...1 English 9 Honors 14 May2016 The Power of Loyalty What is the value of loyalty? In the epic poem “The Odyssey” by Homer, the virtue of loyalty leads to positive and negative results. Loyalty is a devotion to a cause. In this case, Odysseus. Loyalty and disloyalty were demonstrated with Penelope, the suitors, and Odysseus’ crew. Penelope's loyalty to Odysseus can be seen throughout the epic poem. She remains a devoted wife to her husband. While the suitors invaded her house she told them to wait so that her “Weaving will not be useless and wasted... Thereafter in the daytime she would weave at her great loom, but in the night she would have torches set by, and undo it. So for three years she was secret in her design”(2.93106). Penelope was making a shroud for Odysseus’ father and told the suitors, who were competing to marry her, that when she finished she would choose one of them to marry. She every night she would undo what she had done that day to postpone having to marry a suitor. Twenty years had gone by and Penelope had not heard a word about Odysseus, yet she still waited for him. In this she shows the reader her true devotion to her beloved husband, Odysseus. In book ten, Odysseus’ men were disloyal when they accused him of keeping riches in the bag of Aeolus. This resulted in a dire event. They had sailed for nine days and finally they could see their “People tending fires, we were very close to them. But then the sweet sleep came ...
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...Loyalty in The Odyssey Many human cultures assign values as well as worthiness to the existence of loyalty. As a Classical culture known for its emphasis of loyalty at home as well as abroad, the faithfulness of ancient Greeks in their relationships is exemplified in many Classical texts, such as Homer’s The Odyssey. In both ancient Greece as well as in The Odyssey, loyalty was the social norm because of the egalitarian nature of the city-state as well as because of the typical ancient Greek family structure. Not only because of social expectations as well as traditions was loyalty expected, but there was also an added pressure by one’s religious conviction such that it was believed that if the guests were in any way or manner mistreated, then the ancient Greek deities would punish the offender(s). There are several passages in Homer’s Classical text The Odyssey which illustrate these aspects of ancient Greek loyalty. In illustration of the faithfulness between Odysseus as well as his crew, there is a passage that notes loyalty in the crew-leader relationship: He saw the town as well as learned the minds of many distant men, as well as weathered many bitter nights as well as days his deep heart at sea, while he fought only to save his life, to bring his shipmates home. But not by will or valor could he save them, for their own recklessness destroyed them all- children as well as fools they killed as well as feasted on the cattle of Lord Helios, the Sun… (651). It would initially...
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...The Odyssey: Prompt Six Loyalty is a quality that’s earned through trust and love. It can be created from a relationship or acts of kindness and friendship. All of these types of loyalty are shown in The Odyssey, but the one that stands out the most is between Odysseus and Penelope. Throughout the stories they both long to be together, even when tempted to be unfaithful. In The Odyssey, Homer reveals the theme of loyalty using character’s actions and emotions; this becomes clear when Odysseus is determined to get home to his family. First of all, for twenty years Odysseus is away from his wife, Penelope, but throughout that time he is dedicated to her. When he is tempted with a beautiful woman, all he wants is to go home, “Though you wanted her forever,...
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...Immense loyalty between loved ones often proves tremendously painful. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, devoted husband and wife are in the position to part for twenty years. While separate, they face challenges that possess enough power to make or break their relationship. Odysseus must stay faithful to Penelope while also doing what is necessary to ensure his arrival home. Meanwhile, Penelope is stuck living with persistent, selfish suitors who exploit their power over her. She has no choice but to allow their abhorrent behavior. In order to prove their loyalty and love, the two must make arduous sacrifices causing excruciating pain. Therefore, Homer highlights the value of loyalty in this epic through the painful sacrifices characters undertake...
