Examples Of Suffering In The Odyssey

When many people get hurt, emotionally, physically, or even verbally, it triggers chemicals in your brain, and whether or not you want to, it makes you want to get revenge just so that you know the other person can hurt just as much as you did. OR you’re just mean and cruel. It all comes down to whether or not you take your anger, sadness or frustration out in a healthy, kind, and careful way. After Odysseus revealed his identity as a beggar, and began hating on all of those people who were involved in taking his home away, and devising a plan to massacre the suitors and reign control of Ithaca, he automatically just made a situation ten times worse than it had to be. The punishment made were way too severe. There must have been so many people that did not deserve it. What Odysseus did was not justified.

Odysseus’ killing of the suitors is really the purging of his own selfishness and gluttony, showing that to make up for all of the bad he had done he had to restore himself back into power by killing innocent

Circe gives him a life of ease and self-indulgence on an enchanted island. In Phaecia, Odysseus is offered the love of a young princess and her hand in marriage. The Sirens tempt him to live in the memory of the glorious past. Calypso, the goddess with whom he spends seven years, offers him the greatest temptation of all: immortality. In refusing, Odysseus chooses the human condition, with all its struggle, its disappointments, and its inevitable end. And the end, death, is ever-present. But he hangs on tenaciously and, in the midst of his ordeals, he is sent living to the world of the dead to see for himself what death means.” (Lawall,

Consequently, Poseidon turns a Phaiakian ship to stone angered at the Phaiakians kindness to Odysseus. The climax of the story is the best example of revenge as it’s been what’s keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. Telemachos (Odysseus son) and Odysseus avenge Odysseus household and his wife by slaughtering all of the suitors. The suitors had ignored the principles of xenia and nomos by disrespecting Odysseus’s household and his wife, Penelope. This caused utter chaos throughout all of Ithaka. These examples show the true essence of revenge and how it only perpetuates problems instead of halting them.

Atwood uses suffering to describe Penelope and Telemachus’ unknowing of the fate of Odysseus. Since the start of The Penelopiad, Atwood describes the suffering of Penelope, and the suffering of Telemachus through the absence of Odysseus. The grief began when Odysseus was sent to Troy, and after 20 years, still hasn't returned. Additional suffering is added to this pair, when Telemachus comes of age and starts looking for answers. “He’d gone in search of his father, since nobody else was prepared to lift a finger in that direction. He claimed his father would've been proud of him for showing some backbone about getting out

Throughout time people have been known to show both cruelty and kindness towards others. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer Odysseus goes on a twenty year journey and encounters many difficulties along the way. He encounters situations where his men get killed and not only by people but extraordinary forces. In some situations, his crew disobeys his orders which leads to negative consequences. However, in other situations humans as well as Gods support them. Throughout the epic Odysseus encounters characters such as The Lotus Eaters, Cyclops, and Circe who show that mortals and gods are a mixture of both cruelty and kindness.

Being merciful allows love and peace, as shown in the odyssey. Having mercy can decrease harm, allow forgiveness, and have an understanding of wrongdoing. Characteristics of merciful people are showing peace, loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. They are willing to forgive rather than forget. Mercilessness shows compassion towards others.

She is a “bewitching nymph” and “lustrous goddess” (206). She forces Odysseus to stay with her as her lover for many years. Odysseus was able to escape from the Cyclops’ cave. However, neither his strength nor his cunning can free him from Calypso. He is doomed to remain there until the gods intervene. Women’s irresistible charm leads Odysseus to disaster.

The eight Greek Evil thoughts were a set of guidlines for the ancient greeks to follow. These guidelines helped the ancient greeks a better life. In The Odyssey, Odyssesus and his crew come to an island of cyclops an they stole food. Polythemus a gaint they met got mad then, ate two of his crew members and then, Odyssesus got him drunk and poked his eye. Odyssesus demonstrates some of the Greek evil thoughts. Philargryia is when someone is greedy or doing whatever it takes to get something, greed leads restlesses because when someone is greedy it’s caused by. Odysseus describes, “We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and took some cheese to eat; then sat in silence around the embers, waiting,” (The Cyclops. [219). This reveals Philargyria which is greed.

