The Odyssey: An Epic of Return, Term Paper Example

Ancient literature is considered to be any scientific and religious document, plays, poetry, tales, and other styles of writings recorded on different media such as stone tablets, stone, metal, and papyri. Before the vast spread of writing, oral means were used to convey different literature from one generation to another. The method was not effective because the message would be distorted in progress, and only fragments would remain of the information. This would lead to a new making-of different stories using the fragments of information that people possessed. Over the years, the writing technique spread to ancient nations that were advanced and recorded significant information and stories on different forms like the palm leaves. A number of ancient writings have been lost over the years mainly due to the chaotic nature of humans before civilization and advanced negotiation methods. One of the countries that have lots of ancient information was China which has been preserved for many years and passed from different generations. Preservation of history is important because it acts as a light of guiding humans on the best direction to follow after learning their mistakes from the past. This paper will analyze Odysseus in Odyssey.

Odyssey is a story written by Homer around 2700 years ago. The story is about the adventure of a Greek hero known as Odysseus and is known as Ulysses in Roman Mythology. The hero is involved in the Trojan War, but he does not want anything to do with the war. This is not because he is afraid to fight but because he is afraid of the prophecy predicted. The prophecy was that he would take a long time to arrive home if he fought. He does not want to be away from his family for such a long time, so he plays-acts to be a lunatic. The hero, during his harrowing, after twenty years away, returns to Ithaca (Thalmann 10). For ten of those years, he has been fighting and was loyal to the Trojan Wars. Odyssey is an epic poem that is written in twenty-four books traditionally that are linked to Homer, an ancient Greek poet. The poem is about Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, who goes around the world for ten years after the Trojan War, and finally misses home and tries to get back. When he returns, the King finds that he is recognized only by a nurse and his faithful dog (Thalmann 45). No member of his family remembers him, and through his son’s help, Telemachus, he destroys the continuous suitors that disturb his faithful wife. Some of the suitors fraternized with the King’s maids, and they are also destroyed by the King, who reestablishes himself during this period. Odysseus gets back to his kingdom, and the people of his nation recognize him again after ten years of wandering around.

Odysseus is the main character of the story, and he does not undergo drastic change. The character is reasserted as the character that is expected to be. Odysseus is a character who is self-assured, embodied by the mores and standards of his culture and self-assured man. Odysseus receives favor from the gods while admired and respected by the mortals proving that he is a great man destined for great things. Even the dreadful event of Poseidon fail to stop him from going home. The character is confident in a manner that he represents virtues in the presence of a modern audience that is insured of what they are doing. The character lives a series of contradictions, a characteristic that is not normal in an epic hero. Odysseus can be compared to the great warrior Achilles, who is found in The Iliad.

Achilles is a two-dimensional character. Achilles has an undoing flaw that can be well-identified as hubris, where he has misguided pride. This trait is one of the unique traits that differentiate Achilles from Odysseus. Achilles is a much simple character than Odysseus, who is complicated. According to the myth, during that time, Achilles was asked to choose by the god between living a short and glorious life that was full of heroism and excitement or a long life that had no fame or recognition. Achilles preferred to choose the short, glorious life, which helped him to have immortality through intense and valor while living an honest life. Odysseus, on the other hand, is a complicated character. Odysseus lives by his courage and wiles. He is a bright person and often makes an evaluation of the situation, proving that he does logical thinking before making a choice. When the choice seems to be effective. Odysseus prefers to lie, steal his way in, or cheat in order to surprise individuals in a manner that nobody was expecting him to be an epic hero (Thalmann 16). Odysseus is a self-disciplined individual, as we see when he refuses to consume the lotus. The curiosity of Odysseus, at times, is the cause of an immense amount of trouble, as witnessed in the Cyclops.

Odysseus is curious about knowledge and willing to pay any price to get the knowledge. Odysseus is insistent on hearing the call of the Sirens, even though he needs to be tied to the mast of the ship in order to prevent him from capitulating to the temptation of the sirens. He can become merciful, as seen when sparing the disloyal maidservants. Through his adventure, he develops his personal code of conduct that he uses to guide him in his life. Odysseus is different from Achilles in a great way because he is more contemplative and still capable of engaging in explosive violence.

Odysseus is an epic of return, a hero who is absent, in transition, wandering, and returned. Victory is what motivates him. When he won the Trojan War, Odysseus was motivated to return home and live a good life in Ithaca. In every step that he took to return home, another different challenge was introduced to him. Odysseus is concerned with victory from a cultural and practical perspective. In the world of Homer, where there is no justice system of police, might is responsible for making things right. In such a system, the strong usually survive and prevail. Odysseus, in his life, has two choices, either victory or death. Even if Athena intervenes on behalf of Odysseus, she leaves the ultimate failure or success to Odysseus. For example, in the battle of the suitors that happened when Odysseus had returned home, Athena would easily win the battle, but she let Odysseus get the victory. The development of Odysseus as a character is complicated because “he is a man of turns and twists.” The character does not seem to stop wandering around his life. Even though the character keeps on wandering about his life, the reader should understand the story is not a lesson plan for development. Upon leaving Troy, he was already known as a hero in his region. His taking part in the warfare was very important because it helped the Greeks to win. Odysseus acted like an old beggar to infiltrate the enemy. Through the Trojan horse tactic, the Greeks were able to defeat Troy.

According to Stanford’s discussion, the etymology of Odysseus’s name is ambiguous because of the different emotions that are described by the name. There are different emotions involved in the character making it difficult to understand him. In the poem, Odysseus is displayed as a man of different emotions at different times, such as affection, grief, anger, and triumph. The traits associated with Odysseus are different from those of a normal hero because they are more specific to those traits linked to humans. Humans usually lie, have different emotions, think logically, and cheat, often even on their families (Thalmann 16). Odysseus had these characteristics, which are normal to humans. According to Stanford, the opinion on the character has changed greatly over the years with a different attitude towards Odyssey. Previously, the poem was analyzed from an ethical perspective, but over the years, it has been analyzed from a linguistic approach. This has enabled the human nature of the character, Odysseus, to be analyzed in a literary figure, making him the most open. This makes it possible for the character to be told and analyzed each time differently.

In conclusion, Odysseus is a character that was expected to be, and there is no drastic change in him. He is favored by the gods, intelligent, and courageous, and throughout the poem, he does not change a bit even after wandering. When he comes back home, he returns as a hero and restores back his glory and kingdom by destroying the suitors that were disturbing his loyal wife. Odysseus is a complicated character who is a hero and has human traits which are different from typical heroes. This makes it possible for one to analyze the character Odysseus in a literary style.

Works Cited

Fagles, Robert. “Homer.” The Odyssey New York, NY: Penguin Books (1996).

Thalmann, William G. The Odyssey: an epic of return. No. 100. Macmillan Reference USA, 1992.