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Comparing The Odyssey And Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close

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Often times, the primary characters are the subjects of a context, and the story follows their footsteps. This is not an exception for both The Odyssey and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. However, Foer and Homer manage to seep in the effectiveness of secondary characters within the context, which eventually causes alternations to the main characters’ adventures. Homer begins Odysseus’ss journey by introducing the reason to do so. As an epic poem, The Odyssey’s narration focuses on Odysseus’s adventures in course of returning to Ithaca. Odysseus, as the king of this nation, takes responsibility to rule the nation with dignity, therefore wishes to be back home. As loyal as Odysseus is to his ruling, he is to be a reliable husband and father. Even though spending years with beautiful nymph Calypso, Odysseus never fails to grieve over the fact that he isn’t beside his beloved wife Penelope. Look at my wise Penelope. She falls far short of you, your beauty, stature. She is mortal after all and you, you …show more content…

This constantly reminds readers of why Odysseus has to be back in Ithaca. As suiters “feed on another’s goods and go scot-free” and aim to marry Penelope, Homer vividly describes how Telemachus is not able to handle the uproar of the suitors and Penelope “[falls] to weeping for Odysseus, her beloved husband.” By knowing this information – that is blind to Odysseus but not to the readers – the readers are able to understand the urgency of Odysseus’s household. By doing this, Homer emphasizes not only Odysseus’s responsibility as a ruler, but also his duty as a husband and a father, leading readers to regard Penelope as the main drive for Odysseus’s grand journey. Therefore, the readers are able to deduce that the reason Odysseus has to return home is to protect his household, especially Penelope who is continuously forced to marry one of the

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