He built the bedroom around the tree and would know that the bed cannot be moved. When Odysseus becomes upset that the original bed may have been destroyed, Penelope is relieved and accepts him as her long-absent husband. In Book 23 of the Odyssey, “The Great Rooted Bed,” Homer uses hyperbolic diction and syntax to portray an old fashioned culture in which women idolize men because society finds them to be the inferior sex. Homer uses hyperbolic diction and syntax to portray the sexist culture of the time throughout the Odyssey. Odysseus begins to have enough of Penelope’s tests and starts to get fed up with her. Recognizing that it truly is him, Penelope bursts out, “Odysseus- don’t flare up at me now, not you, always the most understanding man alive!” The selection of the word “most” in the context of what’s happening, demonstrates the values of …show more content…
Homer is displaying that women used to idolize men, as Penelope refers to Odysseus as “the most understanding man alive.” The author is showing that even when Odysseus is getting mad with Penelope, she still feels she needs to refer to him as such a hero. Later in the Book, Penelope is deciding on whether or not to accept this person as Odysseus. In this passage, the staccato syntax used by Homer portrays Penelope as an indecisive, weak willed woman because she is so worried about accidentally “betraying” him. Society doesn’t take the negative portrayal of women to heart in the Odyssey, but we continue to read it because of the lessons that can be learned from its unique