himself. Odysseus isn't alone for Athena also uses disguises. With that being said, disguises allow Odysseus to succeed in killing the suitors.
Near the end of this chapter when he has finished off all of the suitors, (mostly with the aid of Athena), Odysseus feels he has prevailed as the winner, righted the wrong. At one point he exclaims "these men the doom of the gods has brought low, and their own indecent acts. They'd no regard for any man who chanced come their way. And so thanks to their reckless work, they met their shameful fate."(435-438). The irony of this quote is the fact that he is
My personal interpretation of this selection is that no matter how good, rich, powerful, or beautiful you may be, there is always someone who is better than you. You can try and try for many years, (where as many and most people try for their entire life) to be the best, but sadly you will never be the best no matter how good you end up being in the long run.
Masks have held countless uses and meanings throughout history. Masks have been used in plays, like those of Shakespeare, traditional dances, social gatherings, even as a form of casual or corporal punishment. Although masks have several different uses in different cultural situations, the meaning of the masks is generally the same. Masks are used to conceal an appearance and assume the identity of another. Metaphorically, masks can be used to hide feelings, to protect oneself, and to block out the outside world. Many of these examples are shown in Art Speigelman 's Maus.
Odysseus’s actions may seem selfless and/or heroic however they are actually being mistaken for acts of selfishness. “They tied me up, then, plumb amidships, back to the mast, lashed to the mast and took themselves again to rowing” (Homer 1134). Homer is describing the crew lashing Odysseus to the mast so that he may hear the sirens sing. Odysseus thinks he is being heroic and manly, but he is actually placing his life and that of the crews in danger all because he wants to hear the song of the sirens. Odysseus knows how loyal his crew is to him so, if one of them was to untie him they could have all ended up dead. Odysseus might think he was performing a heroic action but in actuality he was performing an act of selfishness. When Circe captured Odysseus’s men he was advised not to save them by his best man, Eurylochus, however “Against this advice, Odysseus rushes to save his men from the enchantress” (Homer 1125). Odysseus appears to be heroic but looking closer this rash decision was selfish. He rushed to save his men for honor. He cares more about honor than the safety of his crew. The rest of his crew that wasn’t under Circes spell would have been lost if Odysseus died because they rely so heavily on him. When a leader mistakes his selfish decisions as heroic it can place him and the people around him in danger. Odysseus’s inability to think through his rash decisions and recognize the right choice over the honorable and selfish one makes him unfit to be a
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.
We try to hide our flaws, so we wear a mask to conceal our imperfections. We are hurt and unable to fully recover, so we put on a mask. We are a monster, so we wear a mask to hide our vile and devilish ways. We want to appear to okay, even though inside we are dying a little bit each day, so we put on a mask. Wearing a mask is a lot like being a wife and a mother. A wife and mother is many other things, such as a cook, a nurse, a taxi driver, a cheerleader, a lover, a daughter, a worker, and maybe even a student amongst other things. We juggle our self between all these different persona’s. In O’Connor’s, “Good Country People” many of her characters wore mask to conceal the things they didn’t want seen. Hulga pretended to be a rude, uncaring brat to hide her hurt she felt from losing her leg at an early age. Manley Pointer disguised himself as a Bible salesman to take advantage of people, when he was nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. While the matriarch of the family, Mrs. Hopewell insisted that everything was fine. Everyone has their own way of getting through tough situations and circumstances and these country people proved they were no different from the rest. “In one of her essays, “The Regional Writer” Flannery O’Connor spoke of, “the particular crossroads where time and place and eternity somehow meet.” (Driskell and Brittain, The Eternal Crossroads). These such characters in this
Homer presents this clearly in the following instances: Helen's description of Odysseus disguising himself to enter into the city of Troy and in doing so gaining information that would allow him to destroy his mortal enemies, a trademark ploy that he also uses when returning to his homeland of Ithaca to infiltrate the rank of suitors; additionally in the sequence with the Cyclops in which Odysseus eludes danger by taking on the guise of "Noman" or one without a "name".
He is praised by Athena for his ability to quickly devise a false tale. In the Achaian world, intelligence is more highly treasured then a hard working man. Odysseus' cleverness makes him "godlike" and comparable to the immortals, and he even had opportunities to be among the immortals, as exemplified by Kalypso's offer for eternal life and youth. Despite the fact that he is cheating on his wife, an unscrupulous act, Odysseus is still regarded as a great man; glorious and honorable.
During his journey Odysseus used what he has learned from is mistakes to return home and kill the suitors of his wife. On the island of Cicones,and with his encounter with Polyphemus, Odysseus learned that bragging can bring great misfortune. On Ithaca Odysseus never brags to the suitors and is able to enter his house with the Antinous and the other suitors knowing his real identity. He takes the punishment of Antinous and the other suitors without saying a word and is able to see those who have invaded his house. Odysseus is able to see who is loyal and who is not and take his revenge with the suitors never knowing who
Modern day life is filled with people who use various methods to conceal thoughts, ideas judgement and feelings that are dear to them. This also includes literal secrets that can be seen within the world, this would then need a actual disguise to hide. Through the ages society has done the same, as they will continue to do so in the future, conceal their secrets through deception. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, is in the steampunk genre. The main characters include a young prince named Alek, who is running from his own people and Deryn, a girl dressed as a boy to join the air service. In the novel, Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld uses the idea of disguise by his characters Deryn, Alek, and Doctor Barlow.
Homer's epic tale The Odyssey is a story of the triumphs and downfalls that are in store for one warrior's long pillage home. Odysseus, the hero from the Trojan wars, has led his people of Ithaca and other Achaean soldiers to victory and now wishes to return home to his wife and family of Ithaca. Through his twenty year journey Odysseus is often tested not only of his physical strength, but his wits as well. The many accomplishments he achieved earned him great status and recognition throughout ancient Greece. The mistakes he made caused the deaths of many men. Consequently, we as readers are able to see the many personas that Odysseus carries with him.
The concept of disguise has been known and used since the beginnings of drama, but this concept was most famously known for being used in plays written by the biggest playwrights of the Elizabethan era— especially for being used in William Shakespeare’s plays. What do we mean by disguise? In broad terms, it would mean pretending to be something that one is not. The concept of disguise can mean changing behavior, or hiding intentions, the most frequent form of disguise is the change of ones personal appearance, usually through the changing of clothes, to mask ones true self. Shakespeare used disguises in various ways in his plays; As You Like It, Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night were all plays in which Shakespeare used the concept of disguise as a device to further the plot, it was sometimes even used for comic relief. Disguises can be used both maliciously and/ or morally, depending on its use and its influence on the characters. In both Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure, both Portia and Duke Vincentio donned a disguise to pursue justice how they saw morally fit, but ultimately their deception was only for selfish gain; Portia disguises herself to save a friend, and Vincentio disguises himself to know the true feelings of his subjects, both manipulate the law in the name of justice while in their disguises.