Analysis of Calypso in the Odyssey

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Analysis of Calypso in The Odyssey Julianna Ignacio English, Period 8 10/14/2012 Insecurity can strike anyone. It can be found in the brightest and happiest of places. It makes you feel worthless, depressed, and unlike the real you in every way. It can make people feel like they are a more inferior version of themselves and less than others. It can make people reach out to others and cling on to them, or make them obsessed with those who are kind to them. Calypso is a goddess who is exiled on the island, Ogygia, and later Odysseus, the man she falls in love with and a war hero, washes up on her island. She tries to tempt him by telling him he will receive immortality if he stays on the island and leaves his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus. However, Hermes is sent by Zeus to inform Calypso of the repercussions if she continues to tempt and keep him on her island. Calypso is a troubled and obsessive temptress. She seems like the type to have “Daddy issues” and is the epitome of insecurity, reaching out to others and clinging onto them to make her feel better about herself. (MORE SET UP) Calypso is definitely lonely when Odysseus describes how, “he lay with her each night, for she compelled him” (Homer, line 83). This shows that all Calypso wants is human companionship, and will do anything to get it. She wants companionship of the closest kind and uses her femininity to tempt an already worn-out Odysseus. Calypso is temptatious when she says, “If you could see it all, before you go—all the adversity you face at sea—you would stay here, and guard this house, and be immortal” (Homer, lines 109-111). This not only shows that she wants to warn Odysseus, but also tempt him to stay, by telling him how it would be so much easier to stay and be safe, instead of trying to live through hardships. Calypso is insecure when she says, “Can I be less desirable than she

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