Art of the Odyssey - Literature review Example

While Macbeth’s commitment to Duncan is obvious to the audience, it is acknowledged by Macbeth himself as he considers the idea of assassination: “He’s here in double trust: / First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, / Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, / Who should against his murderer shut the door” (I, vii, 12-15). Beyond this, he also knows that Duncan has been a good and fair king and killing him is unjustified. Despite his own conviction that Duncan should not be killed, Macbeth is made to feel guilty about possibly backing out of the plan by his wife, who confronts him with his duty to her and all that she has done to support his ambitions. To spur Macbeth into action, Lady Macbeth indicates she is the stronger character because “I have given suck, and know / How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me: / I would, while it was smiling in my face, / Have plucked the nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn” (I, vii, 54-58). Although guilt forces him to go through with the murder of the king, Macbeth becomes a victim to a new kind of guilt following the murder that far surpasses anything he had experienced before it. When Macbeth willingly participates in murder, this quickly escalates to massacres of perceived enemies and the propagation of lies and deceits as a means of maintaining the perception others have of him. As Macbeth confesses to his wife his fears regarding his inability to say ‘Amen’ (II, ii) following his first murder, she consoles him and warns him against the future both share, “These deeds must not be thought / After these ways; so, it will make us mad” (II, ii, 32-33). Despite this warning, though, neither character seems capable of escaping the inevitable deterioration of the soul that their actions have brought upon them. Because of this guilt, Macbeth begins seeing ghosts of friends he has murdered on the suspicion that they might accuse him of Duncan’s murder and Lady Macbeth goes insane in an attempt to cleanse herself of the guilt that has infected her soul. Like Macbeth, a great portion of Odysseus’ tale is brought about as a response to guilt. He has fought well and bravely before Troy and, at the beginning of his story, is preparing to return home to his wife Penelope and the young son he has yet to meet. However, in willingly joining in battle on Troy, which was strongly associated with ideas of family and home, Odysseus has committed a crime that must be atoned for. Zeus makes this clear in the beginning of the play when he tells the other gods, “For shame, how the mortals put the blame upon us / gods [when] they … by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given” (Odyssey, 1.32-34). The various ways in which Odysseus is kept from returning home can then be seen as a direct response of his own actions. He is first blown off course because of the way he warred against the family by warring with the Trojans, and then is kept from home because of the way he tricked the Cyclops. The years Odysseus spends wandering the earth, trapped on islands and discovering his way through Hades are the ways in which he atones for his own guilt, but, unlike Macbeth, he doesn’t necessarily acknowledge this connection. Although he is seen on Kalypso’s island “breaking his heart in tears, lamentation, and sorrow” (Odyssey, 5.83), he is not remorseful about the men he’s killed at Troy or the actions he’s taken other than that they have not brought him home. Part of the reason he doesn’t acknowledge this connection is because most of his actions have been the right way to act according to his culture. He participated in battle as a result of allegiances he had with other Greeks and he tricked the Cyclops as the only means of protecting his life and the life of his men, yet he still had to pay the consequences of his actions. It may be that this simple difference, that Odysseus honored the ‘rules’ of society while Macbeth did not, that he was able to finally return and reclaim his home while Macbeth loses everything, including his life. There is a great deal of similarity between the characters of Telemachus of Homer’s Odyssey and Beowulf of the ancient epic poem. In the beginning of Homer’s story, Telemachus demonstrates an inability to manage his houseguests and an awkwardness in cultured manners when he arrives in Pylos at the beginning of the tale, aspects of his character that take the goddess Athena by surprise when she decides to send him on a hero’s quest. “Although the goddess is at once impressed by Telemachus’ physical resemblance to his famous father, his insecurity is such that he is even unsure of his own identity and never refers to his father by name” (Clarke, 1967, p. 32). His contacts with first Nestor and then Menelaus provide him with the examples he needs of a real example of what is expected of him in a civilized household as well as the example these leaders set in being a “father figure” to their kingdoms, which leads both the society and the family to thrive and grow. Accepted into Nestor’s household and given respect as an equal helps Telemachus find his footing in the palace of Menelaus, further bolstering his confidence. This journey undertaken by Telemachus is very similar in form as the journey undertaken by Odysseus later in the story, with the purpose of giving him the heroic experience he needs to stand as a man when he is finally reunited with his father. “Telemachus has been schooled in the forms of the heroic life in Books III and IV; in XV he has earned the right to transcend them. He can now dispense with social obligations, for his own obligations are infinitely more demanding. He must be about his father’s business” (Clarke, 1967, p. 38). Becoming a replica of his father, Telemachus is now prepared to stand by his father’s side in outwitting and outfighting the unwanted suitors, helping to bring about the peace and prosperity Ithaca has longed for and demonstrating how continuity between the generations has led to success. In many ways, Beowulf takes on this same characterization as a young man in sore need of fatherly example, which he receives from Hrothgar. Beowulf emerges as an example of a young hero