The Shadows Of Odysseus Mind English Literature Essay
The Odyssey is a narrative that is told in such a manner that is supposed to do the reader believe in the hero Odysseus ‘ position. For the most portion, this is done without fail. Odysseus is perceived as an about infallible hero. Because of all he had seen and done, he is believed to be the closest to immortal that a homo could of all time be. Throughout most of The Odyssey, nevertheless, the narrative is being told through the eyes of Odysseus. The events that the hero is depicting are all true, but they are merely one adult male ‘s position. There is a point of view that Odysseus adds to his narrative that may do him look like more of a hero than he truly is. He speaks in a manner that gives the feeling that everything he has done is justified and right, when that may non be so. It is non to be discounted, of class, that Odysseus has faced infinite different types of hardship and get the better of each and every one, a effort that no other adult male in his land could suppress, but, he besides has a alone manner of carrying people to believe his every word. But while he may be a god-like, craft, ambitious leader and hero, he is still flawed, as all human existences are.
There are several cases where Odysseus displays traits that are non so admirable in contemporary society, doing his overall position less believable. When Odysseus arrives in the Cyclopes ‘ land, he shows deficiency of open-mindedness and is speedy to move violently when the chance presents itself. This becomes evident throughout book 9 as Odysseus encounters Polyphemus in his cave. For a adult male of such experience and wisdom, Odysseus seems like he sets that aside and becomes a somewhat different individual when covering with the Cyclops. Odysseus tells the narrative of how he blinded the Cyclops with absolute certainty that what he has done is justified. Throughout book 9, there are many cases of Odysseus exposing some unsavory qualities such as bias, fraudulence and acquiring pleasance out of aching person. These qualities that beg the inquiry: Is Odysseus truly justified in his actions?
From the minute Odysseus comes to the land of the Cyclopes, he expresses his disfavor for them. “ And we came to the land of the Cyclopes, /Lawless barbarians who leave everything/Up to the Gods… These people have no assemblies or Torahs but live/In high mountain caves, governing their own/Children and married womans and disregarding each other. ” ( 104-112 ) Here, Odysseus shows a blazing discourtesy for these people merely because of the manner they live. He goes on to state of how the Cyclopes grossly underutilize their resources and are by and large a simple common people. He speaks of how “ they have no craftsmen/To construct them benched, red-prowed ships/That could provide all their wants, traversing the sea/To other metropoliss, sing each other as work forces do. ” ( 122-125 ) Because these people have a different life style than himself and take to non hold many of the luxuries that most work forces want, Odysseus sees them as barbarian monsters, unworthy of the land they live on. This immediate hatred he expresses for the Cyclops is a unsighted intolerance that would non be looked lovingly upon in contemporary society. This sort of bias has caused the invasion and devastation of infinite societies, including the European conquering over the Native Americans, and is surely non a trait to be considered epic by any stretch of the imaginativeness.
Once Odysseus has expressed his feelings about the Cyclopes, he speaks of turning to his work forces and stating “ I want to happen out what these work forces are like, /Wild barbarians with no sense of right and wrong/Or hospitable common people who fear the Gods. ” ( 169-171 ) Since it has already become evident that he believes these people to be wild barbarians, this is merely a gambit to acquire some work forces on his side so he can travel enforce his will on the Cyclops. It is ne’er made clear why he wants to travel see them, besides claiming to desire to see what sort of people they are. Odysseus and his work forces were non forced onto this land, nor did it look necessary to their endurance to halt someplace and acquire nutrient, as they feasted on meat and sweet vino the dark before they went to see Polyphemus. The lone existent ground they came at that place was to carry through Odysseus ‘ wonder and perchance, bloodlust.
On the forenoon of the visit to Polyphemus ‘ low residence, Odysseus picked 12 of his best work forces, so prepared a skin full of Sweet, resistless ruddy vino for the Cyclops because of “ a strong premonition/That [ they ] had a rendezvous with a adult male of great might/A barbarian with no impression of right and incorrect. ” ( 204-206 ) . Why would Odysseus make this? What does he stand to derive from this trip to a elephantine barbarian ‘s place unless it is for his ain pleasance? As they sit and wait for Polyphemus, they light a fire and offer forfeit. While making this, they help themselves to some of the Cyclops ‘ cheese, a instead impolite gesture. When Polyphemus gets back, he is evidently unhappy with the state of affairs. There are a clump of work forces in his place, who have been eating his nutrient and have lit a fire. What is Odysseus to anticipate, a low animal who takes kindly to interlopers who have invaded his place? Surely non, one would believe. If person had invaded Odysseus ‘ place, there is no uncertainty he would instantly put to death any and all who dared enter without permission. In this scene, Odysseus is being a careless leader, conveying his work forces into a unsafe animal ‘s place, so stealing from him and anticipating nil bad to go on. At this point, Odysseus ‘ credibleness has been shaken because of his questionable actions, and it makes one admiration what Odysseus ‘ purposes really are in the Cyclopes ‘ land.
