Jonas Fisk
Mrs. May
English I Honors
15 March 2023 The Odyssey: Legacy or Loyalty
In the ancient system of Feudalism, dukes, lords, knights, vassals, and serfs all had to display loyalty to the king or else the kingdom would crumble. Loyalty is made through connections. No connection is stronger than familial bonds. Odysseus, a mythological Greek hero, displays his familial bonds throughout his journey at sea. He is away from his family, and is ultimately held captive on an island by the goddess Calypso for seven grueling years. Once he is freed from the island, he must face further trials at home, where his wife and child reside. Throughout his epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer deliberately conveys that Odysseus returns home due to familial
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Initially, Homer exemplifies Odysseus’ loyalty to his family and home through his decision to leave the paradise of Calypso’s island to return to his family. After seven years of being stuck on the island, Odysseus’ mental health is in decline over the absence of his family, “[Odysseus] sat apart, as a thousand times before, and racked his own heart, groaning, with eyes wet scanning the bare horizon of the sea.” (Homer 282-284). A passionate reaction containing strength to this degree exemplifies the emotional strain Odysseus has experienced over the desire to be reunited with his home and family. The choice to add the phrase “racked heart” is a great indicator of his true motivation. If he was returning home to become a hero, his emotions would have no real bearing over his reaction, and he would instead be motivated by pride and a need to preserve his legacy. Additionally, visual imagery is utilized in Odysseus’ scanning of the ocean with his wet, teary eyes. In doing this, he is looking for his home or a method to escape the prison he is confined …show more content…
Again, Odysseus has an overwhelming emotional reaction regarding his family, this time after returning home. Odysseus, after twenty years away from them, is blissfully reunited with his family. When he spots his son, now a grown man, they have a long-awaited reunion, “Telemachus began to weep. Salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men, and cries burst from both as keen and fluttering as those of a great taloned hawk, whose nestlings farmers take before they fly,” (Homer 1061-1064). At this moment, Odysseus embraces his son, and their emotions are so overwhelming that they are compared using a Homeric simile to a hawk's cry at the loss of its nestling. Odysseus is a war-hardened man, having been away at war for a decade and at sea for another, and such a reaction from the man displays his true intentions for his return. In the excerpt, “longing” is used to depict the emotional state of both men. Even with his experience in battle, Odysseus’ emotional shell is shattered by the overwhelming happiness of the reunion of him and his son. This emotional reaction is a strong indicator of Odysseus’ return home out of loyalty to his family because of the ability to feel so strongly for them. Homer's use of his trademark Homeric simile further solidifies the volume and intensity of the tears, and thus, the volume and intensity of the
Odysseus possess the character strengths of loyalty and compassion because he cares deeply for his comrades. For example, Odysseus proves his loyalty to his dead comrade Elpenor when he travels back to the island of Aeaea, “We cut logs in haste and out on the islands jutting headland his funeral rights in sorrow, streaming tears” (12.10-12). Odysseus feels a deep sense of loyalty towards his comrades as shown when he immediately returns to bury his friend. He exhibits compassion and loyalty towards his trusted friends throughout the book; he always puts the safety and well-being of his men first. Furthermore, Odysseus portrays his compassion and loyalty when after gaining Circe’s trust, he demands, “If you really want me to eat and drink, set
Loyalty is a very typical theme found in many pieces of literature. Homer's story “The Odyssey” conveys this abundant use of loyalty by displaying the adventures and temptations the main character of this story goes through to stay loyal to his spouse. Adventures The protagonist of this story, Odysseus, went through many adventures throughout 10 years to make it home to his wife, Penelope. For instance, during his journey, he was captured by Calypso (Homer 562).
This shows that Odysseus works hard at making it home because his main love and focus is his family back home even if it means passing up one of the biggest offers of his
Odysseus makes the journey back to Ithaca because he wants to see Penelope. Even when he gets trapped on Calypso’s island for seven years, slowing him down. Eventually, Calypso lets a forlorn Odysseus go by a demand from Hermes. Despite Calypso being the most beautiful being in the world, Odysseus wants to leave, which causes Calypso to ask “‘Son of Laertes… after all these years with me, you still desire your old home? Even so, I wish you well.
