Wood In Homer's The Odyssey

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In Homer’s “The Oddysey”, he utilizes wood as a positive symbol. Many times, wood is a means of escape, safety, or otherwise protection. Wood is linked to civilization in many ways, like the wood used to stab Polythemos being olive and Odysseus and his crew building a boat out of wood (and boats themselves being wood). The first time Homer shows wood as an example of culture is when the olive stake blinds Polythemos and is likened to a ship’s mast. Later at Charybdis, his crew drowns, but Odysseus saves himself by hanging onto a fig tree. In the last chapters, Odysseus proves his identity by saying his and his wife’s bed is made of a living olive tree. Homer uses wood and trees protecting the crew to symbolize the safety of civilization. In …show more content…

Milennials and advancing digital technology are proof of how connected to society people are. Even if someone spends most of their time on a digital device, they are likely using social media to contant other people and stay connected. On the subject of farming like Homer discusses during the Cyclops meeting, the less processed food you allow in a diet, the less common it becomes. Farms and food processing facilities are everywhere today. Things like bread and fruit juice (a bit more common than wine now because of drinking age) are so common we take them entirely for granted. Millions of people survive because of how society works, through organized or individual charities or taking smart advantage of the wastefulness of many people. Homer’s theme in The Oddysey may have been created with the thought of conquering and converting in mind, but it applies to describing how necessary the world’s system of living is and highlights how many take these important elements for granted. The Oddysey’s moral can be applied in many ways across any time in history, which is what makes it one of the most famous works of literature in the

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