Essay Example on Odyssey: Homer's Captivating Masterpiece in Modern Times

Introduction

The story of Odyssey is one example of the captivating creatures of the legendary poet, Homer. Despite having been originally written during the classical era, it is still widely regarded in the modern era due to its unique episodic structure. The poem and story have been adopted in several different formats by modern artists and poets. This gesture goes to show how revered the author, Homer, is in literary circles. The same gesture was also extended by ancient Greek rulers such as Petronius, among others. Furthermore, the story has been a favorite to children not only in England but also in other continents, having been retold in several languages as well. With such success over the length of time that the story has remained relevant, it would no doubt be worth analyzing the main strengths that have kept the story of Odysseus a favorite from one generation to the other.

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The story of Odysseus is unique from most other hero stories in that apart from being a fascinating and epic piece that glorifies war and adventure, and it highlights the instance where heroism and adventure do not meet the common man's expectation. While the typical reader may anticipate heroes to be the ultimate superhuman being that is invulnerable to dangers and inconveniences of everyday life, Homer's Odyssey is entirely different. In it, we get to see the true nature of our heroes in the community, with their vulnerabilities being exposed in the poem. AAs such, it leaves the reader with a better understanding as to the true nature of life and adventure, far from the Fantasy world where most people would imagine when heroes are mentioned. The heroes in Homer's poem assume a more human form, undergoing tremendous challenges along the way to achieving their goals.

Literature Analysis

One of the main themes explored in the Odysseus is the art of war as was prevalent in ancient Roman society. The story by Homer is a classic contemporary poem about many personal experiences from the author's early life. The poem uses several classical elements of poetry to express these experiences, addressing a wide range of issues as recalled thus. In the poem, Homer takes the reader through his memories from childhood living in a foreign land, probably in an African American setting. The central theme explored in the poem is the issue of slavery and the impacts of these activities on women in the 19th century.

Through the poem, Homer decries the experiences of the women whose husbands were taken for slavery in a foreign land. She further mocks the values of the slave masters whose laws were used to enforce slavery on the black people. In the second stanza, for instance, she praises the wives of the slaves for braving the severe conditions meted on them and their husbands while standing firm for their rights and never losing hopes of ever getting their freedom back someday. Even further, she praises their courage in standing firm by their husbands in their fight for freedom, going as far as sacrificing their lives in situations where other men cowed. Inline 40 through to the end, Homer appreciates the women's strength of resolve as they undertook to fight the oppression imposed on them by their slave masters right to the end without any fear of repercussions and all the while believing fully in their course. Finally, she urges them on in their mission to attain freedom through all means possible, implying that every person on earth is equal in God's eyes.

The art of making a play is instead an underrated talent in the movie industry. The skill requires keen observation as well as extensive critical analysis for quality work to be presented in the first place. As a result, producers often employ different sets of talents in coming up with a storyline as well as scripting for the movie they wish to present. Even more daunting is the task of making an adaptation of the story from a previously written text. The success of the resulting film would be much dependent on the skills employed within to present the ideas in as original a manner as in the actual literature piece.

Homer's 'The Odysseus' is a classic story about the tribulations of a woman who finds herself in trouble with both the law and the society after her husband is found dead in her home. The setting of the story was in the early 1990s when the world thought very little about women, and their abilities to compete with men. As such, women were often treated with little regard and thus were subject to vices such as domestic abuse. Besides, oppression of women by their male counterparts was rampant among the communities of the time, leading to numerous injustices due to the inequality.

The character, after enduring a tumultuous and abusive relationship with her husband, eventually snaps and ends up murdering her husband in a violent domestic argument. The original story contained numerous symbolisms including to represent among others, the coldness of the captor's hearts which led to them committing such a heinous act against the king.

Gender and equality issues are some of the most sensitive discussions in any aspect of life. From violence to sexually motivated attacks, people have often found themselves dealing with lifelong challenges due to gender issues. "The Odyssey ", talks about masculinity and the various problems that arise due to gender-related beliefs and cultures in the society. In the text, the author talks about the culture of masculinity that has been developed in the US, where men are taught to be tough from a young age. Homer highlights the perception of violence that has been attached to masculinity.

