...There are many essential emotions that form the building blocks of our lives. These emotions help to shape the people that we are. These feelings are emotional necessities to ultimately keep us happy. No piece of literature these feelings more evident than the Odyssey by Homer. Throughout the course of this book there is one major emotional theme: love. Often times in life we search for a companion, someone to share our love and life with. Odysseus and Penelope's lasting relationship is an obvious representation of love in the Odyssey. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Penelope also exemplifies this same kind of love for Odysseus. At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shroud and delaying her marriage to the suitors that are courting her. She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return. Odysseus and Penelope's marriage clearly illustrates the theme of love. The Odyssey also illustrates other relationships where love is of great importance – one of the most emphasized is the father-son relationship between Odysseus and Telemachos. This relationship is a little awkward because they both never really got to know each other but they still care for each other's well being. When Odysseus hears of all the suitors devouring Telemachos's future fortune and mistreating him, he wants...
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...There are many essential emotions that form the building blocks of our lives. These emotions help to shape the people that we are. These feelings are emotional necessities to ultimately keep us happy. No piece of literature these feelings more evident than the Odyssey by Homer. Throughout the course of this book there is one major emotional theme: love. Often times in life we search for a companion, someone to share our love and life with. Odysseus and Penelope's lasting relationship is an obvious representation of love in the Odyssey. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Penelope also exemplifies this same kind of love for Odysseus. At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shroud and delaying her marriage to the suitors that are courting her. She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return. Odysseus and Penelope's marriage clearly illustrates the theme of love. The Odyssey also illustrates other relationships where love is of great importance – one of the most emphasized is the father-son relationship between Odysseus and Telemachos. This relationship is a little awkward because they both never really got to know each other but they still care for each other's well being. When Odysseus hears of all the suitors devouring Telemachos's future fortune and mistreating him, he wants...
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...The story is set in the present day. In comparison with the Iliad, the theme of the importance of fate is displayed through the different coincidences throughout the story. The theme of fate is illustrated through the different meetings and interactions such as the meeting between Sarah and Nathan, the meeting of Professor Apolland and his son, Aaron, and finally the meeting of all the characters in interactions with Marta. When Sarah wakes up from the entire ordeal and has gained confidence in sitting for her midterm. In addition, the idea of divine blessing is addressed when Nathan and Sarah are rewarded for their assistance from Professor Apolland, when he gave them an extension on their midterm for their help with both Aaron and Marta....
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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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...Through The Odyssey, the theme of hospitality is extremely important. In Grecian culture, being is a good host is highly valued and expected by guests. Hospitality was one of Zeus’s ground rules of ancient society. It is a crime against Zeus to commit an offense against a host or guest. Hospitality is an honorable characteristic. It was believed that not being hospitable would result in punishment from the gods. Throughout the Odyssey, three distinct events show the importance of hospitality during the Homer era. The first is Odysseus and the Phaeacian’s who are honorable hosts. The next is the suitors occupying Odysseus’s house, who are shown as horrible guests. Lastly, Odysseus is the guest of Polyphemus, who is an awful host. By comparing and contrasting these three events, one can show the importance of hospitality. The fear of Zeus compels the characters...
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...To compare the theme of exiles into nature in Gilgamesh, the Odyssey, the Iliad, and the Mahabharata is to compare how these exiles were brought upon the heroes and the consequences when the hero returns to society. The difference between the Mahabharata and the other three epics, is that the exile of the Kuravas was imposed on them by others. Though Yudhisthira is technically the only one in the family who brought it upon himself by playing the crooked dice game. For the most part, the exile of the Kuravas is not self-imposed. This is very different to the exiles seen in the western epics. In the Iliad, Achilles exiles himself for feeling shamed by Agamemnon, he chooses not to fight and instead have hundreds of his countrymen die. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh chooses to abandon his kingdom for an unplanned amount of time on a search for immortality somewhere in nature because of Enkidu’s death. Both Achilles and Gilgamesh exile themselves because of strong feelings they get. The exile of Odysseus is about brought on by himself, by making Poseidon extra mad, not leaving Calypso’s Island, among other transgressions against the gods....
