In Stephen Stondheim’s musical, Sweeny Todd, Sweeny Todd says, “These are desperate times, Mrs. Lovett, and they call for desperate measures.” Todd and Lovett decide to make and market meat pies. The catch to their plan is the meat will be human. Sweeny Todd focuses on the decisions people make in desperate times. While normally no mentally stable individual would consider making pies out of human meat, the characters feel they will be unable to conquer their financial situation by any other means. Characters in other works may feel forced to make desperate decisions because they feel trapped by not only their economic situation, but by their relationships, family, and social situation. When analyzing a characters actions, one may decide to use the psychological lens of interpretation, a form of analysis, which is “heavily based on the idea of the existence of a human consciousness – those impulses, desires, and feelings that a person is unaware of but that influence emotions and behavior. Maslow’s higherarchy of needs theory discusses the effect human consciousness has on one’s actions and can be used to understand the motivations behind a character’s actions. By utilizing the psychological lens of interpretation in Homer’s epic The Odyssey, one can understand Odysseus’s violent reaction to the suitors in his home as a result of his instinctoid needs not being met throughout his travels and see how important it is for a man to feel he is respected by society. Instinctoid needs are the biological necessities humans share with animals. Maslow’s higherarchy of human needs theory assumes “needs are arranged in a higherarchy in terms of their potency. … The lower the need is in the hierarchy, the more powerful it is” (Hergenhan 477).... ... middle of paper ... ...h physically and emotionally stressful. It leaves many of his needs only partially fulfilled. By the time he arrives back at his home and is prepared to face the suitors, there are many needs that have remained unsatisfied. For Odysseus, the killing of the suitors serves as a final, desperate attempt to guarantee himself intimacy with his wife, safety, family, and respect. He sees no other way to guarantee the satisfaction of his needs without removing the people whom are currently causing him stress. His actions, though certainly not acceptable, show what happens when a person is faced with a desperate situation. Works Cited Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. W. H. D. Rouse. New York: A Signet Classic, 1937. Print. Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 8th ed. New York: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2008. Print.
In Odysseus's mind he has very good reasons to kill the suitors. He decided to kill them when he found out that they wanted to marry his wife. The suitors has all assumed that he was dead, for 20 years. As a result they tried to marry his wife. Penelope also believed that he was still alive and she tried to delay any marriages. Odysseus's idea to kill them all is not very logical especially because while he was away on his 20 year expedition he cheated on his wife two times. Odysseus actions were very rash. The reader can see this when Eurymachus says, “Rash actions, many here,” (Homer 818). Eurymachus knows that Odysseus has made rash decision and he is trying to show him his ways and how it is bad. Later the reader reads that Odysseus doesn’t really see that and he is just excited to be reunited with his wife.
In this paper, I will argue that although the surface meaning of this passage is the slaughter of the suitors by Odysseus and his men, the deeper meaning of the passage is the
Homer’s The Odyssey, a magnificent story of lust, deceit, greed, and heroism, still fascinates scholars and casual readers alike today in the same way it fascinated its audience at the time it was written. The Odyssey, a journey of determination, patience, and virtue, tells the tail of Odysseus, the main character, on his voyage home to Ithaka after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus goes through many unforeseen trials and tribulations, which exemplify his character. During these different happenings, Odysseus makes decisions that do not correspond to his character.
Odysseus is a Foolish and selfish leader, who makes rash decisions that kill his men just for his own personal gain.
With the Odyssey, Odysseus learned a big lesson in humility. The greatest example of this is in the last five books or so within the story. He has to dress, act, and live like a beggar in order to regain everything he had lost. While he was a beggar, the suitors treated him horribly. Antinous, leader of the suitors, was the worst of them all. He was the first to mistreat Odysseus and planned to kill Telemachus. He was also the one that would abuse him physically and verbally for some time to come. Also, if that weren’t enough, he planned a boxing match for Odysseus to be in to watch him get beat up. All this was happening and the other suitors were most likely following their leader in whatever he was doing. Odysseus had to control himself the whole time this was happening. If he had lost his temper, the suitors would have killed him, his son, and most likely taken over the kingdom. That didn’t happen though. Odysseus learned self-control and humility. He may not be perfect at it, but going through all the humility made him a better man. Along the same topic, he was a king going through this humility. It would be one thing for a peasant to go through it, but a king? This made it even harder for Odysseus. He had rank above all the suitors and could rightly kick them out of his kingdom. Instead he waits for the right time and kills them all. The “pre-journey” Odysseus would of thought of himself invincible and probably would have died trying to get his kingdom back.
The credible version of hierarchy of needs of Maslow (1943, 1954), have five motivational levels that are arranged in a pyramid with depicted levels. The stages are divided in basic needs which include, psychological, love, safety, and esteem. These needs are also primary of deficiency needs. The other needs are growth needs which incorporate self-actualization needs. When basic needs are not met, they are said to motivate people. The strength of the desire of such needs depends with the time in which they are denied. For example, the more a person lacks food, the hungrier that person becomes. Basic needs must be satisfied before a person proceeds to satisfy other needs in the higher levels. When basic needs are satisfied reasonably, the person can now strive at achieving the self-actualization level, which is the highest level.
