Embedded Assessment 3.2

The Odyssey is a famous Greek tell written by Homer about Odysseus. A hero in the Trojan War and king of the kingdom island of Ithaca along side his wife Penelope and son Telemachos, Odysseus is known to be a great man. Then there is Okonkwo, the main character in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. A story of the African Ibo tribe, Okonkwo is known as the greatest fighter in his tribe and grows to plays an important role in his village, despite his father leaving him with nothing to live off of. These two different characters from these two different books, both full of pride and reason, embark on a epic journey that will challenge who they are/have become but each will react differently based on time and experience and for that reason there are two different outcomes.

Odysseus and Okonkwo both play great men in there stories but being held to such high standards does not happen over night and does not come easy. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was a man frowned upon by his people. “He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat.” He was constantly borrowing money despite never being able to pay anyone back. At his death Unoka had taken no title and only left behind a great dept for Okonkwo. Okonkwo was indeed ashamed of his father and would live his life trying to get out of his shadow; which is why he took so much pride in his title as the greatest warrior in his village of Umofia, just as Odysseus took so much pride in his title of King of Ithaca as well as a war hero. Odysseus was a handsome, intelligent and cunning man, and he knew it. He knew of his power over others and loved every minute of it. Both these characters were full of pride and the journey that each would embark on would test this pride. Okonkwo often ...

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... for them but all of this challenged as both embark on journeys that will challenge everything they have come to know. Okonkwo is exiled from his village for seven years sent to his motherland, reputation lost, and land taken over by missionaries. Odysseus originally a man of pride and glory spends twenty years trying to find his way home after fighting in the Trojan War. At first he lets his love of fame, power, and impulse get to him causing the lost of his men with. After years away from home Odysseus patience is taken from his their experiences. Unfortunately Okonkwo’s pride gets the best of him and he chooses death rather then to conform to the ways of the white men, while Odysseus adapts to his experiences and takes man of patients and intelligences over being a man of action. It is because of time and experience that these two men meet two different faiths.