Richard Rodriguez RN102 Due 12-19-2010 From “City Sacker” to “Great Hearted”: The Transformation of Odysseus The purpose of an ancient journey, especially that of an ancient hero, is to conduct the hero across difficult thresholds of transformation that demands change in the pattern of the hero’s life. In The Odyssey, the protagonist and hero, Odysseus is returning from a 10-year war in Troy and thus embarking on his own great journey. As Odysseus progresses along his journey he faces conflict externally, however the key conflict he faces is internally. He is struggling to find himself between two identities; the “godlike” hero and “city sacker” and the “long suffering” hero with a “great heart”. Early on it is Oddyseus’ warrior persona that prevails, but ultimately begins to recognize his limits.
Odysseus was the King of Ithaca and his wife, Penelope, was the niece of the King of Sparta. Together they had a son named Telemachus. One story says that when Odysseus was called upon to enter the Trojan War he pretended to be crazy to avoid going. An oracle had told him that he would not return for 20 years and that he would return as a beggar. His ruse failed when he was forced to show his sanity in order to save his infant son’s life.
Athena’s presence is prominent and fundamental in Odysseus’ journey; this great goddess saves Odysseus an exuberance of grievances, ranging from the shipwreck early in the poem to the battle of the suitors towards the end. Despite fighting for Odysseus’ freedom for twenty years, and aiding him in his homecoming in a matter of days, there is a crucial moment where Athena remains inactive. Prior to his release from Ogygia, Calypso’s island, Odysseus encountered a series of devastating events. One of many is in the sun god, Helios’ island, whereby Odysseus’ crew devoured the god’s cattle despite previous warnings. In this scene Athena inconveniently chooses to remain inactive, causing an abundance of tribulation.
Additionally, Odysseus has come to the “sad darkness” of the Underworld and has to make a tough decision based upon freeing his mother or talking to Teiresias (11,190). As the epic hero chooses to talk to Teiresias over saving his mother, it emulates that he has changed into an impartial person by picking the choice that will have a greater affect on his life later
The recent popular movie, starring Brad Pitt as the main protagonist and the tragic hero of the film, Troy, is a screen adaptation of an epic poem The Iliad attributed to Homer. Although covering the last of the many days in the final year of the nine year siege between the Greeks and the Trojans, it tells of the battles and trials during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. It is interesting to note that during the last scenes of this movie, Aeneas, also the central character of the poem The Aeneid, is shown fleeing the burning city of Troy with his father and son, and fellow Trojan warriors through a tunnel. This very scene literally and metaphorically gives way to the Roman version of what would be retold by the Roman poet, Virgil in his account of Homer’s story, The Iliad, in the first century BC. In Virgil’s The Aeneid, after sailing for Italy, where Aeneas’s preordained destiny to found a city of Rome lay, a terrifying storm throws them off their course to a land named, Carthage, where Dido, the queen of the land welcomes them.
The Odyssey Literary Analysis Homers classic poem “The Odyssey” recounts the tale of a man’s ten year journey home from war, in which he faces trials and many life threatening situations. Throughout Odysseus’s journey he faces various tribulations in which his loyalty is tested. The epic poem proves that Odysseus will do anything to make it home. In the odyssey, Homer utilizes, Alliteration, Anaphora and diction to communicate that Odysseus will go to any extreme to make it home to his family. Homer utilizes Alliteration consistently through the epic poem, thus in result helps the theme in the text stick out more clearly.
Black Boy: Redefining Success All over the world, regardless of where people come from, they all share a common yearning in life—a propensity to fulfill their personal hopes and dreams. Profound literature often depicts the self-defining journeys people must undergo in their individual struggles to prevail. Entwined with penetrating imagery and resonant metaphorical language, Richard Wright brilliantly validates the unrelenting fortitude of those who must endure a particularly challenging course to succeed in attaining their goals by battling society’s inhibitions. While others physically fight against one another, Richard must triumph in a battle against the racial and economic injustices that keep him tightly bound to such deplorable conditions. Richard, unlike his community and family, indomitably stands against the black tradition of acquiescing to the embedded racism.
What is it about the heroes of ancient Greece that continues to fascinate readers thousands of years after their origination? Perhaps it is the tales of glory and the impossible feats of the heroes or the certain death that awaits them. Whatever the reason, the life of the Greek hero is one of intrigue and intoxication. The life cycle of the Greek hero is divided into events spanning his extraordinary birth to his untimely death and accentuated by his accomplishments throughout his life. This essay will analyze the recurring events, patterns, and traits in the typical hero in conjuction with the lives of Achilles, Heracles, and Odysseus.
The situation didn’t get any better. Odyssey landed on Kalypso's island and was held captive there for seven years. Luckily, Zeus took pity on Odyssey and forced Kalypso to let him go. There were many obstacles on his way home, but fortunately, Odyssey told his story to the Phaiakians, they were touched by his suffering and decided to help and sent him home. After Odyssey arrived his house, he dressed up as an old beggar and told Penelope, his wife, to host a contest.
A quest myth is format for a story, in which a man, many times accompanied by an assistant, goes on a dangerous journey to fight for a trophy. This trophy is something that they bring back, such as gold, swords, armor, or many times safety for the people. The prize is not just for the hero’s own personal gain or glory, but also for other people around them. The structure of a quest myth is underlying in all stories from the earliest, Beowulf, to the more recent. In Beowulf, the protagonist must go through several challenges in order to complete the story.