As Mario Puzo once said, “the strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other”. This is a significant message that applies to everyday life and in literature. In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, loyalty and trust from others are necessary in order to succeed as shown through the Ithacans, the gods, and Odysseus’ crew.
The loyalty of Ithacans to is vital to Odysseus when defeating the suitors and restoring his home. Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus says, “And you replied, Eumaeus, loyal swineherd, ‘...My master...would have repaid me well...so deeply he loved me, cared for me, so deeply. Worlds away as he is, I call him Master, Brother!’” (Homer 306). The Odyssey is mostly told through a third person omniscient narrator but here Odysseus is referring to Eumaeus in the second …show more content…
As Wolfgang Muller claims, “the fact that the narrator steps out of his role as a distanced teller of the story and directly addresses the swineherd, is an expression of sympathy and, perhaps, even love for this character.” When Eumaeus refers to Odysseus as his master even after his absence reveals his loyalty to him. Furthermore, by saying that his master would have ‘repaid’ him, it demonstrates that Odysseus is a good leader and that Eumaeus is showing xenia because it was a value he upheld. As a result, Odysseus is able to trust him and use his help in defeating the suitors. Homer illustrates another scene in which Eurycleia, another loyal Ithacan, recognizes Odysseus’ scar from when he was a child. He describes, “...[Eurycleia’s] felt it, knew it, suddenly...joy and torment gripped her heart at once...She glanced at Penelope, keen to signal her that here was her own dear husband” (Homer 405). Homer brings the reader's attention to the shock and instant recognition by separating ‘knew it’ with commas
The loyalty of Ithacans to is vital to Odysseus when defeating the suitors and restoring his home. Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus says, “And you replied, Eumaeus, loyal swineherd, ‘...My master...would have repaid me well...so deeply he loved me, cared for me, so deeply. Worlds away as he is, I call him Master, Brother!’” (Homer 306). The Odyssey is mostly told through a third person omniscient narrator but here Odysseus is referring to Eumaeus in the second …show more content…
As Wolfgang Muller claims, “the fact that the narrator steps out of his role as a distanced teller of the story and directly addresses the swineherd, is an expression of sympathy and, perhaps, even love for this character.” When Eumaeus refers to Odysseus as his master even after his absence reveals his loyalty to him. Furthermore, by saying that his master would have ‘repaid’ him, it demonstrates that Odysseus is a good leader and that Eumaeus is showing xenia because it was a value he upheld. As a result, Odysseus is able to trust him and use his help in defeating the suitors. Homer illustrates another scene in which Eurycleia, another loyal Ithacan, recognizes Odysseus’ scar from when he was a child. He describes, “...[Eurycleia’s] felt it, knew it, suddenly...joy and torment gripped her heart at once...She glanced at Penelope, keen to signal her that here was her own dear husband” (Homer 405). Homer brings the reader's attention to the shock and instant recognition by separating ‘knew it’ with commas