The Journey In The Odyssey

The Odyssey is a story filled with adventure, bravery, and peril.(H) The Odyssey was written by Homer, a blind poet, in the 8th century, and it was intended to be a sequel to The Iliad, another story written by Homer.(HC) The story is based around the Greek gods, which were commonly believed to exist when Homer wrote The Odyssey.(HC) The Odyssey inspires perseverance in continued hardship and love for family, ideas which are as relevant today as they were when The Odyssey was written.(CM)

Everyone has their own obstacles face. Certain restrictions that limit or halt our journey from our main goal or destination. In The Odyssey, written by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, we can examine some characters with their unique flaws that leads to their undoing. The ones that differentiates themselves from the rest are those that can mature or grow in character throughout the whole of their journey. Odysseus demonstrates this by acknowledging his pride, foolishness, and by not repeating his past mistakes. His son, Telemachus outgrows his boyish nature and self loathing to stand beside his father as equals in battle. Even Penelope, although her change in character is not immense as her male counterparts, shows persistent intelligence

Odysseus was could have been a great hero in everyone’s eyes if he tried to learn from people the mysteries that are unknown to him instead of diving head first into trouble. When Odysseus returned to Circe’s Island, Circe gave him a course and gave “advice on how to avoid the danger he will face”. But, yet Odysseus ignored her warning of not fighting the sea monster, Scylla, which took six of his best men. His thought of getting home and his selfishness concealed him from trying to protect his crew. When Odysseus and his crew landed on Circe’s Island for the first time, one of the crew members, Eurylochus, tells Odysseus that it is a bad idea to “send

Actor, Marlon Wayans once said, “Success is not a destination, but the road that you’re on. Being successful means that you’re are working hard and walking your walk every day. You can only live your dream by working hard towards it. That’s living your dream.” What Marlon Wayans is saying is that success happens when someone work for it, it doesn’t just happen right away. The journey matters more than the destination because in the journey people can gain memories. The details are all in the journey and not much happens when someone reaches their destination.

The definition of a journey is extremely broad; it is simply to travel from one place to the next and consists of a start, a middle, and an end. A journey is able to be delightful or distressing; the possibilities are endless. Humans lives are one humongous journey. Furthermore, it is common for humans to write about these journeys and include them in literature. The Odyssey by Homer takes place after the Trojan War and tells the arduous and frustrating story of a demigod and his journey to return home. Correspondingly, The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz is about a group of people and their extensive journey to freedom, however this story takes place during World War II. Despite the difference in time period and setting, a common theme is found in these works. The

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

Homer’s poem The Odyssey is about a warrior who has not been home from the Trojan War in twenty years. He is held from home by Poseidon by several monsters and other challenges. When he returns home, he finds that his house has been overtaken by suitors trying to marry his wife. The Odyssey has many examples of figurative language in the text. Figurative language is using words or phrases differently than the literal definition and is used in literature to provide more drama to the story or to just make the text more interesting. Homer uses many types of figurative language in the text; including similes, metaphors, epithets, personifications, alliterations, and epic similes. In Homer’s poem The Odyssey, figurative language is used to intensify

“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” -Erich Fromm

Heroes in today’s literature often take on difficult challenges that put themselves in constant danger to better themselves. Joseph Campbell came out with a book in 1949 called “A Hero with a Thousand Faces” which he introduced the “Hero’s Journey” formula that Odysseus closely follows. The Odyssey is a Greek mythology following Odysseus, a Trojan War hero who faces many dangers trying to get back to his homeland of Ithaca. At his homeland of Ithaca suitors are eating out his home and trying to marry his wife while Telemachus sets out to find his father, but eventually comes back unsuccessful. Finally, Odysseus comes home and takes back his home and family. In the Odyssey, Homer

Odysseus starts to learn the importance of being modest through moments of despair. One can perceive a change in character midway through the journey, during his trip to Helio 's Island. Prior to the trip, the crew was deliberately told not harm Helios’s, cattle, for they will suffer the consequences. However, hunger grew in all their bodies leading them to eat the sun god’s cattle. In despair, Odysseus cries to Zeus explaining how he needs a god to save him from starvation. He reaches out to Zeus, “For hope that one might show me some way of salvation” (Homer 625) and in replication, the god, “closed [Odysseus’] eyes under slow drops of sleep” (Homer 625). Although the quotes display amnesty, they have a deeper meaning than finding salvation. In response to the hero’s call, the god puts Odysseus to slumber, while the crew indulges in the cattle. Moreover, Helios messages the thunder god to kill those who ate his cattle. It was this decree that made Zeus throw a bolt at Odysseus’ men, killing them all. Odysseus’ prayer shields him from Zeus ' bolt. The cry to Zeus conveys that the hero needs help from the gods and is unable to do everything himself, thus showing Zeus he is learning. This shows progression because in the beginning of the journey Odysseus disregards the gods and gloats about the obstacles he excels, whereas on Helios Island, the hero calls for help knowing he can not surpass famine/every challenge. This change in philosophy is classified under crisis, where the

Picking theme songs for movies can take long thought and requirement; choosing a theme song for a movie based on The Odyssey would stand as no exception. Many things would have to be considered for similarities between the song and The Odyssey. These things could include structure, lyrics, themes, and the overall tone of the song and the epic poem. Each specific detail would need to be considered or one small difference might not make it an ideal theme song. The song, “Homeward Bound”, by Simon and Garfunkel, fits the ideal style of a theme song for a movie based on The Odyssey due to its manipulative structure, its lyrics that resemble feelings

The Iliad by Homer, the Odyssey poem written by Homer and the Prometheus mythology are classical texts that reflect the historical and cultural background of the Greek and Roman literary skills. The Odyssey and the Iliad are Homer’s epic poems that portray Greek and Western culture. The three texts give an insight of the ancient Roman myths, culture and the literature during both the 17th and 18th century. The two texts by Homer and the Prometheus mythology represent a classical period that consisted of the cultural history and the civilization of the Romans and Greece hence known as the Greece-Roman World. Homer’s narratives, the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey”, and Aeschylus mythical story “Prometheus” have cultural and mythological similarities

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

From 1100 B.C.E - 750 B.C.E., the Greeks suffered through a period of time during which the population declined and food production dropped. Historians refer to this period in history as the Dark Age. The Dark Age was very hard for the Greeks, but numerous developments managed to come out of this period. In fact, near the end of the Dark Age, one of the greatest poets of all time began his work. His name was Homer. Throughout Greek history, we can see the tremendous effect that Homer and his ideas had on the people of Greece and their education.

Iliad, the epic poem is written by a great epic poet Homer. This poem is a classic in real terms and recounts some historic facts about the last ten years of Trojan war and the Greek siege city of Troy. Tracing back its history, Iliad is thought to be written back in 8th century B.C. and it is considered one of the earliest works in western literary tradition. It captures the scene of blood, abductions, murders, wrath of Achilles, revenge, anger and intervention of gods. The scene of warfare and blood are presented in the poem through oral tradition initially. These are the subject matters of the great epic poem which mark its significance as a great classic Greek poem (ancient Greece). This epic subject matter becomes inspiration for so many