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Theme Of Growth In The Odyssey And Their Eyes Were Watching God

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In The Odyssey and Their Eyes Were Watching God, the two main characters go through non-linear processes of growth, in which they both must suffer in exchange for finding both their nostos and their nous. Both Odysseus and Janie are set on personal journeys to find their souls, though they find them in different ways. Janie finds her home with Tea Cake and their love for one another, while Odysseus physically returns home. Both of them complete a part of their souls by finding their true nostos.
Janie’s growth comes from her being able to find freedom in herself, without relying on those around her. One of Janie’s biggest self-revelations comes at the start of the book, when she is 16. As she sits under a pear tree, she sees the different …show more content…

Throughout the book, we see Janie growing up and going through similar stages in her own life. In a way, the tree and Janie’s journey mirror each other in the way that they grow. Janie also is gaining a new perspective on life in this moment. This scene is a revelation for Janie, one where she’s waking up to the beauty of life and how she personally wants to live. Shortly after, she also says, “She was seeking confirmation of the voice and vision, and everywhere she found and acknowledged answers. A personal answer for all other creations except herself. She felt an answer seeking her, but where? When? How?” (11). Once again, Janie repeats her questions about life. In this specific moment, however, she acknowledges that she needs to find the answers for herself, because while other creatures already know, she hasn’t gone on her personal journey yet. There’s also an element of a spiritual revelation, as Janie comments on “the voice and vision,” suggesting that she believes her revelation is a message from God. Much later in the book, …show more content…

Before he leaves for Troy, he was a great king and family man. In Troy, he was converted to a warrior, whose actions directly led to the deaths of men. After Troy, he was supposed to be able to return to Ithaca and see his family once again—but he is unable to make it there without intense suffering. From the beginning, Odysseus’s one goal is to return home, as he states many times: “But even so, I want to go back home, and every day I hope that day will come. If some god strikes me on the wine-dark sea, I will endure it. By now I am used to suffering—I have gone through so much, at sea and in the war. Let this come too”(187). Odysseus is tired of all the suffering he has gone through since leaving for Troy. Though he is resigning himself to the struggles he will continue to face while trying to return home, this resignation is also a form of fighting, as he refuses to back down. Throughout the story, Odysseus is given multiple opportunities to stop fighting. In all of these situations, such as with the Lotus Eaters, Circe, and Calypso, he refuses, believing that a life of suffering that ends in returning home is worth it. Before he leaves Circe’s island, she advises him: “You must get back the drive you had when you set out from Ithaca. You are worn down and brokenhearted, always dwelling on pain and wandering. You never feel joy at heart. You have

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