Odysseus Is Equally Effective in His Use of Words and in His Actions, When Escaping from Difficult Situations on His Journey Home to Ithaca. How Far Do You Agree with This Opinion?

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Classical Civilisation Odysseus is equally effective in his use of words and in his actions, when escaping from difficult situations on his journey home to Ithaca. How far do you agree with this opinion? Refer to the books of the Odyssey which you have read. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus encounters many hindrances and through his use of words and his actions, he is able to either overcome these or have them manifested from a hindrance to help. Both aspects of Odysseus’ character are essential on his journey home to Ithaca as they allow him to succeed in situations where the average mortal would have given up or perished. The importance of Odysseus’ use of words varies throughout the poem and the first time we see him putting his words to good use is when he is leaving the island of Calypso in book five. Odysseus’ dialogue aims to compliment Calypso (seen by the noun ’immortality’ and noun phrase ‘unfading youth’) and instigate sympathy from her (suggested by the simple sentence ‘it is my never-failing wish’) in order to establish a good relationship before he leaves. Odysseus is aware that the gods are ruthless and should not be underestimated, so it is imperative that Calypso does not resent him, or he may risk his return home. This is a prime example of how Odysseus’ good manners and etiquette can manipulate a bitter individual into a content one, which is highly effective for him to ensure his escape from Calypso’s island. A much more effective use of Odysseus’ words is seen in book six when he encounters Nausicaa and her maids. Odysseus’ goal is to plead for help from Nausicaa, however in the revealing state in which he finds himself, he fears he may scare Nausicaa and cause panic. Therefore instead of acting on the normal Greek tradition of grasping ones knees to plea for help, Odysseus states ‘I am at your knees’ as a cunning way to establish safety

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