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...The epic The Odyssey by Homer accommodates many themes, one of them being Loyalty. Odysseus wife Penelope is a symbol of loyalty throughout the epic. Penelope’s loyalty towards her husband is seen in many ways. She is the epitome of a devoted wife. Examples of this can be seen in her creative ways of putting off many suitors who have taken over the house in Ithaca. Another example is seen in the clever tasks she has the suitors complete to keep them distracted and her self unwed. All of these tie into the general theme of loyalty in the Odyssey. In the beginning of the epic we see Penelope and the suitors in the house of Ithaca waiting to see which suitor penelope shall marry. Due to her loyalty to her husband she conjures up a plan in which...
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...From the wise words of Woodrow Wilson, “Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice”. An important aspect in building relationships with others is loyalty. In the book, The Odyssey by Homer, loyalty plays a huge role. A Greek hero named Odysseus took twenty years to return home from the Trojan War. During Odysseus’ way back to Ithaca, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus try to ward off the suitors who want to marry Penelope until Odysseus’ homecoming. On his journey home, the amount of crew members quickly declined and truly showed the loyalty Odysseus held for his crew. Notwithstanding that Odysseus shows a little bit of loyalty to his crew, he constantly puts them in danger, he doesn’t have a close bond with a majority of his crew, and he puts no...
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...Homer writes the theme of loyalty heavily into the Odyssey as demonstrated by the relationship that is had between Telemachus and his father, Odysseus. The prince, who does not have much of a memory of his father, is still determined to find information on what had happened to Odysseus and making sure the former king “’won’t be far from loved ones any longer’” (2: 183). The only knowledge the prince has about his father is what he’s been told by others and he firmly believes what they say and misses the man he has never known. He is loyal to his father by making attempts to bring him home to rid the palace of the suitors that plague it and to once again, be with Penelope. He praises the way his father ruled over the people like “’a father...
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...Name: Hagar El Zohiry Class Section: 91066 October 27, 2015 Loyalty is one of the major themes discussed in both “The Odyssey” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Loyalty is seen through Penelope and her husband in the book, and McGill and his friends in the film. In this paper I will explore and compare the theme of loyalty in both the film and the book. Loyalty is seen in many aspects of the book, one of which is Penelope’s wait for her husband for twenty years without committing any act of infidelity. Moreover, she was in a very dangerous situation because of the suitors, and she didn’t just give up in order to survive. Instead she used her intelligence and fooled the suitors by telling them that she will choose after she is done with the shroud....
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...Demonstrations of Family Loyalty In ancient Greek societies where a woman’s most important role is that of caring for the home and family, the extent of a woman’s loyalty to her family is worthy of exploration. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Penelope is the wife of Odysseus, whose long absence from home tests her loyalty to him. In comparison to Penelope, Antigone from Sophocles’ Antigone is tested in family loyalty when a law forbids her to bury her brother. Jocasta from Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, similarly to Penelope, is tested when her husband’s innocence in a murder case is called into question. While Antigone displays more action in her demonstration of family loyalty, Penelope exhibits the ideal way of showing loyalty to one’s family as her willpower and careful strategies are more successful than that of Antigone and Jocasta. Women in most ancient Greek societies had few rights compared to men, and were submissive to their male superiors, but both Penelope and Antigone’s actions in defense of the loved ones contradict this custom. Penelope is more passive in her actions, telling her eager suitors, “‘Young men, my suitors… go slowly… until I can finish off this web… This is a shroud for old lord Laertes, for that day when the deadly fate… will take him down’”...
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...The Faithful Wife In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Penelope is portrayed as a grieving woman who remains loyal to her husband, even though suitors pursue her. In the poem, Odysseus’ wife Penelope is a hopelessly lovesick person who still grieves over Odysseus, though she has not seen him in twenty years. When her son Telemachus comes home from a long journey, he is surprised to find that Penelope has not married any of the suitors that pursue her. Instead, she remains in “‘the women’s hall’”(line 973) because she mourns over Odysseus and refuses to marry any of the suitors. Penelope has never moved on from her husband even though many believe the time has come for her to do so. Furthermore, Penelope’s loyalty is also one of...
