Odyssey and Ramayana - Research Paper Example

Odyssey and Ramayana Epic literatures and cultural myths have consistent patterns of story-telling, particularly in relation to the heroic actions oftheir lead characters, in respect to the different cultures from which they originate. In that sense, the heroic representations deal with the history, destiny, and personal development of the individual as well as the social processes and actions characteristic for that cultural setting. The likelihood of unanticipated events, their effects on the lives of people, and how the society responds to them as well as their ultimate destiny help us understand what is distinct and valued in each of the cultures. This paper provides a comparison of the communicative/rhetorical functions of important episodes from two literary works namely, The Odyssey by Homer and The Ramayana by Valmiki, specifically, the story of bow contest involving Odysseus from the Odyssey and the Bow Contest from Book I (Bala Kanda) of the Ramayana. These texts will be analyzed to explore their rhetorical significance for their cultures of origin along with a detailed discussion of how these texts and their rhetoric or communication functions are used in the cultural context. Hence, these two cultural epics are explored through their respective selected texts, reflecting the heroic context and customs of a particular culture or a society’s past and/or its present concerns. The Odyssey is a Greek epic poem, attributed to Homer, and was published around the 7th century B.C. Similarly the Ramayana is an Indian epic poem, ascribed to the Sanskrit poet Valmiki, and is dated back to the 5th century B.C. The story of Odyssey centers on the encounters of the Greek hero, Odysseus, who returns home after ten years, following the fall of Troy in the Trojan War. In his long absence, his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, stave off the proposals of insistent suitors of Mnesteres, who were vying to conquer the throne, perhaps assuming that Odysseus was dead in the war. Instead, Odysseus had survived the war, but was held as a captive at Calypsos Island after the destruction of his ship. However, on his return to Ithaca as a disguised beggar, he proves his identity by winning the bow contest and slaughters all the suitors. The story ends on restoring his power to the throne of Ithaca and reuniting with his family after a long ordeal. Odyssey addresses the situations and heroic portrayals of the characters from the point of view of the Greek society. Hence, the text determines the attitudes, actions, and power position of the characters, mainly pertaining to their political, social, and economic cultures. On the other hand, Ramayana is an Indian culture based epic, which is the tale of Rama accompanied with deep spiritual inferences, psychological insights, and practical wisdom. Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, is exiled out of the kingdom for fourteen years by his stepmother. He expatriates into the forest accompanied by his wife, Sita, and devoted brother, Lakshman. He is faced with so many subsequent challenges, particularly the abduction of his wife by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. After a prolonged quest to rescue his wife from Lanka, he regains her as well as his throne in Ayodhya. The epic is significantly influenced by the Indian culture and society, and this can be observed through the texts’ depiction of the people’s lifestyle and their cultural experiences, which are presented in accord to their specific religious, social, political, and moral doctrines. On recounting the life of Rama, the epic addresses a perfect blend of adventure, human values, social conflicts, and all other cultural aspects of the indigenous Indian society. Primarily, the text serves as a fundamental representation of ideal human virtues and relationships, political duties and responsibilities, as well as proper social order and practices, forming the core conception that creates an ethnic identity, which is manifested in the cultural consciousness of South Asian and South-East Asian countries, particularly India. The two important and interrelating episodes taken for analysis are the ‘bow contest’ held in both the stories. In Odyssey, Penelope led astray her suitors by stipulating the bow contest in which one that is able to string Odysseus’ bow and dart the arrow through a line of twelve axes can marry her. Thereby, she presents an impossible situation knowing that only her husband could do it. Similarly, in Ramayana, as per the decree of Sita’s father, there is a bow contest for the suitors at Sita’s swayamvara, where Rama is the one who is able to string and indeed breaks the bow, and wins her. The bow seems to symbolize the physical superiority of the characters in both the cultures. It can be attributed to the mightiness of the protagonist in such a way that they supersede all other suitors in the competition. As stated by Odysseus, “I know well how to handle the polished bow, and would be first to strike any man with an arrow aimed at a company of hostile men” (Homer, 2010, 8.215–218). In the Greek culture, the bow symbolizes the maturity and character of the king, presenting the athletic prowess of Odysseus. However, in Indian culture, it depicts the courage and strength of Rama above all the other suitors, hailing him as a hero of the land. The fact that none of the suitors were even able to string the bow illustrates their incapability in conquering the throne, both in the case of Ramayana as well as Odyssey. On comparing the social and cultural setting of both the stories, it is evident that both Rama and Odysseus share the status of belonging to a noble lineage, with considerable similarities and differences in their social upbringing and cultural backgrounds. Both the protagonists, Odysseus