Building Tension In Homer's The Odyssey

Homer’s The Odyssey follows Odysseus and his journey home from the Trojan War. Although he anticipates a short journey, Odysseus is cursed by Poseidon to suffer ten additional years at sea. On the way home, Odysseus and his crew stop at the Cyclops’s island and encounter Polyphemus, Poseidon’s son, who kills crew members by tempting them with food, and then crushing them. Odysseus tricks the Cyclops by using the pseudonym of Nobody and stabs him in the eye; however he reveals his true name at the last second, thus giving Poseidon someone to blame. The remaining crew then stumbles upon the island of the Circe, where they are taken in by the sorceress’s beautiful women and abundant food.

Author, David Foster Wallace, in his research essay, “Consider the Lobster,” states how the MLF or Main Lobster Festival is committing an act of animal genocide due to the fact that lobsters have nerve endings and can feel pain. Wallace’s purpose of writing this essay is to make the public aware of the Lobster’s pain while they are being boiled alive. Wallace provides an informative but somewhat demeaning tone in parts of the essay to provoke his argument and have his readers attempt to side with him. Wallace attempts to utilize a lot of pathos in his essay to evoke our feelings for these amazing crustaceans. He bombards the reader rhetorical questions as he’s questioning his cab driver about the MLF, “at the World 's Largest

In most of the part, I will be discussing the very subject of Screwtape’s toast in the Tempter’s training College and the dominant motifs of food and eating in the letters from Screwtape. People might just think hell is just a pit of fire, but its more than that, its turbulently worse than you ever thought it would be, especially from C.S. Lewis’ point of view. Reading through the book, it’s not so easy to grasp onto

This wine was so powerful that one cupful had to have been diluted throughout twenty cupfuls of water (Homer 148-149). Odysseus then, with his men and wine, marched onto the island and went to talk to the Cyclops. He asked for assistance and hospitality, which is a major Greek value. The obstacle was that the Cyclops was not a refined beast; after Odysseus politely requested aid the Cyclops out of a fit of anger ate two of his men. After the Cyclop’s outrageous actions, Odysseus knew he had to formulate a plan to escape the beast’s lair.

The difference with Poseidon’s children is, when he has a child with a nymph, the child is born as a Cyclope. Cyclopes are lawless man-eating savages. Most live on an island together, Kyklopes, living as shepherds eating whatever man or creature comes to their shores. Since Poseidon can control the sea, he made Odysseus’s ship go off course forcing him into sea to find whatever land they could. Of course, landing on Poseidon's sons’ island.

Polyphemus on the other hand, intentionally kills and intentionally eats other humans, making him more liable. Furthermore, to highlight the savagery, Homer goes to great lengths in order to iterate Polyphemus’s transgressions. In Visser’s essay she claims, “As social beings cannibals must inevitably have manners. Whatever we may think to the contrary, rules and regulations always govern cannibal society and cannibal behavior” (6). However, Polyphemus does not appear to abide by this assertion.

FANCY TITLE "Gluttony kills more than the sword." -George Herbert. “Gluttony: over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items to the point of extravagance or waste”(Dictionary.com). Homer uses food to show hospitality in ancient Greek culture, however, food is also used to represent temptation. (I need a hook) This George Herbert quote is taken literally, as all of Odysseus's men did not return home after their battle, due to the temptation of food.

Homer opens with Penelope, Odysseus wife and their son, Telemachus showing hospitality to Penelope’s suitors. Despite this kindness, the suitors began overrunning their home, eating all their food, and drinking everything as if it was their own. This type of hospitality was expected, however. No one was turned away and beggars were considered to be from Zeus, sent to test the host. Telemachus finally admits his irritation with the suitors’ misuse of the hosts’ hospitality “But if you decide it is more profitable and better/ to go on, eating up one man’s livelihood, without payment,/ then spoil my house” (I.

However, in the epic poem The Odyssey, food means more than its literal representation, it is also a symbol of temptation. The beginning scenes in the epic poem discuss the importance of food when it is shown that many of Odysseus’s men did not return home from war after giving in to the temptation of a luxurious meal. The text states that “Children and fools, they killed and feasted on the cattle of Lord Helios, the Sun, and he who

The Odyssey is an age old classic read around the world. In the Odyssey, Homer tells the story of the wayward Odysseus. The story follows the protagonist as he makes his way back home, dealing with man-eating Cyclopes, a vengeful god, and a possessive nymph. During the story, the reader sees many sides of Odysseus as he dealt with his tribulations, such the cunning and witful side, but also the pompous and indulgent side. To begin with, Odysseus is trapped on an island with the nymph, Calypso.

Second, Odysseus and I show that when faced with peer pressure, isn’t always the right decision. In the Odyssey, Odysseus chose three men to search an island and “they [fall] in, soon enough, with Lotus Eaters, who [show] no will to do harm, only offering the sweet Lotus to [their] friends” (897). The Lotus Eaters pressure the men to try the Lotus, which in the story is like a drug. It is addicting and makes you want to stay on the island. It pressures Odysseus to try them because all of his crew try the Lotus.