Comparison Of Homer's Odyssey And Sirens Song

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In Homer's Odyssey and Margaret Atwood's "Sirens Song" the Sirens are portrayed as dangerous and devious creatures through the use of tone and point of view. In Homer's Odyssey the tone is cautious, but later alters to determination. Homer's tone of cautiousness is shown when Odysseus' "sliced an ample wheel of beeswax down into pieces...I stopped the ears of my comrades one by one." Odysseus' carefully embedded beeswax into the ears of his crew members to block the singing voices of the Sirens. His tone then shifts into determination when Odysseus' and his crew members encounter the Sirens and "flung themselves at the oars and rowed on harder", emphasizing the danger of the creatures. In "Siren's Song" by Margaret Atwood the tone is alluring.

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