and Rama depict some kind of kingly duties and responsibilities represented in their respective cultural settings. For instance, Rama is seen to be placing honor and duty over all other values, adhering to his culture’s representation of a ruler. Similarly, Odysseus is shown as a skilled archer with mighty courage in the war combat as a portrayal of a Greek’s noble duty. Both the texts contribute well to the respective cultural mythology. Ramayana imparts to the Hindu mythology of Vishnu’s avatars, depicting Rama himself as the God, who is incarnated to destroy the evil Ravana. Throughout the poem, Rama exudes singular behavior with noble virtues and righteousness that exemplars the virtues of God. However, the backdrop of the epic is set to portray the social traditions and the human conditions of the then society in which Rama’s virtues are manifested. Therein, the texts reflect the cultural representations, language and customs, social, economic, and political values of Indian culture. In the case of Odysseus, he was not of divine parentage but is fostered out by the divine Gods of Ancient Greek. Moreover, Homer presents frequent inclusion of mythical creatures, Greek gods, and Greek customs in his story to depict the Greek civilization of then society. In the Book of Odyssey, he is often favored by all the Gods such as Athena in his trail to the pantheon; Apollo during the times of trouble in his journey; and Zeus supporting him in his slaughter against the suitors. In this way, Odyssey reveals the success, power, temptation, and retribution of the Greek gods towards the humans, thus reflecting the society’s civilization as a whole. The similarities and differences of the characters and their traditions in both the stories are influenced primarily by the physical and historical situations of the differing cultures. In the Indian mythological context, the epic of Ramayana portrays even primitive and subhuman characters in such a way to embody the ethical principles of Indian culture through virtues of heroic sacrifice, loyalty, and friendship. There is a versatile cultural representation in the epic poem, as the characters of Ramayana are seen to come from different strata of society and so exhibit different levels of culture. The description of the typical Indian society and its social practices is done through the text’s portrayal of war ethics, power of masculinity, patriarchal political structure, and more relating to the typical culture of the land. In that sense, the text promotes the existing views of social patterns and power structure in that culture through its depiction of the society’s customs and traditions of then period. According to the culture, a man who succeeds in some apparently impossible task was considered to be a prominent ‘hero’ and would deserve the princess. The task of stringing the bow was proposed as an enigma that would expose the courage and strength of the heroic character. This is precisely the case of the bow contest of Sita, in which bending and breaking of the bow by Rama ended the swayamvara, hailing him as an archery prowess and finally the hero who deserves Sita. As stated, “Not one of all the royal bands could raise or take the bow in hand. The suitors puny might I spurned…. Young Rama’s hand can string the bow that baffled lord and king” (Valmiki, 1870). Moreover, the breaking of the bow has different interpretations in the text, symbolizing Rama to be the divine one, who is sent to break all the old traditions, and thereby destined to set a new context for the age. The principal characters individuated in the story of Ramayana forms the core conception of ideals in the Indian civilization and culture. The characters in the story, especially of Rama, Sita, Ravana, and Hanuman, depict the cultural representation of the human relationships and ideals. The epic’s characters stand out connected with the economy and social position of the land’s culture. For instance, Sita’s trial and abandonment in the end of the story is relevant to the culture of India, such that a woman’s virtue is regarded to be of greater value, and an ideal woman has to bear such a social pattern to prove her sanctity. Similarly, in Odyssey, the Greek concept of ‘philoxenia’, which demands respect and kindness to guests/strangers in their culture, is reflected prominently in the texts. For instance, when Odysseus confronts the suitors for breaking the sacred laws of ‘philoxenia’, he accords their actions to be demeaning to the Greek custom and thus gets the approval of Zeus, for his grievous actions against the suitors. “Then Zeus thundered overhead, one loud crack for a sign. And Odysseus laughed within him that the son of crooked-minded Cronus had flung that omen down.” (Homer, 2010). The rules of hospitality are among the most revered religious and social laws of the society and depiction of it in Odyssey is a perfect reflection of Greek culture. Rama’s intention in the story was to rescue his wife from the hands of the evil king Ravana and kill him, while Odysseus’ journey was focused on saving his wife and the land from the insidious betrayers. In essence, both the texts present the deliverance of the female character from danger or evil to be the ultimate purpose of the protagonist male character and this seems to be the central cause for all his troubles. However, the way in which the characters react to their situations is most probably attributed to their cultural differences. According to the Indian culture, a woman is expected to preserve sanctity and virtue for getting an esteemed social status and so Sita is expected to adhere to her husband’s decision of testing her amidst the people of the land. Similarly, Odyssey presents Penelope as an ideal wife, who is loyal and faithful to her husband, despite the persuasions of her suitors. In either case, a patriarchal