...SIGNIFYING CIRCE IN TONI MORRISON’S SONG OF SOLOMON” “Signifying Circe in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon” is a critical essay written by Judith Fletcher. Within the essay Fletcher asserts that Song of Solomon’s structure is that of an archetypal heroic saga mixed with elements of African folklore. Fletcher explores how the character Circe, whose namesake is a figure of the same name in Homer’s Odyssey, is placed by Toni Morrison to guide the protagonist Milkman (Macon) Dead III. Fletcher also discusses how Circe’s character in Song of Solomon mirrors Circe’s character in the Odyssey in that she also sets the protagonist on his path to rebirth. Fletcher also Explores how Circe’s “association with animals is suggestive of her...
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...There are plenty of different ways in Homer’s The Odyssey that he portrays women in the epic. During this time period, women did not have many rights and everything was left to the men. In Homer’s poem, not only do women portray beauty, but they also portray power. Most women that are read about in this epic are usually a goddess that have great beauty or mystical powers. Homer also portrays them as smarter and wiser as men. Some of the women are evil but there are also some that are good. There are many women that portray power in this epic and the most powerful are Penelope, Athena, and Circe. One very important woman in the epic was Penelope. Not only was she Odysseus’s main goal to get back to, but she was also his motivation. Penelope was not...
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...Odysseus from Homer's The Odyssey is not a good role model. At times, Odysseus' curiosity can lead to some extreme situations and endanger the lives of his crew. Odysseus can also be very prideful of his clever work or achievements, causing unnecessary trouble later on. Furthermore, although Odysseus says that he misses his kingdom, wife, and son, and wishes to return to them dearly, he doesn't stay faithful to his wife. Book IX of The Odyssey provides an example of Odysseus' bad curiosity as it trapped him and his crew in the cyclops' cave. When Odysseus and his crew reach the island of the cyclops, they discover the cyclops, Polyphemus' cave. Odysseus, curious to see what the beast looks like, waits with his crew in the cave. When...
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...the Stoic interpretation of Homer’s and Hesiod’s epic poems is in many (although not in all) aspects an apology, meant as a response to the criticism of Xenophanes and Plato. Their point of view is based on a specific theory of transmission of knowledge and on a new reading of the common philosophical opposition of truth and opinion. The question about the possible allegorical status of these interpretations is heavily debated. On one hand, it was proven by several scholars that Heraclitus, the author of Homeric problems whose defense of Homer was often taken as the best example of a Stoic allegorical reading of epic poems, was not a Stoic philosopher. On the other hand, there is no consensus...
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...The Odyssey Haleigh Pavy O’ Brother where art thou is a great representation of the Odyssey. It shows great representation of the characters and mood and also of each other. It turns a fiction epic to a real life story. The Odyssey is a epic about how this king named Odysseus went over seas to the Trojan War. He was there for ten years, on his journey back he got cursed by a cyclops, he got all his men killed and he got stuck on circes island for seven years. Then after twenty years of being gone he finally returns home to suitors, impersonators, and he returns disguised as a beggar. O’ Brother where art thou is about how three escaped prisoners go off to find “treasure”. Everette who represents Odysseus really just wants to get home with...
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...Who do you think the grandest king is? Although some people would argue it is King Arthur others believe it to be Odysseus. Odysseus is the king of Ithaca in Homer's Odyssey. Both of these kings prove to be great but only Odysseus proves to be an epic hero. In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus proves to be an epic hero due to his cunningness, resilience, and determination. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus proves to be an epic hero due to his cunningness. Odysseus shows he is cunning in how he constantly overcomes the challenges the Gods face him with. The narrator says “I crouched with my drawn sword to keep the surging phantoms from the bloody pit” (Beers and Odell 776). This proves Odysseus is cunning by showing he is knowledgeable in how sought...
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...Patriarchy plays a major role in The Odyssey and victimizes several characters. The ancient Greek epic poem, by Homer, is about the journey of the Greek hero Odysseus to his homeland of Ithaca. During his 20-year struggle to return back home, he encounters many obstacles, including Poseidon who creates a deadly sea storm to punish Odysseus, women who hold him captive for a chance to win his love, and man-eating giants who kill many of his men. Despite all of these unfortunate events, he manages to make it back home to reunite with Penelope and the rest of his...
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...Over time, women have been portrayed as helpless in many cultures. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, it is clear that the Greeks were one to think that. Throughout the story, different female characters are introduced. None of them are exactly as they seem to be. they all negatively affect the male characters of the story at one point. Circe, with her beauty, deceives Odysseus’ men which results in them turning into pigs. The Sirens, with their voices, seduce the sailors and forces them to steer into the rocks. Scylla and Charybdis can be classified as dangerous by forcing sailors to choose between the two of them. They all play a part in Odysseus’ adventure home, but they delay his return rather than speed it up. Due to their assumption that women are helpless, they do not recognize the potential danger they possess. This allows the women to easily attack men. In “Book 10” of The Odyssey, the goddess Circe is given a role in Odysseus’ trip home. She is first seen singing and weaving as Odysseus’ crew decides to greet her. Upon entering her home, they notice dangerous animals such as wolves and lions are present,...
