Comparing Ifemelu And Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey '

Ayanna Camara
AP English 12
Ms. Brilliant
Summer Assignment
A Quest for Love Americanah is a novel in which follows two characters, Ifemelu and Obinze as they fall in love in Nigeria and are then separated from one another due to their countries political situation. Nigeria, at the time, was under a military dictatorship. Due to this, a vast majority of the community wanted to escape the country and many did, including Ifemelu. As she was able to successfully enter America, Obinze was not able. America at the time had just experienced the devastating attacks on September 11th, and was very selective on who they would allow to enter the country. Obinze ultimately travelled to London as an undocumented citizen, which was a pretty dangerous
Odysseus had not returned to his home in Ithaca for a while after the fall of Troy so it was believed that he was deceased. His son, Telemachus, struggled with his father’s absence in the home and he was also unable to find courage within himself to put the suitors in their place. Despite everyone else’s thoughts and suitors attempts, Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, remained faithful to him. As the reader, I felt as though Telemachus would soon find himself before this story concluded. I also felt that Penelope truly believed that she and Odysseus would reunite as one because he would soon return and she was not going to give up. For example, it was made clear that Penelope wanted no one else, and in book 20, she really shows a moment of weakness when she says “just so may the gods who rule Olympus blot me out! Artemis with your glossy braids, come shoot me dead— so I can plunge beneath this loathsome earth with the image of Odysseus vivid in my mind. Never let me warm the heart of a weaker man! Even grief is bearable, true, when someone weeps through the days, sobbing, heart convulsed with pain, yet embraced by sleep all night—sweet oblivion, sleep dissolving all, the good and the bad, once it seals our eyes— but even my dreams torment me, sent by wicked spirits. Again—just this night—someone lay beside me ... like Odysseus to the life, when he embarked with his men-at-arms. My heart raced with
I was glad that Odysseus was able to return home and that Athena pretended to be a family friend and got Telemachus to speak up as well as go on his journey, but I think I was the happiest for Penelope because she never gave up hope. My favorite part of the poem has to be when Odysseus pretends to be a beggar and then shows up to the archery contest Penelope is holding for the suitors. When every suitor is unable to perform how Odysseus does, I was somewhat glad because what if there was a suitor who was just as good as Odysseus? Once Odysseus, the beggar, steps up and does the task effortlessly, he and Telemachus turned and killed all of the suitors. I really liked this part when Odysseus revealed himself to Penelope. There was just something about that scene that intrigued me. I also liked this work because it was a poem, not a novel, so it flowed