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...Looking back over the expansive history of humanity, have the roles of men and women evolved? Not really. Women still work and watch over the house and such while the men go out to be breadwinners, but there’s still the underlying sexism that women are the ones who should be doing only the real woman’s work, raising the family, maintaining the house, etc. Men are still free to do as thy wish while no one bats an eye, whereas women are scrutinized for their non-conforming actions. This pushes females to morph, pressed by their situation, into more complex characters. A perfect example would be “The Odyssey” by Greek poet Homer. It’s very much an epic tale of male oriented heroic quests when, however, women play an incredibly large role as well. This epic tale revolves around Ulysses’...
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...The Odyssey In his epic poem The Odyssey, Homer uses the monomythic cycle and the motif of weaponry and bloodshed to gain better insight into Odysseus’s thoughts and feelings as he descends in to Hades’ realm. For example, once Odysseus enters Hades’ realm where he begins his search for knowledge and truth, going as far as to question the dead in shock of who he finds, “How is this Elpệnor, how could you journey to the western gloom swifter afoot than I in the blood lugger? (Homer 60-63). Odysseus’s extensive questioning help convey his need to acquire information. This also shows that at times he doubted his ability to survive. The motif of weapons and bloodshed is present throughout the epic, even in the calm yet uneasy atmosphere of Hades’ realm there is mention of weaponry “I spaded up the votive pit, and poured libations to the unnumbered dead…”(Homer 27-28). This helps capture how even in times of peace in Odysseus’ life he is surrounded by violence attributed to his past. The way he is also described as drawing his sword even in a place with no seeming threat also helps view his growing caution and worry. Literary Technique | Quotation | Identification of theme | Diction that helps create an idea of how great the Cyclops strength was. | “… and whisked away his great door slab to let his sheep go through- but he, behind, reset the stone as one would cap a quiver...” (Homer 338-340). | The brute strength the diction describes also portrays the idea that Odysseus...
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...Cohen’s fifth thesis my mind jumps to the extremes of possibility, danger, curiosity but most importantly remembrance and forethought. Once the emotions are quelled my most immediate thought is to the limitations that we face in this life. The fifth thesis is as defined by Cohen “The Monster Polices the Borders of the Possible: The monster prevents mobility (intellectual, geographic, or sexual), delimiting the social spaces through which private bodies may move. To step outside this official geography is to risk attack” (Cohen 10). As humanity progresses we often are left with two questions for every answer. This innate drive tempered by the very real and fragile existence is to be human. While this theme is repeated throughout...
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...Literature has always explored the theme of love. Love cannot be defined in just one way, there are several different types of love. Three types of love that can be found often in classic readings are eros(romantic), philia(friendship), and familial, or the love of family(“The 7 Types Of Love”). Love in literature is not far different than love in modern culture. The love titled philia can be found in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh has a strong love for Enkidu in the epic. Their love is solely the friendship they have. Gilgamesh wanted to fight Enkidu and destroy him to begin with. They were evenly matched as they were made alike. After Enkidu comes along, Gilgamesh changes his ways of being mean. They set off on a quest together to kill Humbaba, and together they succeed. The relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is the heart of the Sumerian epic. Enkidu and Gilgamesh first meet as enemies and fight each other. It is during this battle that Gilgamesh comes to understand that his thoughts about women and life in general could be wrong. He learns from Enkidu and Enkidu learns and becomes more `civilized' through his friendship with Gilgamesh. When the gods...
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...Christians and humans alike. Throughout the exploit on the Aeaean Island, the home of Circe, hero, Odysseus and his men were forced to utilize both innate and acquired tactics to advance to the next episode in their journey home. The reader is inescapably presented with examples of the king and his crew displaying the powerful characteristics of instinct, courage, obedience and wisdom as god-fearing men. Odysseus shows his fear of the gods most consistently through trust, though it is many times accompanied with disturbing obstacles. HEROIC CHARACTERISTICS AND LESSONS LEARNED After two days and two nights of a restless breather in their journey, upon sunrise, Odysseus immediately and instinctively sought a sign of human industry. (Odyssey 10.161) The irrefutable necessity of food and rest presented itself, though coupled with uncertainty of who or what may be encountered, brave Odysseus presses onward. The noble warrior and his countrymen are obligated to exude faith in the gods and themselves while diving into the unknown, yet again. Strategic Odysseus organized a plot to first feed his men, a need he realized must be met for optimal performance, and then send them out to scout, leaving himself as the overseer. Odysseus’ skill and wisdom is displayed when he captured the stag by using nature’s resources, mere twigs, to braid securely enough to hall the beast to his men for feasting (10.195). Hunger or the need for...
