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Comparison of Aeneas and Odysseus
Comparison of Aeneas and Odysseus
Character analysis in odysseus
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Family: A tough Bond to Break
Many wise pholosophers say that only 7 stories exist in the world as we know it. The struggle of good versus evil, finding true love, and the rise and fall of important people have been written about since the discovery of pen and paper. One theme that stands out in Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, is the desperation to keep a family together. Odysseus, Telemacus, and Penelope all suffer hardships trying to keep the tight bond their family has, as close as possible.
Odysseus is determined he will return to his wife and newborn son after the war of Troy was won. Many trials and tribulations are presented to Odysseus on his journey home. Polyphemus, the Cyclops, tries to detain the hero from returning to his home of Ithaca. Poseidon’s son failed and ended up being blinded (Milch p. 29). Odysseus was also tempted by Calypso. The nymph-goddess offered to make him immortal if he would just stay with her on the island for ever. Odysseus refused and started his epic journey to Ithaca once again. Odysseus is told to visit Teiresias in Hades to find a way to make it back to Penelope and Telemacus. He must venture to the land of the dead (Rieu p 160). The only important thing in Odysseus’ life is returning to his family in Ithaca.
Having the same feelings his father possesses, Telemacus’ only desires are to keep his mother from marrying one of the many suitors and acquiring knowledge of his father. He must do this because he knows that if his father is dead, he must return to Ithica to fight the suitors alone (and eventually be killed). His other choice is to stay away from Ithica all together and lose the respect of his people and do harm to his fathers name. To do this, Telemacus sets out on a journey of his own. He first decides to visit his fathers friend, Nestor, first (Rieu, p. 30-44). Nestor tells of his fathers great deeds. After leaving Nestors palace, Telemacus visits Menelaus. He is visiting these great men to find out about his father. Since Telemacus was only an infant when his father set out to fight at Troy, he really does not remember him. By hearing stories about the great acts his father committed, he feels that he knows him better. This brings new feelings about is father.
The Fourth (IV) Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses paper, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized" (U.S Constitution, Fourth Amendment, Legal Information Institute). The fourth amendment is a delicate subject and there is a fine line between the fourth amendment and 'unreasonable search and seizure. '
Of all the heroic traits such as honor and glory, given to the reader through Homer’s epic poems loyalty seems to be the strongest, as with Patroclus in the Iliad, so it is with Penelope, Telemachus, and Eumaeus in the Odyssey. Through the use of these characters loyalty is demonstrated to Odysseus, the hero if the poem. Their undying loyalty and devotion to the warring hero gives perfect examples of how humans should act to those they claim to be faithful too.
Before The Odyssey even begins, it is told that Odysseus is lost at sea. Odysseus, cursed by the god Poseidon, owns up to his own, and other’s, mistakes, all creating a long and difficult journey back to Ithaca, his home, involving monsters and many hardships. In his journey home, Odysseus finds out much about the world and himself. When Odysseus finally returns, after 20 years of wandering, we know he has been with three women, other than his wife Penelope, who he left at Ithaca: Circe, Calypso, and Nausicaa. Along with his adventure, these three women teach Odysseus about himself. Each time Odysseus lands on one of the three women’s islands, he is offered shelter, food, and their love. The extent of acceptance of this love shows Odysseus’ loyalty to Penelope waiting for him to return in Ithaca. Each interaction with the women also shows good and bad traits of Odysseus. Throughout Odysseus’ adventure, he grows as a person and becomes worthy of Penelope’s love as shown by his relationships with Circe, Calypso, and Nausicaa.
Usually, soldiers from Trojan War will not make it back home. However, in The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus leaves Troy for his journey to Ithaca, his homeland; ends up on the island of The Cyclops where his journey begins. Once reaches Hades, Tiresias the blind prophet tells Odysseus his prophecy of returning back home. Odysseus fatal flaws such as being boastful, not processing his mind through, and being tempted leads to his downfall causing him to take longer returning to Ithaca, Odysseus’s homeland.
One he started the journey, the changes and growth in Telemachus were showcased every step of his adventure looking for his father. When Athena spoke with Telemachus, she never came to talk to him in her true form. She would always come in the form of men named Mentor and Mentees. These two men play a huge role in Telemachus’ journey to find his father. They advise him to see Nestor the king of Pylos. Nestor was the last person to see odyssey and the oldest man to fight in the Trojan War. Next, Nestor would advise Telemachus that his father is still alive then tell him to see Menelaus. Menelaus is the king of Sparta and he also the person who declared war on Troy. Nestor tell him to prepare for whatever Menelaus. If was father was died to prepare a proper funeral for him or if he is alive to wait for him until he return
All of this insight and analysis of the meaning behind Elisa's chrysanthemums is what opens up the undisclosed doors of this story. If one did not look further into the story, it would seem as if the author was providing a bunch of unnecessary pieces of information about a specific day in the life of Elisa Allen. The chrysanthemums, being the key to the story, give a more in-depth understanding of this woman's life and her struggles that would otherwise not be acknowledged.
Have you ever been away from home for a long period of time? The main character Odysseus from Homer’s The Odyssey has been away from his kingdom fighting in Troy and sailing from island to island for twenty years. While at sea, Odysseus deals with both alienating and enriching experiences as he is surrounded by monsters who want to eat him and his men, and women who want him to love them. Odysseus survives the troubling situations and finally realizes how much he misses the love of his wife who is caring loving, and patient. She gave birth to his son who he has not yet met, which makes him anxious to return to his kingdom. Sometimes being away from what you think are the little things can give you a better perspective of what is around you.
