The Homeless Bird and The Odyssey
The Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan, is an award winning book which reflects the story of a young girl who became a widow in a young age and how she suffers in life, but in the end achieves what she wanted for herself. Meanwhile, the Odyssey is an epic book containing chapters of poem by Homer, it conveys the story of Odysseus who had to suffer greatly before his long-wished homecoming, mainly due to the wrath of the Gods after the Trojan War. In both novels, the characters suffers from their ill-fated life, but had to strive to live their lives to the fullest in an attempt to achieve their dreams and their great desires. The two stories project the idea of before achieving something, a person should suffer
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In the Homeless Bird, Koly was conned into a marriage to a boy who was sickly and in return became a widow after her ‘husband’ died. “While we were alone for a minute, Maa said, ‘The boy is much younger than they told us, and he is sickly” (Whelan, Chapter 1). With the lies and deceit of Koly’s in-laws, she suffered the consequences of being marked as a widow and experiences the pain it causes. By the theme of lies and deceit, the readers can actually visualize how much pain she should go through in following her life story. Meanwhile in the Odyssey, the family of Odysseus was driven by the fact that he will not ever return, In the other hand Odysseus was totally hopeful to have a homecoming in his hometown. “Eurymachus, there is no hope of my father’s homecoming. I believe no messages anymore, even should there be one, nor pay attention to any prophecy, those times my mother calls some diviner into the house and asks him questions” (Homer, 1, 413-416). Even Though Telemachus has recently had a conversation that his father is alive, he chose to keep the truth to himself in order to protect himself and his mother from the wrath of the suitors if they would know the truth. By giving others lies and deceit, Telemachus saved only not his life but also those he had cared for. Furthermore, the theme of Lies and Deceit within the context also helped in achieving the things that the characters had wanted for the future. Overall, the Theme of Lies and Deceit, was portrayed in both the Odyssey and the Homeless Bird, by analyzing this theme, readers can be notified as to what type of character and what each of them are having in their individual life. Furthermore, the theme alson portrays the moral lessons of lying, eventhough lying is a bad thing, when lying to protect
Homer shows that Odysseus has feelings too, though he went through his journey without heartache. When Odysseus reunites with his son, Telemachus, he begins to shed tears of sadness and joy because it has been forever since he has seen him. As well he shows anger towards the suitors and Penelope because the suitors disrespected his wife and his home by trashing the home, eating his food, and plotting to kill Telemachus who is heir to the throne. Odysseus was also mad at Penelope because she devised a test to see if Odysseus was the real Odysseus which made Odysseus furious because nobody except for a god could move his
He is mocked and ridiculed when he tries to convey an assembly to get rid of the suitors and declare his plans to go searching for news of his father. Telemachus lacks the kind of respect that was shown to his father and as heir to his father’s political position, doesn’t
During this scene, Odysseus is still disguising himself as a beggar. Odysseus is trying to locate his son, Telemachus, so he can talk to him after a long period and reveal himself to Telemachus after being away from him for so long. Telemachus labels Odysseus as a god, causing him to answer with: “No god. Why take me for a god? No, No./ I am that father whom your boyhood lacked/ and suffered pain for lack of.
1. Book 3 shows the importance of Odysseus leaving his home and taking action, so that he could learn about his father and most importantly, grow up. It was important that Telemachus went to visit old Nestor, because his journey would teach him how to live independently and force him to take charge of his life and Ithaca. During his journey, Telemachus would have to overcome all of the problems that he faces by himself. This would teach him many valuable lessons and force him to mature into a young adult.
When Telemakhos found out that his father was home, he was overjoyed. Odysseus had been gone for over a decade but that did not matter to Telemakhos. He was so happy that his father was home, so he didn’t care that he had been gone for so long. It reminded me of the story The Prodigal Son from the bible. He welcomed his father home so lovingly even when he hadn’t seen his father since he was a baby.
