Odysseus Journey Essay

1225 Words3 Pages

Journeys we take can be transformative, life-changing experiences. Life itself, in fact, is sometimes called a “journey.” Journeys need not always involve physical travel; one may cover much ground without ever leaving home. Choose two or more characters from the Odyssey and discuss how their travels (physical, emotional, imaginative, spiritual etc.) help to shape, develop, and transform them. Every journey one takes is a life-changing experience that transforms them in some way. Not all journeys are mainly about physical travel. Some are more spiritual or reflective as they happen without the person leaving home. In Homer’s The Odyssey, the physical journey of Odysseus has transformed him into a man of peace, courage and love, while the spiritual …show more content…

Odysseus is a part of the downfall of Troy after he and the rest of the Spartans hid inside the Trojan Horse and killed the Trojans with this plot. Basically, Odysseus seems like a man who loves brutality and fighting, although he may do this only in obedience to the King of Sparta. As he begins the journey back to Ithaca, Odysseus becomes a more loving man. In fact, most of the time, he longs for his wife and home. Early on, The Odyssey says, “But one man alone/ his heart set on his wife and his return – Calypso/ the bewitching nymph, the lustrous goddess, held him back/ deep in her arching caverns, craving him for a …show more content…

In fact, after hearing the famous Harper’s account of the Trojan War and how the Trojan horse ravage the city of Troy and how Odysseus “fought the grimmest fight”2, it is almost unexpected that the “great Odysseus melted into tears/ running down from his eyes to wet his cheeks”3. Also, he feels this during a time when he is witnessing a Trojan woman crying and flinging her arms around a husband who fell in battle. This is also the time when “Odysseus’ eyes ran tears of heartbreak now”4. Therefore, the memories of Troy somehow makes Odysseus regret the pain of heartbreak, and he uses the metaphor of the Trojan woman who lost her husband as symbol of the separation that he has had from Penelope. From this one can see that Odysseus has become not only loving but kind-hearted. The physical journey of Odysseus also brings him to becoming more sympathetic. In fact, After Poseidon tries to destroy the ship of Odysseus because of the god’s wrath upon him for killing the Cyclops Polyphemus, Odysseus feels depressed as he says, “And from there we sailed on, glad to escape our death/ yet sick at heart for the comrades we had

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