The Odyssey Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.” Every story holds truth to it, no matter what year it was published. In the The Odyssey by Homer, there are many themes that help readers in our world today, even though the epic poem was written hundreds of years ago.
The first theme from The Odyssey that applies to our world today is considering advice from others often leads to success. In the story, Lady Circe warns Odysseus that when he sails past the Sirens to “plug your oarsmen’s ears / with beeswax kneaded soft;... / let the men tie you in the lugger...so you may hear those harpies’ thrilling voices” (12.16-19). As Odysseus and his men row into the Siren’s territory, Odysseus follows Lady Circe’s instructions precisely. Because he considered her advice, Odysseus and his men continued their journey without harm. Another …show more content…
The whole poem is about Odysseus trying to find his way back to his wife, Penelope, and his kingdom. Even though Penelope could have easily moved on to another man, she stayed faithful to Odysseus and “[her] stiff heart [knew] that [she] [was] [his]” (23.438). Even though Odysseus didn’t stay completely loyal to his wife, once he returns home “he wept at last, his dear wife, clear and faithful, [was] in his arms” (23.440-41). He even kills many men because they were battling for his wife’s hand in marriage. After they spend nearly 20 years apart, their flame of love for each other never dulls. I can relate this to my religion which is Catholicism. As a Catholic, I believe that God’s love for us is never ending. He created everything for us out of love. He even sent down his only son, Jesus, to save us from sin and grant us eternal life. Even if I sin and make a mistake, I know that if I’m sorry God will forgive me. No matter what, I’ll always love him in return. That’s a real example of how love never
The first theme from The Odyssey that applies to our world today is considering advice from others often leads to success. In the story, Lady Circe warns Odysseus that when he sails past the Sirens to “plug your oarsmen’s ears / with beeswax kneaded soft;... / let the men tie you in the lugger...so you may hear those harpies’ thrilling voices” (12.16-19). As Odysseus and his men row into the Siren’s territory, Odysseus follows Lady Circe’s instructions precisely. Because he considered her advice, Odysseus and his men continued their journey without harm. Another …show more content…
The whole poem is about Odysseus trying to find his way back to his wife, Penelope, and his kingdom. Even though Penelope could have easily moved on to another man, she stayed faithful to Odysseus and “[her] stiff heart [knew] that [she] [was] [his]” (23.438). Even though Odysseus didn’t stay completely loyal to his wife, once he returns home “he wept at last, his dear wife, clear and faithful, [was] in his arms” (23.440-41). He even kills many men because they were battling for his wife’s hand in marriage. After they spend nearly 20 years apart, their flame of love for each other never dulls. I can relate this to my religion which is Catholicism. As a Catholic, I believe that God’s love for us is never ending. He created everything for us out of love. He even sent down his only son, Jesus, to save us from sin and grant us eternal life. Even if I sin and make a mistake, I know that if I’m sorry God will forgive me. No matter what, I’ll always love him in return. That’s a real example of how love never