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...Odysseus of Ithaca: Famed or Fraud? Homer’s Odyssey tells the tale of the Trojan War hero Odysseus’s return home to his land of origin, Ithaca. Homer describes Odysseus as being one of, or possibly the greatest hero in all of Greece’s history. He is characterized as being a fearless, heroic man, who, with divine assistance, bests even the greatest monsters, and overcomes the most troublesome and life-threatening situations that he encounters, or the gods throw at him. However, if not for the assistance given to him by Athena, or any other divine figure, Odysseus’s journey would most likely have not worked out in his favor as it did, and he most likely would have perished within the very first books of The Odyssey. If divine assistance is what gave Odysseus his spark, courage and abilities, then are his abilities really justified? Who is the real Odysseus of Ithaca? Throughout many instances of The Odyssey, Odysseus is seen as this “almighty figure of excellence,” that can “never be beat or conquered.” However, despite the recognition that Odysseus deserves for accomplishing most of his feats, most of the work and assistance given to him was crafted by the goddess Athena; who constantly monitors Odysseus’s every move and protects him throughout the course of the tale. For example, on page 175 of the text, when Odysseus confronts the Phaecian princess Nausicaa, Athena personally makes him appear less menacing and worn. By doing this, Athena guaranteed that Odysseus would...
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...Name: Period: Odyssey Test Review Sheet Date: . . Answer these questions on a separate piece of paper. Use your notes and the text to help you answer these questions and comment for the Know, Identify, etc. statements. General knowledge: 1. List the characteristics of an epic. 2. List the epithets found throughout the story, know what each epithet describes, and know the effect of including epithets in the piece. 3. Know the places that Odysseus visited throughout the story (look at your map). If Odysseus had a specific obstacle or triumph at those places, you will need to know the details behind the events. For example, if Odysseus has to fight off a monster, you would need to recognize exactly how Odysseus escaped and won. List specific events from his journey here or on the map. If you are making notes on the map, simply write “see map” for this question on the review. There is no need to write the same information twice unless you care to. 4. Know what a Homeric simile is, identify Homeric similes found in the story, know what the similes are comparing, and the effect of including the Homeric similes in the text. 5. Know what an allusion is and be able to identify allusions mentioned in the text. 6. Know the characters listed below. You need to know what role each character has played throughout the story. Aeolus Athena Eurymachus Menelaus Calypso Helios Poseidon Agamemnon Alcinous Cicones Hermes Tiresias Antinous Circe Laertes Telemachus Ancient Greece and Background...
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...The Essential Role of Goddess in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey Just as women were viewed as inferior to men during Homer’s era, a first glance at Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey portrays goddesses as inferiors to gods. Despite the era’s bias to men, the goddesses are of equal importance to the plot of his stories as the gods. The goddesses play vital roles as either helpers or nightmares to men by often determining the results of an action. Homer did not establish the goddesses in his epics merely as minor structures to blend in the background. Rather, he established dynamic goddesses who were both powerful and intelligent. In fact, in many ways the goddesses controlled the gods by having an influence in their decisions and actions through manipulation, persuasion and guidance. By influencing the gods, the goddesses also played a large role as shepherds for human fate. The goddess’s constant intervention in the mortals’ lives was driven by favoritism, love or sexual desires, and their pity for the weak. Although the goddesses are often restricted from doing as they wish by the gods, they have proven, in many occasions, to overpower the gods through manipulation. Goddesses were often told what to do by the gods. Tasks such as delivering messages from Zeus were often carried out by Athena. Just as Hector told his wife, “Go home, attend to your own handiwork at loom and spindle, and command the maids to busy themselves, too. As for war, that is for men, all we...
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...About halfway into Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew continue their decades long journey back to Ithaca, facing many obstacles along the way. A reoccurring theme in this epic is deceit and temptation, factors that often Odysseus endures, but not all of his crew are so lucky. By analyzing this passage, there is evidence that temptation, especially from a woman, is dangerous, further delaying Odysseus’ journey home. There are underlying themes of the relationship of animals and humans as well. The passage starts off with the theme of temptation. Despite being oblivious of who was weaving in the house, the crew suggested, “whether it's a goddess or a woman, let's call her out now.” (Line 245). More often than not, Odysseus’ crew has succumbed...
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...Philosophies (Women)- Women play either a motherly role or that of a seductress. They are weakened along with being lost without a guide and a support. An example would be Penelope, wife of Odysseus since she is a mother, but while Odysseus is gone, and when suitors come along, in a way she tempts them in terms of power (of the role of king) and as a woman, but she actually never gives in to any of the men. The purpose of women was mainly to lament the losses for their men and also persuading for their safety. Criticism- Homer had written the Odyssey with a bit of over-the-top reiteration, along with the missing component of a sense of unity. However, even when Odysseus wasn’t on a scene, the lines of the story still indicate that he is...
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...Gender Inequality in The Odyssey In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, female inferiority and gender inequality are recurring motifs. As a woman during this ancient time period (approximately 700 to 750 BCE), it was common to be regarded as “a man’s property”, or in other words, to be held to a double standard. In his poem, Homer demonstrates the inferior role of women compared to men, through multiple female characters. One specific character that significantly captures the idea and role of female inferiority is Penelope, Odysseus’s wife. Through close analysis of Penelope’s character and her relationships with men, it is evident that women in The Odyssey are held to a double standard. Penelope’s relationship with the suitors reveals female...
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...the Gender role in The Odyssey, specifically focusing on the women's role and how women's treatment by men can be indicated as sexist. They are usually identified by their looks and treated based on how their physical appearance is, and whether they have power over any men. She makes it clear that throughout Odysseus’ journey to the underworld, he spots and gets a glimpse of different variety of women. She says that throughout the Odyssey, they do not state anything about the women’s accomplishments in their lifetime, but only about their important son's, good looks and pleasingness, and their affairs with gods. She also talks about how women are known for their action and activity towards their sons and husbands, but never for the action and deeds of their own, or how they are, nor what accomplishments they did for themselves. Helene states that it seems in the book Odyssey, the only achievements women could achieve was being pretty and attractive to they eyes of the men. She proves throughout her paper that even Homer made it sound as...
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