During his absence, many suitors propose to his wife Penelope. Upon his return, Odysseus and Athena decide to kill all the men who seeked marriage with his wife. Athena is excited to see Odysseus back to his god-like self, and asks him to “consider how [he’s] going to get [his] hands on these shameless suitors, who for three years now have taken over [his] house, proposing to [his] wife and giving her gifts.” (XIII, 390-393) Athena enjoys plotting against these suitors, which her language in talking about them shows. It should also be noted that she never asks Odysseus if he wants to kill the suitors. Immediately, she assumes that he is going to kill them. How is Odysseus supposed to turn her down? She is a goddess, and he is a god fearing man. His power to murder the suitors is infinite, with a goddess on his side. He is not abusing his power, but is in fact using the power that is expected of him by
...e might lay plans to kill our enemies” (XVI, 275-277). This quote shows that not only does he show trust in the gods, but how he has already planned out and prepared to kill the suitors. Ultimately, Odysseus overcomes his hubris by growing into a new person that contains humility.
Throughout the novel, Odysseus is on the constant race to get back to his family again. This is a sign of love and compassion, even though he doesn’t show that every time, like when he blinds Polyphemus. Odysseus wanted to know if his father was still well and alive, because he had been gone for 20 years now, and he has no clue what has happened to Laertes. I believe that there is a rollercoaster of emotions inside Odysseus at this point. On one hand, he had been wanting revenge on the suitors, and now that he has, he must feel accomplished. Then on the other hand, he is happy that he has gotten back to his family, and he shows concern for his father. I also infer that the reason that the parents of the suitors wants payback on Odysseus is because he had been gone for a long time, and he just showed up, and killed everyone. The parents didn’t even know for certain that Odysseus was back, they just knew that if someone had the strength to do it, it would be
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology that was constructed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper ‘A Theory of Human Motivation.’ This theory states the needs that Maslow believed motivated humans since birth, with the lowest level of needs at the bottom and the need for self-actualization at the top. The purpose of this paper is to take Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and use it to analyze the life of a character Achilles, from the movie Troy. His hierarchy contains five different levels. The first four are the basic needs, which motivate you into action.
He disguised himself as an old man so the suitors wouldn’t recognize him (Books 17-18). With the element of surprise, he defeated all of them and returned to his pre-war life with Penelope who took him back, with no questions asked (which is extremely annoying, but we will get into that later). Odysseus had to be one smart guy to come up with a plan like that. In today’s time, no one would even consider doing something like that. His plan required a lot of courage and intelligence and I commend him for
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs arranges basic human needs in the order in which people strive to fulfill them. Physiological needs, basic human needs, are the first necessity on Maslow’s hierarchy that people attempt to fulfill. Thankfully, I am able to say that all my physiological needs are met, for I am blessed with an abundant supply of food, water, shelter, and clothing. I cannot imagine what it must be like for people to live without having their physiological needs met, but I do understand that it has to be extremely difficult for people to focus on any other needs when they are living without the essentials of survival.
From the time of birth to the time of death, every single thing that happens in all creatures is based on cause and effect. For every action there is a reaction. Life itself is the domino effect. When something happens, there are various things to follow. When one possesses bad moral qualities, it can lead to bad behaviors that are often called vices. No matter what one believes in, he or she most definitely has a moral code. Whether it may be the "Ten Commandments", "Al Kaba 'r", or one 's own personal set of rules, there is always something to follow. Envy, in many instances considered the least profitable vice, seems to be one everyone succumbs to. Through idleness and an excess of curiosity, envy continuously infiltrates life today.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus's longing for his home and family is what drives the story. That is his one goal in the entire book, and that really states something about his character. In Book 5 we are first introduced to the character Odysseus. The strange thing is that he is weeping to himself when we first meet him. He is weeping because he pines for his family and home as stated in lines 327 and 328, 'Yet it is true, each day I long for home, long for the sight of home.'; As he plainly states, Odysseus greatly misses his home, and his tears show us just how much he misses it. In the duration of the story Odysseus has to make several sacrifices in order to get to the home he longs for so much. In Book 12, Circe foresees that Odysseus will have to let some of his men die. 'The Ithacans set off. But Odysseus never reveals to them Circe's last prophecy – that he will be the only survivor…'; This shows how much he's willing to do and...
Maslow's foundation need, the one upon all others are built upon, is physiological need. Air to breathe, food and water, and adequate sleep are all basic biological needs that the individual must have met. Not only to be motivated by the next level of need in the hierarchy, but to survive. The body's biological drives to fulfill these needs will predominate all other activities, as the very life of the organism is at stake.