Similarities Between The Odyssey And The Alchemist

“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end, after he plundered the stronghold on the proud height of Troy.” (Homer, 1.1-5, 1) These words were spoken in praise of Odysseus by the classical poet, Homer. The Odyssey tells the tale of Odysseus’ ten year journey after he departs from Troy bound home for Ithaka. Odysseus’ motivation throughout the poem is to be reunited with his son, Telemakhos and his wife, Penelope, but his task doesn't come without struggle.

I believe this is a humongous mental challenge for him because he is trying to get home, but the gods and everyone is fighting against him. Another mental challenge Odysseus faces are his ego and anger issues. Odysseus always seems to choose the hard way out of situations, this results

“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” -Erich Fromm ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, follows the story of Odysseus, a great Greek hero. It tells of his venture to Troy, to lead his army in the Trojan War, and his separation from loved ones and his kingdom for twenty years. However, the novel mainly focuses on the story of his homecoming and all he, and many others, had to endure while he was returning from abroad.

Two stories, set in completely different timelines, may not have striking parallels at first glance. However, with closer inspection, Homer’s The Odyssey and the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? have obvious similarities, from the characters to the themes shown. The Odyssey depicts the epic hero, Odysseus, as a man who had much to be proud of, being the king of Ithaca, entrusted in the gods, and having conjured up the winning strategy that defeated the Trojans. Despite this, it soon takes a turn for the worst when he ends up taking a ten year long journey through murky waters during his sail home. He faces each and every challenge in hopes to return home to his faithful wife and son. On the other hand, O Brother, Where Art Thou? tells the story

In The Odyssey, Odysseus’ journey is created by a cycle of self-created obstacles that are solved by quick witted thinking and ultimately reflect no real desire to learn from his errors or create any character development. Throughout the story, Odysseus expresses a strong desire to return home to Ithaca, however he is constantly thwarted by his own curious and boastful nature. For example, when

Choosing to stay away longer is one of the many selfish choices Odysseus makes while he is away. Another situation where he is quite selfish is when he is with his comrades in the Cyclops's cave, Odysseus takes the “one bellwether ram” and “the prize of the flock” (Homer 9 481-482). He saves the best animal for hiding to himself, and puts himself before his comrades, which shows his selfishness profoundly. By choosing the best of the flock, he is making the choice to save himself first, and lets the consequence of death lie on the shoulders of his comrades instead.

Odysseus’s adventures were long, brutal and tested his weaknesses. I'm going to analyze how these weaknesses kept him from returning home. Because of these weaknesses odysseus’s son grew up without a father in his life, who knows if he even had a father figure in his life at the very least He survived many situations against all odds and was reunited with his wife and son after 20 long years. Two of his adventures were. Odysseus likes women that are not his wife, and he gets sucked into the goddess Circe’s “vortex” so to speak, his crew warned him it was a trap to keep them there but he didn't listen and they stayed there for a year eating and drinking as much as they could possibly want.

Odyessus has many hardships and struggles on different islands throughout this story like The Island of cyclops,Circe´s Island,The land of the sirens. Odyessus proves himself through these little stories that even when times are heard to never give up. Even thought he made some mistakes like going into the cyclops cave,and staying with Calypso he still made it to his love

The Odyssey begins as Odysseus leaves an island he was trapped on for 10 years to go back to his hometown, Ithaca. However, we do not know if he will make it back, as it is highly probable that he will die. The Odyssey is a Greek Epic involving some of their ancient Gods. On the way to Ithaca Odysseus faces many challenges while his wife deals with challenges of her own at their house. Suitors have taken over Odysseus’s home, and are all trying to marry Odysseus’s wife, Penelope.

When Odysseus is held captive by Calypso on her paradise island, he takes his opportunity to leave and continue on his journey home. Calypso has taken great care of him and seduces him, one of the reasons he has stayed with her for so long. Odysseus is not exactly in his right mind during his stay with Calypso because she is able to almost control or manipulate him. When Odysseus is given the opportunity to go home, it is only with the help of Zeus, Hermes and Athena to persuade Calypso to allow him to leave. Odysseus, while staying on her island, knew that this was not what he wanted.

The Odyssey, one of the world’s most famous stories, has been under debate on whether on whether or not it conforms to be a hero’s journey, a type of pattern theorized to be at the core of many myths. To understand its potential monomyth-hood, the story has be understood, as well as the different phases of a hero’s journey. A hero’s journey, by definition, must include a few characteristics: a phase where the hero leaves their home and decides on a quest, a period marked by a discovered conflict, an all-out struggle, the development of the hero, and the hero bettering the lives of those back at home. In The Odyssey, Odysseus, the protagonist, journeys to his home, in Ithaca, from Troy, where he waged and won a war. Along the way, Odysseus

Odysseus had to face not returning home when planned, like I wouldn't be able to reach my goal if i didn't have the money for college. Along my journey i would also have to face separation from family, just like odysseus did. Another thing I would have to face is being smart now so that it will pay off later, like odysseus had to do when he made the plan to get the cyclops drunk, which saved his life. Out of everything I learned from the Odyssey I do know this, Odysseus never gave up, and never lost hope...and neither will I. Will you give up because of the roadblocks in your

The epic poem Odyssey by Homer is about a man named Odysseus. He is separated from his family. He is lost at sea and goes into foreign lands. Through everything he is always trying to get home and finally after 18 years he makes it home. Though it was his fault that he became separated from his home.

He is coming, and I am here.” (518). In The Odyssey, Odysseus is motivated to pursue his strenuous journey is his love for Penelope, for she is the reason he longs to go back home. He states: "Nevertheless I long—I pine, all my days—to travel home and see the dawn of my return. And if a god will wreck me yet again on the wine-dark sea, I can bear that too, with a spirit tempered to endure … bring the trial on" (Homer, 84), showing that he is willing to endure anything so long as he can return home.

The challenges, temptations, and abyss are what change initiates into heroes and show if they are up to the challenge. Edmond Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo, Odysseus from The Odyssey, and Santiago from The Alchemist, and all face a number of challenges, temptations, and an abyss throughout their hero's journey and they all overcome these hardships, proving their heroicness.