Homer, in his discussion, points out the three fundamental lies that boys are taught as the defining factor of masculinity. First, they are taught that masculinity is defined by their level of competition against other men. Therefore, they strive to accomplish fitness at all costs and outwit others in all manner of competition to display their masculinity. The sexual contest is the second lie fed to boys as being the defining value for masculinity. Finally, the third lie is the association of masculinity with economic success. In these aspects, Homer agrees with modern society's views on the misconceptions that society associate with masculinity. He, however, differs with the status quo in their opinions on the impacts of the misconceptions of masculinity. While the author believes that these misconceptions go away over time on their own, others might see it as being the source of all the social ills we see in adulthood, including gun violence, gender violence, among others. The views also differ in that while Homer believes that the impacts affect everyone, Odysseus thinks that only a few of the affected boys will not know how to regain their status in society.

Though bright and convincing the rhetoric of the story of Odysseus in the poem, the story has loopholes in various parts that may render it untrue. For instance, it could not have been possible for the Greek hero to encounter and battle all the creatures that he comes across in the journey back home. Such a thought would be too simplistic to be valid on all accounts, making the story something of folklore that children would be taught for entertainment. Besides this aspect, the length of time that it takes Odyssey to get back home would be too much to believe, given that the soldier made his journey to the distant places he went during the wars in a shorter period. How thus could it take the man ten full years trying to find his way back home? Considering this instance would be akin to contemplating that the hero somehow lost his mind along the way during the war that he could not, upon the end of hostilities, get back home on his own.

The story of Odysseus is unique from most other hero stories in that apart from being a fascinating and epic piece that glorifies war and adventure; it highlights the instance where heroism and adventure do not meet the common man's expectation. While the ordinary reader may anticipate heroes to be the ultimate superhuman being that is invulnerable to dangers and inconveniences of everyday life, Homer's Odyssey is entirely different. In it, we get to see the true nature of our heroes in the community, with their vulnerabilities being exposed in the poem. AAs such, it leaves the reader with a better understanding as to the true nature of life and adventure, far from the Fantasy world where most people would imagine when heroes are mentioned. The heroes in Homer's poem assume a more human form, undergoing tremendous challenges along the way to achieving their goals.

The story of Odyssey bears a value in many places, as seen above. While most of the aspects discussed point to the hardships in the olden times, it also depicts the culture of the ancient Romans. From the reading, one can deduce the values attached to the old Greek tradition as well as the changes in lifestyle as we see today. The legend of Odyssey also points us to the skills of early poets such as Homer, whose use of rhetoric ensured that the ancient cultures live on today. Homer, in his discussion, points out the three fundamental lies that boys are taught as the defining factor of masculinity. First, they are taught that masculinity is defined by their level of competition against other men. Therefore, they strive to accomplish fitness at all costs and outwit others in all manner of competition to display their masculinity. The sexual contest is the second lie fed to boys as being the defining value for masculinity. Finally, the third lie is the association of masculinity with economic success. In these aspects, Homer agrees with modern society's views on the misconceptions that society associate with masculinity. While debate still rages on whether the story of Odyssey is true, many pointers indicate that this could not have been true given the several factors considered in the story. The theme of Homer's poem, however, was to bring out the struggles that the empire underwent during those times, and how they were successful in conquering them at last.

While the story of Odyssey has remained relevant over the past centuries as a significant hero poem that has been retold over and over again in literary circles, its popularity among the young generations is an indication of the modernity of its contexts. The story of Odysseus is unique from most other hero stories in that apart from being a fascinating and epic piece that glorifies war and adventure. It highlights the instance where heroism and adventure do not meet the common man's expectation. While the ordinary reader may anticipate heroes to be the ultimate superhuman being that is invulnerable to dangers and inconveniences of everyday life, Homer's Odyssey is entirely different

References

Minchin, E. (2001). Homer and the resources of memory: some applications of cognitive theory to the Iliad and the Odyssey (p. x). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Knox, B. (Ed.). (1991). The Odyssey of Homer. Oxford University Press on Demand.