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...materials, write a definition in your own words. According to Leonard (2004), "Official myths like the Illiad and Odyssey, The Theogony- or the Bhagavad Gita or the Bible- are inevitably reconstructions from snatches of folklore and legend, artistically put together with an eye for drama and meaning. But real myths are, like one's own dreams, so fresh they are not yet recognized as myth or scripture and are fragmentary, imagistic rather than verbal, emergent, capable of forming many different stories at one" Dictionary.com defines myth as a traditional or legendary story. Myth is used in an academic context to address what is real and what is not real. Myth is used throughout society through stories and legends. These stories become part of our everyday lives through watching science fiction movies, reading science fiction books, and other books with mystical characters. Some legendary and traditional stories are St. Nick, Santa Claus, a stork, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy. Myths such as these are created for young children. The stork is easier to use to explain to a young child where babies come from rather than giving them the truth in detail. A myth is a story that we tell children to create a dramatic and more exciting effect. Myths are like fairytales. Why do myths from different cultures around the world address such similar or universal themes? Think about how myths explain the unknown and the tribulations of mankind. Myths from different cultures around...
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...Foundations of Mythology Laura Wunder HUM/105 October 8, 2013 Angelia Young Foundations of Mythology How is the word myth used popularly? For example, what does the statement, “It’s a myth” mean? In contrast, how is the word myth used in the academic context? After considering the definition in your textbooks and course materials, write a definition in your own words. According to Leonard (2004), "Official myths like the Iliad, Odyssey, the Theogony, or the Bhagavad Gita and even the Bible- are inevitably reconstructions from parts of folklore and legend, artistically put together with an eye for drama and meaning. However genuine sagas are, like an individual’s imaginings, so fresh, that they are not recognizable, as a myth or scripture and tend to be fragmentary, somewhat imagistic rather than oral, up-and-coming, proficient of developing various stories at one," (Leonard & McClure, "Chapter One / Robert Ellwood “Real Myths," 2004). Dictionary.com defines myth as a traditional or legendary story ("Myth," 2012). Such legends are used in a theoretical perspective to address that which is real and that which is not. Myths are used throughout all societies through stories and legends, which teach life-lessons. Such stories are a part of the everyday lives of all, through science fiction books and movies, including books about other mystical characters. A number of legendary and traditional examples include St. Nick, Santa Claus, storks...
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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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...Tennyson (Ulysses and Crossing the Bar) Presented by: Fatima Tawfiq ********************************************************** Tennyson Biography Alfred, Lord Tennyson, is one of the most famous poets in English literature. Many of his poems are standard of 19th-century literature and are critical and popular favorites. The body of critical work on him is immense, and although some of his work is seen as too sentimental today, his intellectual contributions to poetry and metaphysics are undeniable. Alfred Tennyson was born on August 5, 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire, where his father George was a clergyman. Young Alfred began writing poetry at a very early age, and published his first work "Poems by Two Brothers" at the tender age of sixteen. In that same year of 1827 Tennyson entered Cambridge University, where he befriended Thackery and produced his second collection, "Poems, Chiefly Lyrical". He also met Emily Selwood, to whom he became engaged in 1839. The Selwood family objected to the engagement, partly because of Tennyson's lack of money, and partly because his brother Charles was unhappily married to Emily's sister Louisa. Tennyson poured his energy into writing, and his "Poems" of 1842 made him extremely popular. He let his doctors convince him to give up writing for a time because of his poor health, but the respite was temporary. In 1847 "The Princess" was another success, and two years later Tennyson married Emily in a secret ceremony. When William Wordsworth...
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