in the making upon his arrival in Hrothgar’s court. His attention to civility is evidenced in his willingness to stand in his father’s place to repay a debt owed to King Hrothgar. Although he must assure Hrothgar that he is capable of accomplishing the task set before him, Beowulf is careful to remain humble. Comments from some of Hrothgar’s men indicate that this might not have always been the case with him as it is suggested that he perhaps had a habit of bragging too much in the past and had suffered some humiliating defeats as a result. This is similar to the innocence and naiveté of Telemachus as he attempts to learn from Menelaus what is expected of a man to be a good father and a good king. Hrothgar teaches Beowulf how to run a successful hall, retain his men’s loyalty and love and how to help his kingdom prosper. He tells Beowulf, “Beloved Beowulf, best of warriors, resist this deadly taint, take what is better, your lasting profit. Put away arrogance, noble fighter! The noon of your strength shall last for a while now, but in a little time, sickness or a sword shall swipe it from you” (1758-63). Acting on what he’s learned from Hrothgar, Beowulf is able to return to his own homeland and run a successful and prosperous land for many years before the dragon is awakened to bring its own bane upon Beowulf’s older days. Both Telemachus and Beowulf represent the Hero archetype in that they both appear in the story as innocents, are tested through their individual journeys under the instruction of an elder man and return home to become strong rulers in their own time. In the novel Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver is shipwrecked in a miniature land known as Lilliput. After first being captured by the tiny people, then gradually earning their trust, he finally becomes a servant of the king. In this capacity, the things he observes provides the author, Jonathan Swift with an outlet for his political satire. As it unfolds, Gulliver’s trip to Lilliput and his time at the tiny court illustrates the various intrigues and mismanagement Swift experienced in the real world. As the ambitious Lilliputians fought to gain approval for an office, they danced on a rope held off the floor or were forced to jump over or crawl under a stick to demonstrate their ability to quickly adjust to the whims and desires of the monarch. The awarding of positions within the Lilliput government had little to do with actual talent for the job, education in that area or specific relevant experience to perform in that capacity, but was instead awarded on this ability to please the king. Despite his early impressions regarding the tremendous achievements that have been made by these small peoples, he soon realizes that outward appearances are not necessarily reflected on the inside. The tiny people are great in heart and mighty in deed, yet as the Lilliputians squabble over such small matters as which side of an egg should be cracked or how high a heel should be worn Gulliver begins to realize that they are not above the small-minded trivialities experienced in other governments closer to home. This behavior is very similar to what is being released regarding the behavior of President Bush in making many of his decisions both for filling positions of power within the United States government and in his decisions for appropriate action. For example, in declaring war on Iraq, Bush chose to follow the advice of jaded, self serving legal opinion in spite of strong disagreement by the U.S. State Department which cautioned against disregarding U.N. and international laws as well as covenants of the Geneva Convention. The Bush administration was head-strong in its cavalier use of military force and lack of respect for laws agreed to by the world’s community of nations. Gulliver’s second voyage takes him to the land of the Brobdingnag, who are giants compared to Gulliver. In most instances, the giants who find themselves in possession of him treat Gulliver as a beast or, at best, a unique pet. The farmer who first finds him places him on display for the other giants to come and laugh at. Although he is given a nice bed and home, being treated much as a favorite doll by the giant family’s daughter, his comfort is not given much thought by the farmer as he is repeatedly shaken out to perform for the guests. He is sold to the queen who is impressed by his intelligence and begins to treat him somewhat better. However, he is still expected to perform by making conversation with the giants and performing other ‘tricks’ such as eating at the table. This is much like the way in which powerful people in Swift’s time as well as today tend to view those with less power, less money or less prestige as somehow less capable of having good ideas, knowledge of the world around them or potential solutions to the problems at hand. Although Gulliver responds to the giants by learning their language and obliging them as an entertainer, he begins to find them repulsive in their actions, seeing their skin as full of pores and observing the grotesquely magnified process of eating. Despite their size, Gulliver learns that bigger doesn’t always mean better, smarter or wiser when he gains the opportunities to see them at court. Through the conversations he is able to have with the king, Gulliver realizes not even the king, the leader of these giant people, has an understanding of true politics occurring within his own court. Through these types of observations, satire is again introduced, this time speaking out against the warlike attitudes of England and the Europeans as the easily overpowering giants abhor war over all other things. The Bush administration, while having an equally uneducated view of true politics and how to bring about the betterment of the nation, they have opted to go with the brute force approach that that the giants rejected. References Clarke, Howard W. The Art of the Odyssey. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall Publishing, 1967. Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. E.V. Rieu. New York: Penguin Books, 1946. Shakespeare, William. (1969). “Macbeth.” William Shakespeare: The Complete Works. Alfred Harbage (Ed.). New York: Penguin Books, 1969: 1107-1135. Read More