After the initial confrontation between Odysseus and Polyphemus, the Cyclops returns to kill and devour two of Odysseus ‘ work forces:
[ He ] smashed them/To the land like puppies/ Their encephalons spattered out/And oozed in the soil. He tore them limb from limb/To do his supper, quaffing them down/Like a mountain king of beasts, go forthing nil buttocks — /Guts, flesh, or marrowy castanetss. /Crying out, we lifted our custodies to Zeus/At this indignation, bewildered and incapacitated. ( 281-288 )
This is where the reader first encounters a sense of the exhilaration Odysseus feels when something ghastly happens. In his description of his beloved ( purportedly ) work forces, Odysseus describes it in as in writing item as possible, and is even blithe about it. With the mention to them being tossed like puppies, there is a distance being created by Odysseus between himself and his work forces that makes him look as an outside perceiver, non person who has been going with these work forces for old ages on terminal and has a close relationship with them. He watches and describes the barbarous decease with esteem as he sees the Cyclopes mangle his comrades. Additionally, it seems like Odysseus ‘ work forces are expendable to him. He volitionally brings them into a hostile environment that he knows is unsafe, and dishonestly wheedle them in by stating them he merely wants to see if they are hospitable people or non. If he told his work forces that several of them were likely traveling to be killed, they would n’t hold gone. Odysseus makes it look like his ain work forces might hold been the forfeit he was offering to the Cyclops.
The following, and most disclosure, case of Odysseus acquiring a pleasance out of ferociousness comes as they shove the lance into Polyphemus ‘ oculus. Odysseus clearly enjoyed this act, saving no item in the re-telling of the narrative:
My work forces lifted up the olive wood stake/And drove the crisp point right into his oculus, /While I, seting my weight behind it, spun it around/The manner a adult male bores a ship ‘s beam with a drill, /Leaning down on it whole the other men/Keep it whirling and whirling with a leather strap. /That ‘s how we twirled the fiery-pointed interest in the Cyclops ‘ oculus. ( 380-387 )
Odysseus enjoys jabing out Polyphemus ‘ orb so much that he likens it to the art of boring. He even gets carried off plenty to reiterate the word ‘spinning ‘ , as if mesmerized by how masterfully he leaned on the olive-wood interest. Then, after the metaphor is concluded, Odysseus makes the barbarous act even more emphasized by explicating “ That ‘s how we twirled the interest ” . He continues with an intense centripetal description of how Polyphemus ‘ oculus sizzled and crackled from the intense heat of the pointed interest, comparing it to when a blacksmith dips an axe caput into H2O when he wants to anneal the Fe. Afterwards, he repeats himself once more, “ That ‘s how his eye/Sizzled and hissed around the olive-wood interest. ” ( 392-393 ) The repeat that he uses is declarative of the fact that he does so acquire pleasance out of bring downing hurting.
After he escapes the cave and is safely back on the boat, Odysseus begins to tease the angered Polyphemus, exposing another quality unbecoming of a great hero. “ So, Cyclops it turns out it was n’t a coward/Whose work forces you murdered and ate in your cave, /You barbarian! But you got yours in the terminal, /Did n’t you? ” ( 475-478 ) In add-on to teasing the Cyclops, he makes the claim that he is n’t a coward. What he is making, nevertheless, is being a coward. It is so cowardly for a adult male to tease a being who can oppress him with one manus, but merely from a safe distance. If he was n’t a coward, he would n’t hold needed to tease him at all. A adult male who is non cowardly would non hold schemed to occupy and ache another being for his ain selfish grounds. A adult male who is non a coward would hold entered the cave entirely alternatively of giving four of his best work forces. It seems here as if Odysseus the hero is moving more like Odysseus the selfish coward.
It must be understood that this narrative is basically told from one position. There are ever two sides to every narrative, and some may be more critical than others. It is apprehensible that Odysseus might experience a little spot of pleasance when he kills an enemy, but in this circumstance, his actions here are undue. He has shown bias against the Cyclopes and the manner they live, even though they have non wronged him at all. He has shown fraudulences in wheedling his work forces to assist him make his command. Odysseus frequently claims that the Cyclops has a “ remorseless bosom ” when depicting him, but the existent one without commiseration appears to be him. At this point in The Odyssey, Odysseus has established himself as a selfish leader who is willing to allow his work forces die as a agency for his ain personal grounds. While the remainder of the books may do a strong instance for Odysseus being the great hero he is made up to be, his actions in the land of the Cyclopes cast a shadow of uncertainty over even his greatest accomplishments.
