...Themes, Themes, Themes So what is it with all these themes coming and going throughout the story, or what is the most important theme of The Odyssey? The title of the book is The Odyssey. The book is translated by Robert Fitzgerald. The book itself is bunched up into a book with fifteen sub-stories, books, or chapters; whatever you want to call them. This essay will be about; what is the main theme of this story? The lesson that should be learned with reading this essay is, “Stay true to your dreams, stay true to yourself (Persevere yourself).” The first example shown in the text when it shows symptoms of perseverance is somewhere towards the end. It is when Odysseus finally arrives home after being at least gone for twenty years from a ten year war, and also a ten year journey to getting back home. For instance, in book 23, page 573, lines 97-103, Telemachus states, “Mother, cruel mother, do you feel nothing, drawing yourself apart this way from Father? Will you not sit with him and talk and question him? What other woman could remain so cold? Who shuns her lord, and he come back to her from wars and...
Words: 607 - Pages: 3
...larger-than-life figure who undertakes great journeys and performs deeds requiring remarkable strength and cunning. In the “Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus is a man who is traveling home to Ithaca after 10 years until the end of the Trojan War and comes upon many thrilling, dangerous adventures along the way. The heroic traits of Odysseus in “The Odyssey” by Homer can be compared to those of three contemporary heroes. An epic hero shows courage. Odysseus shows courage when risks his own life to visit Tiresias, a blind prophet, in the underworld. Circe, the witch of the land of Aeolus, informs Odysseus that he must visit the underworld and hear “ … a prophecy from the ghost of Tiresias.” Odysseus, familiar with the idea that he might not be able to return back to Earth,...
Words: 758 - Pages: 4
...Moat men who have been away from family – want to return to them. When a person travels long distances they happen to come upon obstacles. Pride is the most important thing that keeps men going. In the book “The Odyssey” and the film “O Brother Where Art Thou?”, we can compare three basic subjects: characters, events, and the journey. Even though the characters in the book and film have some things in common; they are very different. In “The Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus lied to his men for the sake of keeping them safe. While in “O Brother Where Art Thou?” Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Everett lied to Pete and Delmar so he could stop his wife from remarrying. Hence forth, Odysseus gives more of an honorable standing in the sense of loyalty to friends and family equally. While Everett seems more focused on his family. As the plots of the compared unfold, there are events that are alike. Odysseus dressed as an elderly beggar man to fool the suitors – so he could see his wife. Everett on the other hand, dresses as an elderly hobo – who is a part of a singing group to fool Homer and the suitor; so he could see his wife. Both of the men used elderly disguises to fool people in...
Words: 472 - Pages: 2
...Rizal Technological University Boni Campus Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN ODYSSEY AND BIAG NI LAM ANG Presented by: Noveno, Sherjun C. Palon, John Paolo T. Presented to: Prof. Lynn M. Besa February 17, 2015 INTRODUCTION Skepticism is as much the result of knowledge, as knowledge is of skepticism. To be content with what we at present know is, for the most part, to shut our ears against conviction; since from the very gradual character of our education, we must continually forget and emancipate ourselves from, knowledge previously acquired; we must set aside old notions and embrace fresh ones; and as we learn, we must be daily unlearning something which it has cost us no small labor and anxiety to acquire. Skepticism has attained its culminating point with respect to Homer, and the state of our Homeric knowledge may be described as a free permission to believe any theory, provided we throw overboard all written tradition, concerning the author of the Iliad and Odyssey. Lots of arguments have appeared to run in a circle. “This cannot be true because it is not true; and that is not true, because it cannot be true.” Such seems to be the style, in which testimony upon testimony, statement upon statement, is consigned to denial and oblivion. Odyssey is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon and is the second oldest...
Words: 3665 - Pages: 15
...The Odyssey v. The Hobbit In the stories "The Odyssey" by Homer and "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien, there are many similarities. The main characters, Odysseus and Bilbo, are trying to get themselves and their crews home. Bilbo and Odysseus have many things in common such as their cunning abilities in trickerySome of the similarities between the two are the settings, the challenges, the enemies, and coming home. First, the setting comparison. One place that can be compared in both stories is 'The Land of the Dead' in "The Odyssey" to 'MirkWood', which is a forest, in "The Hobbit". Both places have masking around them so that it is difficult to see, for example, the fog in 'The Land of the Dead' and the thick trees in 'MirkWood'. Both are also filled with dead people, though none are actually seen in "The Hobbit", but are frequently talked about....