In the Epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus’ heroic deeds are recounted through a narrative that describes his arduous journey of his return from the Trojan war to his homeland of Ithaca. Loyalty, patience, and determination,are necessary traits to survive the perilous, painstaking journey that Odysseus embarks upon to return to his native land. Loyalty is exhibited when Odysseus goes to rescue his crewmen on Kirke’s Island despite the probability of jeopardizing his own life. Odysseus presents patience throughout the entirety of his journey, but most specifically when his crew opens the bag of wind, which causes much regression on the embark homeward. Determination is exhibited when Odysseus is on Calypso’s island.
Loyalty: Something everyone desires Ancient Greeks were a wise lot who valued qualities and traits in humans quite a bit. The Odyssey, an epic written by Homer, is a text that exemplifies traits that the ancient Greeks value through various instances. Written during the ancient Greek time period, the story follows the protagonist, Odysseus, on his journey home, to his kingdom Ithaca, after the Trojan War has ended. He encounters many obstacles, monsters, and temptations on the voyage home but faces them with his head held high. He finally returns back to Ithaca after a long 20 years and reunites with his wife.
As I’ve previously observed, the patient seems to suffer from crippling depression. I’ve received this revelation from when he stated to me that he was talking to the young infidels and told them “I sit in your assembly longing for my home.” Thus Odysseus always seems to have negative feelings weighting upon his heart and constantly bring his emotional state to a state of
In Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey," the character of Odysseus embodies the theme of family in profound ways. Throughout his arduous journey home, Odysseus's unwavering love for his family serves as a constant driving force. Despite facing countless challenges and temptations, he remains resolute in his desire to return to his beloved family. For example In the underworld section of Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey," the theme of family takes center stage, offering a poignant exploration of the bond between the living and the dead. As Odysseus descends into the realm of Hades, he encounters the spirits of his deceased loved ones, including his mother, Anticlea, and other familiar faces.
This example from the text shows how people can understand Odysseus’ emotions through his statements. “We felt a pressure on our hearts, in dread…”. In addition, the reader can learn about Odysseus’ plans and thought process. “Now I chopped out a six foot section of this pole and set it down before my men, who scraped it; and when
Imagine being apart from your family for over ten years, fighting for your life in a war, and in the many battles and problems you will face on your way home from war. Would you be able to fight a cyclops, pass a dangerous whirlpool and have to face the fact that your crew betrayed you? In the novel The Odyssey written by Homer, Odysseus must do all of these things and more. He has been away from his wife, son and many other family members for over ten years now, fighting for his life on his journey home after fighting in the Trojan war.
In the text when Odysseus and Telemachus' find each other they compare their tears to a great taloned hawk being quick and fluttering. Telemachus and Odysseus finally reunite after being apart for 20 years and quickly become emotional. The text states “Telemachus began to weep. Salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men and cries burst from both as keen and fluttering as those of a great taloned hawk.” (pg 855, line 73-76).
Loyalty in The Odyssey The Odyssey is a book by Homer containing twenty-four stories that takes place in the 8th century BC. It is an action packed novel sure to grab your attention. The main chapters I will be covering, are chapters nine through twelve. Loyalty is a significant aspect of these stories (books 9-12). I will be pointing out the the main topics of loyalty shown in these chapters.
Once Telemachus recognizes his father because of Odysseus’s appearance change their reuniting is described as: They both wailed aloud, as insistently as birds, like two sea eagles or hawks with curving talons whose young chicks have been carried off by country folk before being fully fledged. That’s how those two men let tears of sorrow fall from underneath their eyes (Ian Johnston) This simile compares Odysseus and his son to birds “whose young chicks have been carried off” who “let tears of sorrow fall from underneath their eyes”. Giving us a clear understanding of what the feelings are between Odysseus and Telemachus. In the simile, they are both the birds and their chicks.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus is shipwreck and washes upon an island where he meets Calypso, the sea nymph. With Odysseus being such a strong minded, courageous, and resourceful man made it ever so easy for Calypso to want to make him her husband. Calypso decides to entrap Odysseus with no way home, all his ships lost, and no crew left for seven years. During this time Odysseus seems depressed and miserably wanting to return to his family, every day he sat by the shore honing his hearts sorrow, staring at the shore with salt-rimmed eyes.
Odysseus was a brave and wise warrior who fought proudly at the battle of Troy. Following his ten years of battle he spent another ten years just trying to reach home again. He was faced with many drawbacks and hardships on his way back to his home of Ithaca where he hoped to be reunited with his wife and son. These delays, however, never got the better of the epic hero, this is because of Odysseus’s persistence. This good heroic quality of his is the reason that he was eventually able to return home to his family.