Comparing The Odyssey And The Cruelest Journey

Odysseus suffered the consequence of being away from his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope for 20 years. Odysseus was told by Athena and other gods, what to do during his journey. All of them told Odysseus that he couldn’t tell his men because they’d suffer a consequence. Odysseus listened to Athena and the gods because he only thought about himself and didn 't think about what his crew would say or do. When Odysseus and his crew passed by the mainland where the Cyclops lived, they were only going to stay for two days, but then out of curiosity, Odysseus wanted to see what kind of beast the Cyclops was which made them almost die.

Pride (noun): a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired. To achieve feelings of pride is a commonly sought human desire, and has been for centuries. Often, people will go to great lengths to achieve this feeling, whether it is through admiration from others, or through their own accomplishments. Pride, being a common human trait, is also present in multiple character archetypes across literature. The epic poem, “The Odyssey”, by Greek author Homer tells the tale of the great king of Ithaca, Odysseus, and his journey to his homeland after the Trojan War.

Granted, Amir never admits openly to being at ease with his self loathing, yet being granted redemption, even after centuries have passed, would strip Amir of his essence. Hosseini made Amir personify the angst that comes with human life, he breathed life into everything that makes humans twist and turn at night, and stripped him of everything else. He is not happy, nor content, never thinking about anything other but himself, Amir might be fear

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient tale that tells the story of a man; two thirds god, one third man who struggles with his destiny and mortality throughout his journey, finally making peace with his destiny as a mortal. Gilgamesh does not fit the model of a hero in this tale, particularly the definition set by Brian Robb, as “his arrogance has no bounds by day or night. No son is left with his father… his lust leaves no virgin to her lover” (62). While he does not fit the model of a hero, this term is irrelevant in this case as his story still follows the model of the Hero’s Journey set out by Campbell and by emitting both negative and eventual good values he becomes more approachable to reader who can be more empathic to his struggles. The concept of the Hero’s journey is arguable a popular storyline for many stories ranging from Epic of Gilgamesh to modern day Harry Potter and is frequently seen in other literature and media illustrating that the concept of hero and a hero’s journey is not a new one however is still very prominent today.

After a tough journey Gilgamesh makes it to Utnapishtim, who tells him the story of the flood and how although men will die humankind will continue as the Gods vowed never to destroy them again. Gilgamesh is still very persistent and want immortality so he is given a test, he has to stay awake for a week. He ultimately fails at this and has to return to Uruk, where he then finds truth and wisdom in the advice Siduri gave him. He returns home and becomes a model man and a fit King. Siduri giving Gilgamesh advice does seem a little odd because he is a cruel man who listens to no one but himself and has a feeling of superiority because he is part god.

Nevertheless each and every one of them were set out to do something no matter how long it took or what happened in between. I believe that these man were given a sense of false free will and were never really in control over their one destiny. They are just the Fates puppets while they mastered them as they wished. Odysseus was a man of great power who convinced Achilles to join the war when Thetis hid him disguised as a women but not only did he do this but he also sailed on a journey that made him take 10 years to come back to his beloved wife, Penelope. With the aid of the goddess Athena he sailed back to Ithaca but he infuriated Poseidon which made him have many obstacles that would lead to 10 years of wondering.

Modern literary scholars of The Odyssey have argued that Odysseus is a hero. Although closer perlustration shows that he is not a hero because he came back from war with no men, he’s selfish, a hypocrite, and he killed innocent people. The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus and his journey to and from the Trojan War. And the story of his family and their life in Odysseus’s absence. Odysseus is selfish and hypocritical person, after twenty-years of being at war he expects to walk in like he has never left.

It means hero frequently refuse the responsibility that to renew the community or the ten thousand worlds. Campbell mentions “even the Buddha, after his triumph, doubted whether the message of realization could be communicated, and saints are reported to have passed away while in the supernal ecstasy” (p.127). This “Refusal of the Return” also appears in movie “Avatar”. Marine Jake Sully, the protagonist of “Avatar”, takes his brother’s place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns humans’ intentions of driving off the native humanoid “Na’vi” in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland.

“If I kill him we perished there as well, for we could never move his ponderous doorway slab aside. So we left to groan and wait till morning” (Homer 250). This explains how the journey matters more than the destination because in life a person has to take choices to stay alive. In the poem The Cyclops Odysseus made a choice not to kill the caveman and wait to see what he had to

Behind this humor, however, is a deeper meaning. The absurdity which each character experiences brings to light the message of the story: war is pointless. Colonel Cathcart, who put in place the unwritten rule of “Catch-22” did so simple because he wants to be promoted to a General. Major Major has never even flown a mission yet is promoted to Major because they “needed a new Major.” Major Major just wants to be left alone so he creates his own “Catch-22” so that no one can see him. Yossarian, who quickly learns that the Catch-22 means no escape, just wants to go home.