Sacrifice In The Odyssey

How is it possible to connect with an epic poem written 2800 years ago? Well in the scene that is going to get analyzed in the essay it will. In lines 167 to 215 of The Odyssey, Penelope is in denial about Odysseus returning home. She does not believe that it is him standing in front of her. So the reader sees Penelope question trying to get the mysterious man to fail, but hoping oh so much that he will pass and be her one true love, Odysseus.
To begin the gods clearly want Penelope to accept that the older man in front of her is her dearly beloved husband, Odysseus. This is clear because in line 167, Athena made Odysseus’ “head and shoulder shimmer with grace.” This point is clear from this line because why would Athena make him look more
appealing if it was not to get Penelope to accept him. She wanted Penelope to believe it was Odysseus so that he would be happy again. The next thing that needs to be analyzed is the amount of explicit detail that is in this section of the book.
A lot of adjectives are used by Homer. Why is that? What is Homer’s point in doing this? Is it so that the reader would find importance in those specific details? Or is it that he just wanted to stress what they meant to the character? The uses of the colorful words to describe the aspects of the story are important to overall feel of the story. Homer has had a clear picture of everything throughout the story he continuously has descriptive words. Some descriptions used are “mysterious woman” and “unyielding heart” these words are important to pick out because they are words of Odysseus talking about Penelope. This important because she then uses words like “mysterious man” and “proud...scornful.” It is important that these words be in the section because the strength of their minds are shown. The banter between them shows how much of an equal they are to one
another.
Following that, it seems important to discuss in an analytical paper the dialect that is used.
Dialect meaning the words that are the people when it was first written would understand, but as for those of us today; not so much understanding when it comes to words such as adze. Adze is used in line 204, there it says, “and rounded it and trued it with an adze.” If looked at closely, the meaning of the word may come to surface however if it does not; it is a tool similar to an ax. The next somewhat unfamiliar word used is auger. Auger is used in the following line, line 205, “...I bored it with an auger;” this is not so clear so auger means a tool with a large helical bit for boring holes in the ground. Following well before the previous words in line 200, “The masonry walls and done the roofing;” well masonry means a stonewall. So it is important to know the words that are used in a work. If a word is unfamiliar look it up because how can the message get clearly across if the meaning is
unknown.
There are a lot of figures of speech throughout all of the Odyssey, so it seems necessary to to discuss them. One thing that seems to occur throughout it is epic similes although it does not happen in this section of the Odyssey. However there are plenty of just plain oh similes and metaphors. For example a metaphor found at the beginning of this section in lines 167 and 168, “...his head and shoulders/ Shimmer with grace.” Followed by a f simile in lines 168 and 169, “He came from the bath/Like a god.” These two figures of speech are important for Homer to include so that Odysseus continues with the making of the character. They are needed so the reader can see that even though Odysseus may be home, his journey is not quite over so he still needs the help of the gods. Following that on line 178 is a metaphor, “..., since her heart is a cold lump of iron” this metaphor is important because it again shows the rough and tough of Odysseus’ struggle to get his hard headed wife to understand that it is him.
“Penelope finally let go” this sentence is a complete wrap up of all that has happened in the passage. It is the resolution that the reader has been waiting for. By the help of the gods, the amount of adjective, the figures of speech, and the words that were not so clear, a resolution happens to help understand what Penelope and Odysseus were fighting for. Homer is showing how Penelope is a match for Odysseus, and how perseverance will achieve amazing things. Another message that Homer gives, is one we all want to know; that love will conquer all. So to end in a quote, “In tears she ran straight to him, threw her arms/ Around him, kissed his face.”