Symbolism In The Odyssey
Can a story that involves the bloody murder of an eye with a sharpened olive tree and the perpetrators escaping on the bellies of sheep be inspiring? Well the answer is yes, surprisingly enough, when it comes to The Odyssey, a timeless epic written by the widely-renowned Homer. Centered around the hero Odysseus, The Odyssey is a tale of a man’s struggle to get home despite the odds stacked against him. Odysseus must go through countless trials and tests of courage at the sake of other’s lives in order to reach his long-desired destination: home. Along the way, he encounters many conflicts - both internal and external - demonstrating both the mental and physical greatness of Odysseus. However, that does not make him an exception when it
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Whether it be the blinking, tantalizing smartphone on the metal desk as one works a nine to five job or the restraint one must show when going to the store on a diet, there are many times in a human’s life where one must face the struggle of restraining from temptation no matter how major or minor. This also holds true for The Odyssey. After witnessing the deaths of the majority of their comrades and while in a famine, Odysseus makes a command to not eat the alluring cattle of Helios which “... strained [the crew] to the breaking point…” (887). In a time of despair, the members of Odysseus’ crew find it hard to restrain themselves from the temptings of the oh-so delicious cattle. While they struggle to maintain their composure, Odysseus maintains a strong grip over the whole situation, making his crew remark, “... iron is what you’re made of…” (887). Possessing superior will and might, Odysseus knows that he must become disciplined with himself, not allowing even the slightest glimpse of temptation. The most clear-cut and obvious symbol for the cattle is temptation, seeing that it is the allure of food in a time of starvation. In life, as seen by Odysseus’ crew, resisting from temptation is essentially like putting a big red button in front of a child and telling them not to press it. They know that the big, red button will lead to unlikely circumstances, just like how eating the cattle will lead to fatal consequences. However, that does not dilute the temptation one bit, being that the button is still big and red, and, likewise, Helios’ cattle is still food. In order to counter the effects of tantalizing thoughts, Homer implies that one must remember one’s true motivation for one’s everyday actions. Similarly, Odysseus had the ability to
Whether it be the blinking, tantalizing smartphone on the metal desk as one works a nine to five job or the restraint one must show when going to the store on a diet, there are many times in a human’s life where one must face the struggle of restraining from temptation no matter how major or minor. This also holds true for The Odyssey. After witnessing the deaths of the majority of their comrades and while in a famine, Odysseus makes a command to not eat the alluring cattle of Helios which “... strained [the crew] to the breaking point…” (887). In a time of despair, the members of Odysseus’ crew find it hard to restrain themselves from the temptings of the oh-so delicious cattle. While they struggle to maintain their composure, Odysseus maintains a strong grip over the whole situation, making his crew remark, “... iron is what you’re made of…” (887). Possessing superior will and might, Odysseus knows that he must become disciplined with himself, not allowing even the slightest glimpse of temptation. The most clear-cut and obvious symbol for the cattle is temptation, seeing that it is the allure of food in a time of starvation. In life, as seen by Odysseus’ crew, resisting from temptation is essentially like putting a big red button in front of a child and telling them not to press it. They know that the big, red button will lead to unlikely circumstances, just like how eating the cattle will lead to fatal consequences. However, that does not dilute the temptation one bit, being that the button is still big and red, and, likewise, Helios’ cattle is still food. In order to counter the effects of tantalizing thoughts, Homer implies that one must remember one’s true motivation for one’s everyday actions. Similarly, Odysseus had the ability to