In The Odyssey, Homer characterizes Telemachus as a young boy that lacks the qualities of maturity and confidence required in the place of his absent father, later transforming him to a man who is assertive and aware of his obligations as the prince of Ithaca. Because of Telemachus’ growth as a character throughout the text, Homer influences the audience to believe that when one is left in the midst of trials, harboring the absence of an influential figure, one must emulate the characteristics left in their memory and adapt them to the journey they have yet to take. According to Part 1, Telemachus “has been searching the Mediterranean world for his father, who has never returned from the ten-year Trojan War” and did not get the luxury of a
273-275). This shows Telemachus being weak, because he has lost all hope for his father and his return and he also holds belief that his father, Odysseus is dead. This proves that Telemachus is still a boy in the beginning because, he is showing weakness by giving up and believing that Odysseus is dead and will never return. Another example of Telemachus being weak in the beginning is that he continues to lose hope and doubt his father 's return to Ithaca. Telemachus says, “Eurymachus, clearly my father 's journey home is lost forever/
In Homer’s Poem, The Odyssey, Penelope is the exceptionally patient and clever spouse of the infamous hero, Odysseus, and the mother of Telemachus. One poignant factor of Penelope’s character is her patience and devotion which is displayed throughout the poem. With her husband absent for a great majority of her life for the later of twenty years and his location unknown, Penelope stays, patiently awaiting Odysseus’ return, all whilst preserving their estate and raising her son by herself. Throughout this time, she had many persistent suitors in pursuit of her, abusing her husband’s absence.
All through The Odyssey, the characters develop in a certain way that interchanges the outcome of the book. Odysseus is able to develop knowledge and wisdom to deal with his men during the battle and the suitors who were frustrating his wife. In addition, he came back home as a hero after the Trojan War. Telemachus developed into a mature man who could deal with any problem in his father’s absence. However, based on the story, it is evident that, Telemachus demonstrates a great change basing upon the times the characters were away from Ithaca.
In the novel, The Odyssey translated by Robert Fitzgerald, Telemachus gives a speech to Ithaca. He argues to the suitors about disrespecting his father Odysseus’ home even though they think Odysseus is dead and will never come home. Courageously, from the heart, Telemachus goes up against the suitors to state control over the key social practices of marriage hospitality. Telemachus’ speech was effective because it showed pathos, logos, and ethos. Telemachus looks and acts the part of his father, astonishing those who presumably knew him as a boy.
Before leaving The Land of the Dead, Teiresias told Odysseus that they will face destruction and only he will survive to return home. After the prophecy, Odysseus and his men encountered Charybdis and Scylla. To avoid destruction, Odysseus demanded his men to sail the ship quickly through Scylla and hug onto the cliff. Odysseus did not want his men to lose hope and turn against him if they knew that only Odysseus would return home. To avoid his men going against him, “Odysseus does not tell his men of Circe’s last prophecy-that he will be the only survivor of their long journey,” (Homer 716-719).
In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus uses lies as a protective disguise against strangers. Not only does Odysseus utilize lies to keep his identity a secret but also, through the use of specific language, he conveys unspoken points. These points invoke different feelings and opinions in the people to whom he lies. Odysseus can quickly tailor his lies depending on the person and the situation he is in. Odysseus’s skill of creating intricate falsehoods and his use of lies as a way of controlling the thoughts of person he’s lying to, reveals his exceptional tact and guile.
Deception is a recurring theme throughout the novel. The Greeks used numerous tricks and lies when telling their famous myths. Stories such as Europa, Odysseus and Polyphemus, and the legendary Trojan war exemplify the trickery among the gods and goddesses, heroes, monsters, and mortals. In the story of a beautiful maiden, Europa, Zeus fell in love with her because Aphrodite and Cupid shot him in the heart with an arrow of love.
In spite of the fact that Homer’s Odyssey is an epic story of a man’s gallant journey, women play a huge part throughout. Their unique yet controversial personalities, intentions, and relationships are vital to the development of this epic and adventurous journey of Odysseus. The poem by Homer was written at a time when women had an inferior position in society, yet that didn’t stop them from being any less influential. All of the women throughout the Odyssey possess different qualities, but all of them help to define the role of the ideal woman.
Penelope and Odysseus’ use of tricks and deception are both a help and a hinderacne in allowing the former to avoid a second marriage and confirm her husband’s identity and the latter to attain nostos. Odysseus is wise not to tell his crew of Skylla, but should have divulged the contents of the bag of winds. Similarly, Penelope’s trick with the bed was harmless and successful, whereas undoing her work on the shroud has severe consequences when she is caught. As Homer’s Odyssey demonstrates, tricks and deception must be used wisely in order to avoid problematic