The Hero’s Journey is never an easy one. This particular journey, as detailed in Homer’s The Odyssey, is one of struggle, loss, heartache, pain, growth and triumph. It is comprised of many steps that Odysseus has to overcome and battle through in order to achieve his final goal of reaching his home and his loved ones. From the Call to Adventure to the Freedom or Gift of living, Odysseus conquered them all. The story begins in the middle of the story, as many of the oral Greek traditions did, with the Journey of Telemachus to find his father. Although Telemachus has not yet met his father, it is almost as if they are journeying together, where the end of both of their journeys results in being reunited. Telemachus journeys from being a boy to becoming a man, while out in the sea Odysseus is battling Poseidon to return to the home that wife that he loves and the home he has left behind.
In Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey, the main theme is the reunification of the family, as Odysseus struggles to return home and rejoin his wife and son. Throughout the Odyssey, we are shown examples of families: good ones that prosper and bad ones that do not. As Telemakhos struggles to become a man and Odysseus struggles homeward, the concept of healthy family life is stressed. At the end, when all conflicts are resolved and Odysseus is reunited with wife and son, the lesson that a united family can overcome any obstacles is shown and is one that today's families should heed.
The relationship between Odysseus and his wife Penelope is one of loyalty, love, and faith. Both characters are driven by these characteristics. Odysseus displays his loyalty in his constant battle to get home to his wife. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Odysseus spent 20 years trying to return to his home in Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War. Along the way he manages to offend both gods and mortals, but through his intelligence, and the guidance of Athena, he manages to finally return home. There he discovers that his home has been overrun by suitors attempting to win Penelope’s hand in marriage. The suitors believed that Odysseus was dead. Odysseus and his son, Telemachus,
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.
Elisa Allen embodies the image of a simple woman eager to escape the confines of a gender defined role in society. Readers are introduced to Elisa as a 35 year old, strong woman living with her husband, Henry, on a ranch in Salinas Valley (Steinbeck 460). Elisa’s masculinity is highlighted from the attire she is wearing to the strength in her hands. Henry affirms that Elisa is capable in her endeavors when he states, “you’ve got a gift with things,” in regards to her garden (Steinbeck 460). Even though Elisa is delighted at Henry’s suggestion that she work in the orchard, the idea does not seem to get a second thought (Steinbeck 460). The idea of a woman working in the orchard is dismissed on the premise that the orchard is not a woman’s place. In Elisa’s account with the man in the wagon, her sexuality exudes in her graphic explanation of picking off the flower buds and being under the stars, to the point that she almost physically touches the man (Steinbeck 463). Her desire would go unsatisfied, as it would not be appropriate for her to act on her impulse. Elisa is searching for fulfillment in life but finds her role to be trivial. Intrigued by the idea of traveling, as the gentleman in the wagon does, she states, “It must be very nice. I wish women could do such things.” She is shot down as the man replies, “It ain’t the right kind of a life for a woman” (Steinbeck 464). This conversation clearly depicts the prevalent inequality of the sexes. Furthermore, once the man leaves in the caravan Elisa cements her urge for something more, looking out at the horizon whispering, “That’s a bright direction. There’s a glowing there” (Steinbeck 464-465).
In the opening of the story Elisa is emasculated by the description of her clothing. She wears "a man’s black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clodhopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron…" (paragraph 5). When Elisa’s husband Henry comes over and compliments her garden and ability to grow things Elisa is smug with him and very proud of her skill with the flowers. Her "green thumb" makes her an equal in her own eyes. When Elisa’s husband asks her if she would like to go to dinner her feminine side comes out. She is excited to go eat at a restaurant and states that she would much rather go to the movies than go see the fights, she "wouldn’t like the fight’s" at all (paragraph 21). Elisa is taken aback with her own submissiveness and quickly becomes preoccupied with her flowers as soon as her husband leaves. When the drifter comes and asks Elisa for work to do she is stern with him and refuses him a job. She acts as a man would to another strange man and becomes irritated. When he persists in asking her she reply’s "I tell you I have nothing like that for you to do" (paragraph 46). The drifter mentions Elisa’s chrysanthemums and she immediately loosens up as "the irritation and resistance melt(ed) from her face" (paragraph 51). The drifter feigns great interest in Elisa’s chrysanthemums and asks her many questions about them. He tells her he knows a lady who said to him "if you ever come across some nice chrysanthemums I wish you’d try to get me a few seeds" (paragraph 56). Elisa is overjoyed by any interest in her flowers and gives the man chrysanthemum sprouts to take to his friend.
...a, escaping Calypso and the island of Ogygia, and Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos and Sparta in search of his lost father. While The Odyssey tells of the courage both men demonstrate during their respective travels, their quests are the results of the intentions and desires of gods. Odysseus is trapped in exile on Ogygia by the will of Poseidon, whose anger Odysseus attracts when he blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and by the love of Calypso, who wishes to make Odysseus her husband. He is released from Ogygia and permitted to return to Ithaca only by the command of Zeus, as delivered by Hermes. Telemachus, rather than being trapped physically, was detained emotionally, feeling helpless to repel the suitors wooing Penelope. Only through the motivation of the goddess Athena did Telemachus find the will and courage to embark in search of Odysseus.
In the end Odysseus is reunited with his wife and son and is regarded as a hero once more