The Odyssey

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 10th grade April 2001

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THE ODYSSEY There are many essential emotions that form the building blocks of one's life. These emotions help to shape the person one becomes and these feelings are emotional necessities to ultimately keep one happy. Nothing makes these feelings more evident than The Odyssey by Homer. The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus who from the many misfortunes he endures becomes a much wiser man, learning not to boast and to respect the Gods. This wisdom allows him to regain his place in his homeland of Ithaca. Homer makes his protagonist, Odysseus, realistic by giving him human traits, such as weakness. Throughout the course of The Odyssey there is a major emotional theme of love; Odysseus is also educated on his journey home and like a realistic human being he has the human characteristic of weakness.

Odysseus' and Penelope's lasting relationship and Odysseus and Telemachos's father and son relationship are obvious representations of love in The Odyssey.

Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife Penelope. This love almost seems to help him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. On the other hand, Penelope also exemplifies this same kind of love for Odysseus. At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shourd and delaying her marriage to the suitors that are courting her. She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return. The father-son relationship between Odysseus and Telemachos is a little awkward since they both never really got to know each other but still care for each other's well being. When Odysseus hears of all the suitors demolishing Telemachos' future fortune and mistreating him, the wants to return and revenge the mistreatment of his family...