Ms. Kittelson
English 9
March 14, 2011
The Odyssey In the epic poem “The Odyssey” by Homer, the journey of a Greek king is traced. Though sailing can sound extremely easy like driving, in this epic poem things are slightly different. Odysseus the protagonist of this epic poem and his sailing crew face frequent temptations that not only determine their loyalty and strength to resist these temptations, but also how long-lasting their sail back home can be. The enlightened message portrayed through various literary elements is: Temptation can trace someone’s strength to accomplish goals and can serve as a loyalty obstacle. In order to portray this message Homer uses symbolism, tone, and setting as literal devices to …show more content…
This lets the reader know at what parts of the book the protagonist is in danger and when he is not anywhere near danger, it lets the reader know the level of importance it represents. When Odysseus is sent back to Aeolus’ island because of his crews give in to temptation he has a slight different tone than when he has revealed himself to Penelope or when he spent nights with Circe. There is a difference in his feeling and in his way of expressing his journey. When he is being tempted he tries to stay away but he doesn’t because he doesn’t have the strength needed to do so. The tone reveals to the reader how important every scene is in this poem and it communicates the central theme. In conclusion, when it comes to being loyal and accomplishing goals, we all need to be prepared to face temptations and curiosity, because one mistake can take us further away from our goal. Loyalty also matters when accomplishing a goal especially when it’s in a group because if one messes up the entire group is screwed. Giving in or not giving in to temptations can trace a persons strength and abilities. Homer proved in this epic poem that Odysseus might have not had the strength to resist the temptations but he did not give up. Now, will you have the strength to