Words: 447 - Pages: 2
...Odysseus is the main character of the Odyssey. Throughout all of the Odyssey, Odysseus figures himself out. The mastermind goes through many conflicts both inner and outer. He is described as a leader of his crew of men. Odysseus is not the epic hero he is supposed to be. Odysseus depends on his crew. If he was alone on Kyklopes’ island he would have probably died at first. This is because the Kyklopes picked up one of his crew members and devoured him instantly. Odysseus is always deemed as the hero, the leader, and the mastermind. But, the mastermind of war could not have gone so far without men helping him paddle his boat. An example is in the citation above, “I chopped out a six foot section of this poe and set it down before my men….”...
Words: 325 - Pages: 2
...Ever since March of this year, our eighth grade class has been reading an inspiring novel about perseverance, friendship, and belief in oneself. Written by an enriching author, Rocket Boys teaches the readers about working hard to achieve one’s goals. Mr. Hickam had to push through many boundaries and challenges for him to become the person he is today. He has set an example for the students in this room and for students all across the country. His perseverance helped him achieve his goal of becoming a NASA engineer. If the students in this room, including myself, use that as an exemplar to shape our lives, we could become amazing and important people. A major theme in Rocket Boys was perseverance. Throughout the entirety of the book...
Words: 896 - Pages: 4
...In the Odyssey a Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds. One important idea that communicated is how Odysseus takes problems with confidence. This is seen when he has to fight cyclops. When he swims to shore when he is in the open ocean. Also confidence is shown when he has to fight off the suitors for them to get out of his country. He shows confidence when he fights the cyclops he remained confident even after many on odysseus friends have died. Odysseus had to kill cyclops after all the deaths Odysseus has witnessed. Odysseus plan was to give the cyclops many bowls of wine which would put the cyclops to sleep. When cyclops fell asleep odysseus got a piece of wood that looked like a sharpened pencil and stabbed the wood into the cyclops eye ball....
Words: 605 - Pages: 3
...“Homer may have lived sometime between 900 and 800 B.C.- if he ever lived at all.” In the epic poem, The Odyssey, written by Homer, it illustrates Odysseus’s treacherous journey as it takes him 10 years to finally arrive home. Along the trip he faces great danger that exposes him to use qualities embedded in the Greek life and its culture. Through perseverance, loyalty, and teamwork, Odysseus is bound to get through his journey. Loyalty is vital in any alliance or tie. According to Odysseus, “I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called them rest..” (9.48-50) As shown above, Odysseus is very devoted to his members and does not allow them to survive off of just a flower. He forcibly...
Words: 714 - Pages: 3
...tributes for their courage and great deeds performed during their combat. In other light, the cowards of ancient Greece and the middle ages were considered a burden and were affronted. Throughout many books authors have explained different aspects of what it means to be a hero. Homer, author of the Odyssey, and Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, convey this characteristic frequently. In the Odyssey, Odysseus was a skillful fighter, but it was yet the proof Homer’s readers needed of his heroism. Odysseus also transpired characteristics of restraint and mercy. On the other hand, Cervantes’ character was not born a hero. He was fooled by chivalric ideas of heroism and sets out to reform the world along with his witty companion. Odysseus and Don Quixote are from two totally different eras, but both of them tried to conquer the world with their heroic acts. Not only their heroic acts made them well known, it’s also their imagination that makes them stand out. In comparison, imagination is what makes Quixote the hero, and imagination just adds a dimension to Odysseus’ character that rules him along. Don Quixote is the hero with the ability to change reality with the force of an idea. For example, Quixote tries to convince his companion that harmless windmills may be threatening giants. Is he a madman or an idealist? Instead of seeing two prostitutes, he sees ladies of quality. These ladies responded kindly to...
