English 213, Blk 1 November 06, 2015
Odyssey Response Paper #1
Loyalty is something you give regardless of what you get back. In The Odyssey by Homer, loyalty constantly appears hand in hand with obligations and personal relations. Penelope remains faithful to Odysseus during his extended absence, despite the risks it possesses to Telemachos and herself. Due to Penelope’s gender, she is not allowed to rule by herself and she must stay faithful to her spouse, which means in Odysseus’ absence, she cannot be infidel; however with his prolonged absence, a new suitor is forced upon her. Odysseus, on the other hand, remains faithful to his crew and continues to struggle daily in an attempt to bring all of them home. He cannot leave his crew due to his loyalty, but also, he could be shown as a leader who does not care for the well being of others. Both Penelope and Odysseus are loyal due to social standards and their personal relations with whom they are loyal to.
Social standards in ancient Greece require the women to stay faithful to their spouses at all times; however, Odysseus’ prolonged absence forces others to believe he is dead, allowing Penelope to break this statute. When suitors come to marry Penelope, she devises a plan to …show more content…
Both will attempt to conform as much as possible to please others in their community due to their high rankings, but they also choose what they would like to accomplish. Penelope believes Odysseus is still alive after ten years and continues to be faithful to her husband even when a new suitor is forced upon her. Similarly, Odysseus fights to bring all of his men home because it would hurt his name if he did not, but also because he cared deeply for his crew. Although Penelope and Odysseus demonstrated different acts of loyalty, they were also very similar in the sense of what played into them following through with their