Analysis of the Odyssey - Essay Example

Close Reading of The Odyssey by Homer Telemachus’ speech in book two page 41-42 line 38 to 62 “‘Sir,’ said he, ‘it is I, as you will shortly learn, who have convened you, for it is I who am the most aggrieved. I have not got wind of any host approaching about which I would warn you, nor is there any matter of public moment on which I would speak. My grievance is purely personal, and turns on two great misfortunes which have fallen upon my house. The first of these is the loss of my excellent father, who was chief among all you here present, and was like a father to every one of you; the second is much more serious, and ere long will be the utter ruin of my estate. The sons of all the chief men among you are pestering my mother to marry them against her will. They are afraid to go to her father Icarius, asking him to choose the one he likes best, and to provide marriage gifts for his daughter, but day by day they keep hanging about my father’s house, sacrificing our oxen, sheep, and fat goats for their banquets, and never giving so much as a thought to the quantity of wine they drink. No estate can stand such recklessness; we have now no Ulysses to ward off harm from our doors, and I cannot hold my own against them. I shall never all my days be as good a man as he was, still I would indeed defend myself if I had power to do so, for I cannot stand such treatment any longer; my house is being disgraced and ruined”. Response to the excerpt This excerpt is a speech which is given by Telemachus to the council of all the men of Ithaca to urge them to take away his mother’s suitors from his home as they were abusing the generosity of their hospitality as they were slaughtering more cattle and sheep everyday as Penelope could not make a choice of who to marry. This speech leads to development of several themes which progress throughout the story. The major theme in this context is the role of women in this society which in this case being seductresses. Penelope plays a role of a seductress in this context which upsets the suitors leading to their worst guest behavior at Odysseys place. While she accepts gifts from all her suitors and even proclaims to marry the one with the most pleasant gifts, she tricks them by undoing her days knitting at night so that she can continue seducing her suitors. This speech marks the beginning of Telemachus’ journey as he matures to become a leader just like his father. This meeting was the first since his father disappeared and according to Aegyptius, who is a wise Ithacan elder, Telemachus is ready to fit into his father’s shoes. He is also able to make a very passionate speech. Odyssey being a travel genre has several aspects of travel in it; this except marks the beginning of Telemachus’ psychological journey from a naïve youth to a mature leader. This begins by developing the courage to call a meeting with the assembly where he presents a very abrupt speech to ask his mother’s suitors to leave the palace after a day. This new outlook is shown when he refuses to console his mother after she complains about the singing bards and instead he comforts her with unsympathetic treatment which is more commanding a sort of awakening the manhood in him. Homer has used language effectively in this except to reveal aspects of style and speeches. The use of language allows for the development of characters. By making such an abrupt speech, Telemachus shows that he has matured into a man who is capable of standing up to the suitors and condemning their activities in the palace. The words are chosen carefully to present an emotional appeal which is also informative and in turn moves the assembly to silence. The text uses a metaphor of ‘loom’ which Penelope weaves during the day and gets it undone by night. The loom symbolizes Penelope’s cunning and seductive behavior and also represents the suitor’s density. This metaphor is part of the queen’s treachery as she tells the suitors that she would make a decision on who to marry after fining to weave the loom but then during the night, she gets all her days weaving undone such that by the following day she starts again. This is a deception on her part as she has done this for three years without the knowledge of the suitors till the day she was betrayed by her servant who told the suitors all that was going on in the palace. The challenges faced in this context involves invasion of the palace by suitors who are consuming Odyssey’s oxen and sheep. Due to the inability of Penelope to make any decisions regarding her suitors and choosing the one to marry, Telemachus is suffering both for the loss his father and also for the trouble caused by the suitors. He feels that responsible suitors should have asked for Penelope’s hand in marriage from Icarius, her father instead of consuming all of Odysseys animals. Another challenge is the response he gets from making this speech as Antinous, leading suitor who is very angry with the queen since he was interested in the queen for political reasons. He attacks Telemachus’ mother insolently calling her a cunning woman and tells him that she is the one to blame and not the suitors. Eurymachus another suitors goes ahead to refute a prophet who comes to announce the possibility of Odyssey being alive. This part of the text is very influential in the future of this story as it forms the basis for the looming journey of Telemachus to Pylos to look for his father. The attack on her mother by the suitors after this speech triggers Telemachus to ask for vengeance from Zeus, the king of gods in Greece for vengeance. This move leads to appearance of dueling eagles which seer Halitherses tells them it means Odysseus will return. Due to the fact that the assembly was not able to solve to solve any problem as they did not believe the prophecy. This sets in motion the journey undertaken by Telemachus as advised by his mentor Athena to look for his father in Pylos. The two concepts learned in this text are prophesy and xenia. A prophesy was interpreted by the seer Halitherses turned things around for the suitors as it led to return of Odyssey back in the palace where all the suitors were punished by being bad hosts. This concept is closely linked to xenia which is a cultural implication of hospitality in Greek. The people of Greek held more significance for hospitality because it was a cultural obligation in respect for their gods and society. This is because Zeus, the king of gods in Greece was a traveler who will walk for long distances without food and shelter and depended on the hospitality of the people along his way. This created a responsibility for the Greek people to be hospitable to other travelers as well as breaching of the rules governing xenia in Greek attracted punishment from Zeus. This analysis evokes two questions for further study. The first one is; were the values developed by Telemachus provoked by the disappearance of his father?, if so what is the fate of this new development after the return of his father? Work Cited Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Viking, 1996. Print. Read More