Theme Of Fear In The Odyssey
Fear and the Happily Ever After Gods and monsters tell us a lot about the societies that created them: the society’s beliefs, desires and fears. Mike Rugnetta, host of Idea Channel, talks about the relationship between fictional monsters and real people in his video, “Why Do We Love Zombies?” In Homer’s The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles, Scylla and Charybdis, the monstrous obstacles on the way to Ithaca, are a powerful duo. The way Odysseus reacts to them is reflective of the ancient Greeks’ submissiveness to the gods. In the same way, Max Brook’s World War Z illustrates a zombie apocalypse and humanity’s subsequent response—to strategize and fight. The reactions of the protagonists to their monsters depict the beliefs of their respective
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In ancient times, before the scientific process had come about, powerful forces beyond man’s control were generally regarded as the work of gods. For example, the Greeks thought that the seasons were brought about by the goddess Demeter. Scylla and Charybdis are a constant part of the world, bringing certain death to those without great luck or divine intervention. This reflects a deadly world where disaster will strike without warning, a world in which only gods could protect humans from the earth itself… or smite them with it. So it makes sense that the monsters were either the children of gods or akin to them. Today’s society believes more in reason and logic rather than divine powers. Zombies would not have done so much damage in World War Z had people not acted in mindless desperation. This shows a fear of illogic and blind panic, because all the reasoning in the world is useless if no one listens to it. We believe that we can survive even the worst of disasters once we reach an understanding of them. This is because we are in an age where science is trying—and succeeding—in understanding the forces we cannot touch. So a zombie plague, something so illogical and terrifying, neatly fits the role of things mankind has yet to understand. That is why these monsters are the villains. “We get to see the protagonists defeat or live alongside of whatever terrible thing is causing them strife,” and this tells us a lot about the people who wrote these stories (Rugnetta 1:06-1:12). These terrible things are the enemy or the dark side of our beliefs, and defeating these threats in story feels like doing so in real
In ancient times, before the scientific process had come about, powerful forces beyond man’s control were generally regarded as the work of gods. For example, the Greeks thought that the seasons were brought about by the goddess Demeter. Scylla and Charybdis are a constant part of the world, bringing certain death to those without great luck or divine intervention. This reflects a deadly world where disaster will strike without warning, a world in which only gods could protect humans from the earth itself… or smite them with it. So it makes sense that the monsters were either the children of gods or akin to them. Today’s society believes more in reason and logic rather than divine powers. Zombies would not have done so much damage in World War Z had people not acted in mindless desperation. This shows a fear of illogic and blind panic, because all the reasoning in the world is useless if no one listens to it. We believe that we can survive even the worst of disasters once we reach an understanding of them. This is because we are in an age where science is trying—and succeeding—in understanding the forces we cannot touch. So a zombie plague, something so illogical and terrifying, neatly fits the role of things mankind has yet to understand. That is why these monsters are the villains. “We get to see the protagonists defeat or live alongside of whatever terrible thing is causing them strife,” and this tells us a lot about the people who wrote these stories (Rugnetta 1:06-1:12). These terrible things are the enemy or the dark side of our beliefs, and defeating these threats in story feels like doing so in real