In both The Odyssey and The Swede, a character makes a decision regarding whether or not to act the way society has taught them to. In The Odyssey, Odysseus decides not to fight Scylla despite the integral part of his identity that is a war hero. The outcome of this is positive, and Odysseus grows as a person. Whereas in The Swede Danny regreses as a person to fit in as a teenage boy. Both stories give examples of how society's perception of individuals can change how they act.
In The Swede, Danny, a high school age boy, meets a new Swedish student named Per-Erik. When a Swedish company takes over a small town mill, Per-Erik and his family relocate from Sweden to Green Bay. Danny’s friends see Per-Erik as an embodiment of everything they hate. Danny witnesses and participates in the ridicule and pranks at Per-Erik’s expense. Like many teenagers, all Danny wants is to fit in. So goes along with the pranks, at first as a bystander and then as a participant. He explains his reasoning in that “I really don’t care if …show more content…
He has been taught by the society that he lives in that it is his duty as a hero to commit acts of violence. When he makes the decision not to fight the monster Scylla, based on his lover Circe’s advice, it reveals that Odysseus has more depth to him than just a war hero. When he first encounters the monster, he desperately wants to fight her: “clear [his] mind of Circe’s orders-- cramping my style, urging me to not arm at all.” (12.245-246) Odysseus makes the decision to not act on this urge and it exhibits a multi-faceted character that is struggling to break out of the role he was born in. He has been a war hero almost his entire life and was taught the only resolution is violence. For the first time in his journey, he is choosing his battles. This decision helps the reader to empathize with the character and clarify the societal pressure he is under to “be a
In The Swede, Danny, a high school age boy, meets a new Swedish student named Per-Erik. When a Swedish company takes over a small town mill, Per-Erik and his family relocate from Sweden to Green Bay. Danny’s friends see Per-Erik as an embodiment of everything they hate. Danny witnesses and participates in the ridicule and pranks at Per-Erik’s expense. Like many teenagers, all Danny wants is to fit in. So goes along with the pranks, at first as a bystander and then as a participant. He explains his reasoning in that “I really don’t care if …show more content…
He has been taught by the society that he lives in that it is his duty as a hero to commit acts of violence. When he makes the decision not to fight the monster Scylla, based on his lover Circe’s advice, it reveals that Odysseus has more depth to him than just a war hero. When he first encounters the monster, he desperately wants to fight her: “clear [his] mind of Circe’s orders-- cramping my style, urging me to not arm at all.” (12.245-246) Odysseus makes the decision to not act on this urge and it exhibits a multi-faceted character that is struggling to break out of the role he was born in. He has been a war hero almost his entire life and was taught the only resolution is violence. For the first time in his journey, he is choosing his battles. This decision helps the reader to empathize with the character and clarify the societal pressure he is under to “be a