The Odyssey gives a great outlook on how a person can develop through time as well as how one’s actions can cause the trouble later and lead to unfortunate circumstances. In the book, there are several cases when Hubris, an excessive pride and arrogance as characteristic of a particular, is shown by different figures. Consequently, this is often followed by Nemesis, as justice has to be determined by the gods for the actions taken to maintain a heroic status, most of the time in form of a punishment. In “The Odyssey” by Homer, Hubris is exhibited by the main character and hero, Odysseus, in the Ancient Greek world, who proves it by his self-confidence in his adventures. Homer uses inter alia alliterations, similes, concrete details, and vivid imagery throughout the

This time spent on Circe's island was a test of whether he could resist lust from a goddess, and he fails. At first it appears as though the only reason Odysseus sleeps with Circe is to regain his companions, but she easily persuades them to stay. What makes it worse is the fact that Odysseus is not even the first one ready to go. His men are the ones who urge him to leave: "What ails you now? It is time to think about our own country" (Book X, line 472). At a glance, it appears that Odysseus is merely succumbing to Circe's schemes for reasons related to their health and well being, if we read between the lines, we soon begin to realize that Odysseus is weak in the voracious hands of lust. Odysseus arrives on Calypso's island in her cave. At first, it seems like Odysseus doesn't seem much to mind her taking care of him, but over time it is plainly evident that he is unhappy with her. When Hermes arrives on Calypso's island to give her the message from Zeus to release Odysseus, he is bawling on the beach-- a daylong activity for him. Calypso is holding him with her by force; she has no companions to help him back to Ithaca, nor has she a ship to send him in. Athena pleads with Zeus to give Odysseus good fortune,

Odysseus goes through experiences where justice prevails over hardship. For example, Odysseus loses many of his men during the trip, but he still survives. At one island, some of his men are killed and before he would get killed too, Odysseus starts sailing away with his remaining men. After finding out his men have been killed, Odysseus says, “From that place we sailed on, glad enough to have come off with our lives, but sad to lose our companions” (114-115). Even though Odysseus loses some of his companions, he is able to continue along with his journey. Shortly after, Odysseus came to the underworld and got to talk to the dead and hear their stories. While speaking to the dead, his mom appears and Odysseus realizes she is dead. She wants to talk to him because Odysseus did not see or hear from her since the start of his journey. Odysseus asks his mom how everyone is doing at home. Odysseus says, “‘But do tell me, really and truly, what was the cause of youth death? how did you die? Was it a long disease? or did Artemis Archeress kill you with her gentle shafts? And tell me about my father and the son I left behind me: do they still hold my honours and my possessions, or have they passed to some other man because people think I will never return? And tell me of my wedded wife, what she thinks and what she means to do. Does she remain with the boy and keep all safe, or has she already married the best man who offered?’ My beloved mother answered (127). Although Odysseus is very sad his mom isn’t alive anymore, he is very happy to hear how his family is doing at home. Getting the updates on his family, helps Odysseus deal the grieving he has because of his mother's death.Odysseus is able to overcome hardships, which help him develop into more of a hero.

Although Odysseus was a hero he had faults, such as, involving himself in sexual activity with lustful immortal women that he knew had the power to do whatever they wanted with him. Within the twenty years of him being away from Ithaca, he experienced a lot. One of the reasons that he stayed away from his kingdom was because of the lustful women such as, Calypso that were immortal who could control many aspects of life in order to make him stay or seduce him into having sex with them. When he was fighting in

The characters in the play Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, respond to suffering in a variety of ways. Characters like Tiresias respond altruistically to protect others from the truth, other characters similar to Oedipus tend to approach these situations with gall and are hasty with allegations, and the remaining characters respond like Jocasta with disbelief and extremity. Ironically, although suffering is painful and destructive, the way the characters dealt with suffering brought each of them to find the true value of clarity and healing that can be found when suffering.

Suffering has always been a part of human nature. Over thousands of years, humans deliberate whether it was their own actions that doomed suffering upon themselves or if it was the gods who placed this suffering upon them. In Homer's epic The Odyssey mankind often blamed their misfortune on the gods. Whenever misfortune occurs, the humans automatically think the gods placed this misery on them. Zeus strongly disagrees that god's caused mankind suffering when he states “My word, how mortals take the gods to task! All their afflictions come from us, we hear. And what of their own failings? Greed and folly. Double the suffering in the lot of man.” Mankind has nobody to blame for their suffering, but themselves and their senseless actions that lead them to misfortune.