Words: 676 - Pages: 3
...People may discover numerous things when they take journeys. However, the most signigicant, by far, are the things that they learn about themselves: their strengths, their weaknesses, their preferences, their moral values, what they possess, what they wish to possess, and so on. For instance, in “The Cruelest Journey”, Kira Salak states,”If a journey doesn't have something to teach you about yourself, then what kind of journey is it?” As an adventurer, Salak becomes aware of the fact that challenging oneself is done in order to test one's strength and grit. While on journeys, people may learn the strength of their willpower and overcome that of those who deter and doubt them. If somebody's perseverance is weaker than their fear, they will...
Words: 516 - Pages: 3
...The Ontelles Odyssey depicts a struggle involving the power of truth, love, courage, and perseverance of a man that has the ability to change the world and become the king. The basic theme is good versus evil. Ontelles is a mystical world that has two suns, which is very similar to Saturn. The people of Ontelles are superstitious, they read the stars. For example, the flight of birds can be interpreted as good or bad omens. In order, to prevent “surprises” the people of the village will give lip reverence to the gods. Each human child on Ontelles is required to have their village, name, and birthday burned on the back of their neck after eight days their birth. All the villages of Ontelles are required to supply sixty percent to support the...
Words: 672 - Pages: 3
...Popular culture shows that heroes, both real and fictional, have always been those who go out of their way to save lives and are able to sympathize with others. Odysseus, from the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, is a man who obtains these hero-like qualities. Unfortunately, he has been away from home for ten years due to the many obstacles he encountered on his journey back to his home island, Ithaca. In this story, he shows hero-like traits to many people. He defeated the cyclops, Polyphemus, from trapping him and his men, slept with the enchantress Circe, he is able to pass the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis who blocked his and his men's path home, encountered walking corpses in the Land of the Dead to meet Tiresias, and cried for his dog,...
Words: 1955 - Pages: 8
...Gilgamesh and Odysseus were two heroes from two completely different time periods that were both in search of the meaning of life, or what could be done in a lifetime. Gilgamesh and the Odyssey are both categorized as hero myths. This is because both hero's go through growth and change throughout out their conquests. The epics that the two characters are featured in Gilgamesh, was developed from early Mesopotamia and the Odyssey in early Greece. Gilgamesh was a very popular and it was very valuable to the historian of Mesopotamian culture because it reveals much about the religious world, such as their attitudes toward the gods, how a hero was defined and regarded, views about death and friendship. The Odyssey was also very popular in its era. It was set in ancient Greece where in its culture; mythology was the heart of everyday life. Gilgamesh, the hero from the epic Gilgamesh, was the historical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the river Euphrates. He lived about 2700B.C. Odysseus, the hero from the epic the Odysseus, was the ruler of the island kingdom of Ithaca. He was one of the most prominent Greek leaders of the Trojan War. Both of these men were granted certain strengths, Gilgamesh had physical, while Odysseus had mental strengths. The journeys of Gilgamesh and Odysseus are two incredible stories written long ago; these two heroes have many similarities, but also many differences. The differences are between these two great heroes are slim, but significant. Gilgamesh was...
Words: 2517 - Pages: 11
...In The Odyssey by Homer,our protagonist Odysseus embarks on a journey back home after the Trojan War. During his adventure, the hero encounters many obstacles including both gods and monsters alike and must overcome them. Throughout this quest, Odysseus embodies the characteristics of a traditional epic hero in that he is clever, enduring and determined. Odysseus’s intellect is difficult to overstate. He is not the kind of person that constantly relies on physical strength alone to be victorious. He is also quite knowledgeable as well. During the epic, Odysseus is able to overcome several physical obstacles using his mental prowess alone. One prominent example of this is when Odysseus confronts the cyclops Polyphemus. When the one-eyed brute traps the hero in his cave,Odysseus offers him wine from his ship. This puts Polyphemus in an intoxicated sleep and give Odysseus the opportunity to strike. He and his men use a large staff they find to blind the giant. “Straight/forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it/deep in his crater eye” (ll.376-378). Polyphemus screams out in pain....
Words: 613 - Pages: 3
