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Similarities Between Ithaka And Odysseus

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Odysseus Resembling the Human Experience
In the epic poem, The Odyssey, written by Homer and in the poem, “Ithaka,” written by Constantine P. Cavafy, the characters really are a lot like people today, but they have much greater challenges to face than today’s population. Both poems display Odysseus as being a very heroic character because of how he journey’s for many years to many different places in order to get back to Ithaca. In both the poem and story, Odysseus shows to be a symbol of the human experience through conflict, growth of knowledge, and aspiration.
Odysseus shows that conflict is a major part of his journey and the rewards that he will receive in the end will be worth the conflict, like someone enduring a hard time in their …show more content…

Odysseus shows that nothing can hold him back from finishing his journey now that he is so close when he is leaving Phaecia: “I know you won’t be driven off your course, nothing can hold you back—” (Homer 13.5-6). Odysseus has been wanting to get back to his family and his job as the King so badly that it seems like he will do almost everything in his power to get there and just about everyone can sense this, including the King of Phaecia. If someone in modern day were to work that hard to reach something, the exact same thing would happen to them and they would feel obligated to achieve their goal. In the human experience, typically anyone who pulls their weight will be rewarded whether it be right after they complete a task, or later in their life. Even before his journey started, when Calypso helped Odysseus to get out of his depression, he only had the aspiration to get home: “So then, royal son of Lartes, Odysseus, man of exploits, still eager to leave at once and hurry back to your home, your beloved native land?” (Homer 9.223-27). Odysseus always had the drive to make it back to Ithaca and only that. Anyone who was away from someone for 20 years would clearly miss them if they were close to them at all, which can happen in present day and in the book. The entire human experience wouldn’t be completed unless someone didn’t have any goals that they were looking to

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