structure of power is maintained throughout, with the women confined to the society’s customs and seeking for their husband or other men to rescue them. Hence, it is evident that the texts represent the power structures in respective cultures, along with the traditional views of the particular society towards its members as well as their political and socio-economic arrangements. The communication traditions of different cultures are presented effectively through the texts. The texts of Odyssey provide evidences of critical and rhetorical communication tradition, while Ramayana exhibits a socio-cultural communication tradition. In Odyssey, the persuasive messages are intended to serve the purpose of authority or deceit and are communicated through both implicit and explicit messages. Similarly, in Ramayana, the importance of the power of communication is illustrated through the interactions between Rama and Hanuman well as through Sita’s subtle clues about her whereabouts during her abduction, pertaining to their own cultural traditions. Moreover, the characters of Ramayana produce and reproduce their culture through interactive communication means that addresses the ways in which the meanings of their socio-cultural aspects are understood. The communication tradition in Ramayana adheres to the norms, rules, and the social roles of the characters within the society. In Odyssey, the characters exhibit ambiguity in communication but are clearly processed and executed, while in Ramayana, the characters provide clarity in their communication without any kind of ambiguity. The rhetorical tradition of communication in Odyssey can be evident from the speeches of the characters. The rhetoric power of the texts enables the readers to reconstruct the deceitful intentions behind the situations, especially during the bow contest, where there is an implicit expression by Telemachus in his speech. His rhetoric communication tradition explains the misleading intention behind the contest to the audience, nevertheless, persuades the suitors to indulge in the contest. For instance, in order to set up a rhetorical pose to serve his purpose of misguidance, he fakes a laugh and starts the speech to the suitors. The vigorous self-blame of Telemachus while setting up the axes is a reflection of his verbal aggression in which he demonstrates his power to the suitors and subsequently disarms their fear for him. “His setting up of the axes perfectly expresses how they silently acknowledge his authority without being on guard against his hostility.” (Hoffer, 1995, p.522). The motifs of the text in this scene interpret various emotions of the suitors such as acknowledging a divine epiphany; admiring of their contestants; and also expressing acknowledgment to the authority of Telemachus. Similarly, the non-verbal communications between the characters in the final books of Odyssey provides explicit narrative characterization about the position of the suitors and other events happening in the palace. Telemachus plays a critical role in executing the actions and uniting each of Eumaios and Odysseus’ plans with his composite authority and efficient mediation between the two. Similarly, Penelope addresses Telemachus with a rhetorical motif enabling her to warn him obliquely about the suitors and their murderous intentions, however, without impairing his authority among them. Thus, power and beauty of her language emotionally conquers her suitors as well as her sons, stirring them into action. The cultural conceptions about the different individuals and groups determine the relative roles of those characters. In both the texts, there is a specific portrayal of women and their social status with men, in respect to each of the society and its culture. According to the Indian culture, female characters are often seen as the embodiment of traditional customs, and are expected to uphold the virtues of an ideal woman. The status of woman and men in the culture are conferred by the ethical texts, and Ramayana depicts Rama and Sita as the representation of ideal man and woman, respectively. Moreover, Ramayana depicts the patriarchal nature of the Indian society and compares woman to be of lower status than men. However, in Odyssey, Penelope plays the role of mother, ruler, and wife simultaneously, thus depicting the ideal woman of Greek society with her virtues of chastity, generosity, attractiveness, and intelligence. Thus, both Ramayana and Odyssey provide enough evidences to express their cultural differences, along with showing the significance of each of the culture in shaping the lifestyle and virtues of its people. The characterization of Odysseus and Rama share prominent similarities, but at the same time are distinct from one another, because of the influences of their respective cultures. The communication and rhetoric function of both the stories depict not only the social and cultural conditions of their age, but also interpret the traditions and practices of their ancient cultures. From a modern standpoint, the faithful characteristics of both Penelope and Sita as well as the bravery of Odysseus and Rama are estimable for today’s readers. Perhaps, both the texts depict a perfect reflection of their respective cultures, particularly of the social status of men and women, traditions, hospitality customs, ideologies and heroic actions. Thus, both Valmiki and Homer reflect the glory of ancient times, respect to the cultures of Greece and ancient India. References: Hoffer, Stanley. E. “Telemachus "Laugh" (Odyssey 21.105): Deceit, Authority, and Communication in the Bow Contest.”The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 116, No. 4 (Winter, 1995), pp. 515-531. Homer. The Odyssey: Translated by Robert Fitzgerald. Random House, 2010. Valmiki. The Ramayana (Annotated). Bronson Tweed Publishing, 1870 Read More