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...A focal subject in "The Odyssey" is loyalty. Odysseus' commitment to his family, his nation and his god is immovable. Along his trip, Odysseus has the chance to be unfaithful to his better half. This would disgrace his nation and disregard his convictions. “Despite the fact that he now and then flounders and some of his choices have negative results, his faithfulness, adore for his better half and want to return home never fades.” p.58 Odysseus also has solid values with regards to self-control and sexual allurement. Despite the fact that the excellent Sirens endeavor to draw him off base, he cautions his men of their alluring ways, connects himself to his ship so he won't stray and fills his group's ears with wax. He additionally shows discretion...
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...The issue of Odysseus loyalty is that no matter how hard or how much he desires to be loyal, most of times he is forced to do the opposite. When he gets to Calypso’s island, the sweet nymph, any man would want to stay because she offered him to become immortal. Only someone loyal to their desire to get back home would reject such a great offer, but only he who is loyal to home denied it, Odysseus. Even though he is loyal to his home and wants to go back, he is forced to stay with Calypso for seven years. Throughout those seven years very night he would weep because he was forced to stay there. Odysseus is trialed with many obstacles in his way home, but for ten years he did not lose hope and never gave up. He had to go through many losses of men and had to motivate them to keep on going to reach home. Even though all odds where against his favor he always kept thinking of one thing, home. He kept being faithful and kept true to himself maybe not physically but mentally and spiritually....
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...As we are coming to the end of the Odyssey, Homer explains to the reader how Odyssey reestablishes his relationships with his son and wife. Because Odysseus left on a journey when Telemachus was just a baby, Telemachus’ relationship with his father almost does not exist until Odysseus returns home. It is clear that Telemachus has a lot of love and dedication for his father as he is overjoyed to see his father. He cried for a long time. Odyssey, on the other hand, seems calm and has a much more serious reaction when meeting his son for the first time in quite a while. The idea of a father and son relationships in general is an important concept in The Odyssey. We can see that Telemachus grows from a powerless child who will not take responsibility...
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...Vengeance is a cruel thing and in The Odyssey there is a lot of it. In the story The Odyssey, Odysseus let vengeance take over his mind. Vengeance is a bad thing to think about and you shouldn’t let vengeance take over your mind. Odysseus wanted to kill the people that were eating his food, drinking his wine, and trying to marry his wife. I believe that the most important topic in the story The Odyssey is vengeance. An example of vengeance is when Odysseus and his men stabbed the giant cyclops’ eye with a big spear on fire. Odysseus and his men stabbed the giant cyclops’ eye because the cyclops trapped them inside his house. The cyclops also ate one of Odysseus men. Than Odysseus let vengeance take over his mind and poked the cyclops eye. After Odysseus and his men poked the cyclops eye, they tried to escape and another of his men died. When Odysseus and his men escape the cyclops house they went straight to their boat and left. The cyclops told his dad Poseidon to revenge him and kill Odysseus and his men....
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...Loyalty is like a shadow it’s something that’s with you all of the time, but sometimes it’s hidden. Most people don’t show their loyalty hidden, but loyalty is something that’s not supposed to be hidden .To me loyalty is when someone is there for someone else. Loyalty is a characteristic many people should strive to have; it earns the trust and respect of many. A loyal person would never be able to fail someone because they are trustable. Loyalty is everywhere and there are many different kinds of loyalty. Loyalty to strangers is one of the many different kinds of loyalty. We have all showed loyalty to strangers at least once. When people follow rules somewhere either at school, work etc. This shows loyalty. Loyalty doesn’t only earn the respect of someone, but being loyal to a stranger show that you respect them even if you don’t know them. When we follow rules at some place it shows we are staying honest to the rules and the rule makers. Our honesty shows loyalty. Another type of loyalty is to friends. We all have friends, but there are many components to being loyal to your friends. When your friends tells you something and they expect you to keep it a secret, keeping this a secret shows loyalty. Not keeping the matter a secret will show disloyalty. Disloyalty will lose a friend’s trust and it will be really hard to regain a friend’s trust when it’s been lost. When a secret, which is supposed to be kept, gets out the friendship itself is in danger of breaking. Helping...
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