Examples Of Obstacles In The Odyssey

Words: 837

Pages: 4

Open Document

The famous poet Rainer Maria Rilke once claimed, “The only journey is the one within” (A Quote by Rainer Maria Rilke). In The Odyssey by Homer and the poem “They Journey” by Mary Oliver, both protagonists find themselves to be on tough journeys that have a lot of obstacles; but at the end they overcome and find who they really are within. In The Odyssey by Homer, the king of Ithaca sets out on a journey to return home from Troy. In Troy, Odysseus fought and won a difficult battle, and then began the journey home.Throughout the journey home he faced many obstacles set up by the gods which resulted in arriving to his final destination twenty years later. Odysseus faces different types of obstacles, from monsters to his own internal challenges. In the poem “The …show more content…
For an example, the author used personification to say, “Though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug on your ankles” (Oliver 5-9 ). This is personification because a house can not tug on your ankles. The author is describing the main character's mindset to be shaky and unsteady. The reader can understand that the main character feels like a weight is pulling on her. Mary Oliver also uses metaphors, such as, “The stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds.” This quote shows an “A-Ha” moment for the main character. In literature the use of light can be used to convey hope. In this case the hope is shining through the darkness, the “sheet of clouds”(Oliver 25-26). Lastly, the author uses a hyperbole to finish the poem off. She states, “The only thing you could do-determined to save the only life you could save.” (Oliver 34-36). The narrator is exaggerating, she isn't dying, she simply is now learning that she can only save herself not everyone else. The main character started out having a very tough obstacle, but ended by her “saving herself” and finding what she was really looking

Examples Of Obstacles In The Odyssey

In the famous epic, “The Odyssey” by Homer, it is easily understood that it is a metaphor for life. In the epic, the hero, Odysseus, has to face many perils on his way back from the Trojan War to his home to see his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope. For the most part, everyone will have to face perils in their life, including me. For example, we all have dreams for what we want to do when we group up. People typically will have dream college they want to go to, whether it’s an Ivy League…

Words 860 - Pages 4

Examples Of Allegory In The Odyssey

is an epic poem in this world that can relate to my life and acts as an allegory. The epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, has hidden messages that relates to my life. In The Odyssey, Odysseus faces many things during and after his journey to reach his goals. In my life, I have many goals but there are many things that get in my way from reaching these goals. Odysseus and I face temptations, obstacles and having friends to rely on to achieve our goals. Odysseus is tempted with the Sirens, having to overcome…

Words 1063 - Pages 5

Odysseus Heroic Qualities

is strong, courageous, wise, and attractive. His legend is timeless and passed down to many generation. In the first Ancient Greek Mythology book The Illustrated Odyssey inspired by epic poem Homer, tells about the adventure of Odysseus, The King of Ithaca voyage begin, after he defeat the Trojans.Odysseus faces many treacherous obstacles and monster because Poseidon hold grudge on him. After 20 yrs. he finally go home Ithaca, disguise by as an old beggar and meet his son Telemachus and kill all the…

Words 453 - Pages 2

Lotus Eaters In The Odyssey

In Homer’s epic poem called the Odyssey, there is a man named Odysseus who faces many trials to return home to Ithaca. This is somewhat of allegory at work with my life and probably some others as well. Also this a story about life’s many hardships and lessons that are learned. Likewise to the life of Odysseus, I will go through my life making and learning from my mistakes, and enduring hardship while i'm on my way to becoming a national champion as a college basketball player. So what are some…

Words 698 - Pages 3

How Is Odysseus A Hero

The Odyssey, Odysseus tries to get home after winning the Trojan war, only to get multiple displeasing obstacles in his way. But he fights through each and every one of these obstacles with his thinking. Along the way he shows his physical strength and strategy and great thinking before his actions. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus shows he is a hero because he is intellectually stronger than other men. Physically stronger, along with emotionally stronger than others. In book 9 of The Odyssey, When…

Words 614 - Pages 3

Odyssey: Decision Making and Real Life Essay

Felicity Bailey Ms.Wolf English 9C 25 March 2015 Obstacles Obstacle; something that obstructs or hinders process. "By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination", (Christopher Columbus). Both in life, as well as in the Odyssey, obstacles presented themselves, despite the as first deceitful appearance and caused individuals to face consequences. The most hindering obstacles identify themselves as peer pressure, ignorance and poor judgment…

Words 729 - Pages 3

Power Of Temptation In Homer's The Odyssey

As I read the Odyssey, one thematic element that stood out to me was the powers of temptation. Odyssey and his other men create some of their own obstacles, due to being too weak to resist mortal temptations. For example, the rapping of the Trojan priestess Cassandra, caused a great amount of unnecessary hardships for the Achaeans' on their homecoming, due to this leading to the wrath of Athena being upon their convoy. The reasoning for these hardships that followed Ajax rapping the priestess, is…

Words 277 - Pages 2

Odyssey and Victoria Secret Model Essay

Obstacle 1: Opinions Opinions can ruin anybody’s confidence. Once, I dressed up in my new shirt, but a girl came up to me and said, “Your shirt is so ugly!’’ After that I grabbed my jacket and zipped it up tight. I really thought the shirt looked nice, but one person’s opinion destroyed the confidence I had that day. In the Odyssey, Circe told Odysseus that all his men will perish. If Odysseus told his men about Circe’s opinion about Odysseus’s men then they could have tried to live longer, learn…

Words 596 - Pages 3

Role Of Religion In The Odyssey

religion. More specifically, Greek Mythology. In The Odyssey, mortal’s live to please the Gods and Goddess’. Homer depicted each of the challenges that arose in the book as one that a god had influenced. For example, the constant mention of and interaction between mortals and deities. Deities play a big role in the book’s plot, often presenting challenges and obstacles the main character has to overcome. An example would be in book ten of The Odyssey when Odysseus climbs up a mountain in hopes to save…

Words 154 - Pages 1

Odysseus O Brother Where Art Thou

An extremely popular theme in movies and books is staying strong when under distress. Many examples of this theme can be seen recent movies and books such as “O Brother, Where Art Thou.” There are also examples of this theme in older books and movies such as “The Odyssey.” Regardless of their age, though both stories have an important message that they are attempting to portray. In the story of “The Odyssey” there are many instances where the idea of showing persistence in the face of adversity is…

Words 900 - Pages 4