Odysseus Speech In Homer's The Odyssey

Reading about The Odyssey has shown to be an enriched source of information of which it could show how people in the ancient world used to live and show what they believed in. We learn about Odysseus, a man hated by gods, trying to persuade Nausikaa daughter of King Alcinous. Different attempts of persuasion were used in his speech in order to help Odysseus in his quest to persuade Nausikaa into helping him get supplies. One of his attempts was to persuade Nausikaa with a talk about her family. “ If you are one of earth’s inhabitants, how blest your father, and your gentle mother, blest all your kin. (165-67). Odysseus first attempt is shown to be a strong one, because it uses psychology in his favor. By talking about her family, Nausikaa tend to show more focus to what Odysseus will most likely to say. Talking about a delicate topic could potentially increase the focus of the listener. By doing so, Odysseus can maintain a good conversation in which his listener will be hearing …show more content…
We can see different phrases in his speech that give away this theme of desperating. For example, “Mistress, do me a kindness!” (188). What this phrase mean is simply calling out for help. We also see this theme throughout all of the speech. “Direct me to the town, give me a rag that I can throw around me, some cloth or wrapping that you brought along.” (191-94). In this passage, Odysseus is asking for directions and also cloth in order to clean himself and to have a clean pair of cloth to wear. He is being also a very religious individual. He odly uses the words, “And may the gods accomplish your desire: a home, a husband, and harmonious.” (194-195). This passage is important because it shows what poor people do when other give them stuff. Normally, when a person gives something to someone they normally say stuff like “God Bless You”, or “May God Bless your family, and your life.” Words like this can be similar to those of