How Did Homer's Odyssey Influence Margaret Atwood?

Thesis: In Homer’s “The Odyssey”, translated by Robert Fagles, sirens have been portrayed as manipulative and deceiving creatures, who trick men by using their bewitching song as a form of flattery in order to draw men to their island and eventually to their death. However Margaret Atwood’s interpretation of sirens offers a different perspective, in “Siren Song,” sirens are portrayed similarly to Fagles interpretation, but instead of bewitching men through flattery, men are drawn to the island by sirens mocking damsels in distress to tempt the men's inner hero. Body 1: Topic sentence 1 (flattery): “‘Come closer, famous Odysseus-Achaea's pride and glory- moor your ship on our coast so you can hear our song!’”(19-20).

The first eight books of The Odyssey by Homer, tell the story of Odysseus long journey home. According to the epic, Odysseus is the only Greek survivor of the Trojan War who has not returned home. However, along with his soldiers, he is trying to get back to his home in Ithaca. In his journey home, Odysseus faced Calypso, sea monsters, lotus-eaters as well as a giant. Moreover, Odysseus intelligence and the assistance of Athena made him survive these adventures.

The Sirens Would you choose to listen to a beautiful song if you knew the consequence resulted in death? In Greek mythology, the Sirens lured sailors with their enchanting music, but then killed them. Homer’s “Book 12”, Margaret Atwood’s poem, titled “Siren Song”, and Romare Bearden’s artwork, “The Sirens’ Song”, convey the Sirens both similarly and different. Throughout the three Siren pieces, they all show the Sirens as seductive, they have the same outcome, and they have similar moods.

Margret Atwood’s The Penelopaid is a response to the issues unaddressed within The Odyssey. Complications regarding class and gender divisions is explored through techniques such as irony. Odysseus’ glorification within The Odyssey is challenged as Atwood provides dialogue to female characters such as the maids. The traditional use of comedia and tragedy is utilized to overshadow the seriousness of the court case. The effectiveness of Deus ex Machina is challenged due to Atwood’s utilization of the technique.

I love that Margaret Atwood chose to tell Penelope’s side of the story through Penelope’s point of view. It definitely makes the narrative of Odysseus and his journey much more interesting. However, the change in point of view causes the reader to question who is telling the true story – Homer or Penelope? Personally, I am having a hard time choosing what to believe and what not to believe; more specifically, I am conflicted over the character of Odysseus. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is portrayed as a hero whose only flaw is his pride.

In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, there are many female characters who play the role of a villain. Calypso, Scylla, Charybdis, and the sirens are among the women with the largest, negative impacts on Odysseus’ journey home. Though some women, such as Athena, Eurycleia, and Penelope, are loyal to Odysseus throughout the poem. With such a wide range of female characters, they all contribute different things throughout the book, whether the impact of their actions is negative or positive. Regardless of the outcomes, Homer has quite a modern view of female representation in his poem.

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 Sirens are portrayed differently in Homer’s The Odyssey and Atwood’s “Siren Song.” Their use of diction is eloquently written with different tones and point of view. With this, they deliver two stories of the Sirens.

These passages describe an encounter with the same mythical creatures, but reflect a different portrayal of the Sirens. Homer’s Odyssey depicts the Sirens as beautiful but menacing beasts that desire to charm sailors with their alluring voices to their awaiting destruction. Margaret Atwood’s poem, “Siren Song,” however, presents them as practically mortal beings and place all fault on the male’s stupidity other than their seductive call. Through a variation in the use of tone,point of view, and irony, Homer and Atwood express the captivating strength of the Sirens.

Greece was in a steady period of decline before Homer wrote his poems; the number of literate people was waning, and shortly after the creation of his Epics, Greece was flourishing yet again. This was because influenced education. This is partially because he helped create/spread certain ideas about Greece's past, and introduced the peer review system to boost Greece education at the time. Also, according to Plato himself, without Homer Greek education would be almost non-existent. Overall, Homer changed Greece's education, but he also changed how Greek citizens live their lives.

Sirens are half bird and half woman that seduce men into ending their lives by luring men up close to the rocks because they seem to distaste men. Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s poem “Siren Song” both discuss how men and the sirens are portrayed throughout a portion of Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca. In The Odyssey, the sirens are portrayed as sneaky villains by seducing men and the men are portrayed as brave and strong. In “Siren Song”, the Sirens are portrayed as sneaky but also innocent, and helpless while men are portrayed as easily tricked.

“Of all that breathes and crawls across the earth, our mother earth breeds nothing feebler than a man. So long as the gods grant him power, spring in his knees, he thinks he will never suffer affliction down the years. But then, when the happy gods bring on the long hard times, bear them he must, against his will, and steel his heart. Our lives, our mood and mind as we pass across the earth, turn as the days turn . . .” The Odyssey, although it was composed near the end of the 8th century BCE, is a perfect example of good literature.

In many societies today, individuals are led to believe that the concept of women possessing their own strength or independence is abnormal. As a result, women experience the world in a constrained way in comparison to men, even if they are in higher classes of society. However, these extensive aspects of females are contradicted in some ancient Greek literature. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer portrays women as a vital and powerful force through the characters Penelope and Circe, who counter the normality of misogyny in Homer’s time. Penelope’s character displays how some women are able to exceed society’s standards and show strength and cleverness when it is necessary.

Comparison Essay The Odyssey by Homer was a great book though the movie ‘O Brother Where Art Thou?’ had a great story line, I have to say that the book was better. Not only was the book more detailed and easily understood, it held my attention. Unlike the movie, it picked up sometimes but I was utterly bored and lost focus for most of it.

Mythical creatures known as Sirens have a feared reputation among sailors who are lured by their seductive songs to their deaths on the rocks surrounding their island. These Sirens are known for their appearance in Homer’s epic, The Odyssey where they attempted to lead Odysseus and his crew to their demise with their mysterious song. These Sirens also have a role in the poem “Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood. Homer portrays the sirens as seductive, irresistible, and powerful while Atwood portrays the Sirens as deceptive, cynical, and pathetic. The contrast between Atwood’s melancholy Sirens and Homer’s malicious Sirens is shown through literary devices such as diction, imagery, point of view, and tone.