Odysseus And Dante's Inferno Analysis

The Odyssey and Dante’s Inferno
The Odyssey is an epic written by Homer. This poem is based on a love story that describes the escapades of Odysseus and his son Telemachus. Homer tells of the hardships and struggle Odysseus encountered on his way back home to his family after the war. Homer tells of Odysseus’s expeditions as he was travelling home as a hero after the Trojan War. Odysseus faced many challenges and struggles from battling Poseidon, the creatures in the sea and battling the suitors to reclaim his home. Odysseus had to fight creatures from the underworld and at the same time seek guidance from the divine in order to reach his family. On the other hand, Inferno is a divine comedy written by Dante Alighieri. Dante the protagonist …show more content…
Telemachus started his journey as a young, immature boy who was only brought up by his mother Penelope in the absence of his father. He was depicted as a shy, timid and a weak boy who was greatly pampered by his mother. After starting his journey in search for his father’s whereabouts, his maturity began. He was able to mature later after embarking on a journey in search for his father, in addition to dealing with the suitors who took advantage of him and his mother in his father’s absence. His journey to maturation started when Telemachus runaway from his home in Ithaca to go get more information on his father. On the other hand, Dante’s journey was a metaphor to maturation because, after al the struggles, he was able to understand what is evil and good and made a right decision in his life. Initially, he was exiled from his home due to political struggle because he was immature, but after the challenges he faced in hell, he was able to mature and go back to his people. Even though the protagonist in the story, Odysseus and Dante started their journeys when they were already adults, their maturity rate increased. In order for the two to reach home, they passed a lot of struggles and challenges, they all stood the tests. Odysseus matured in his strength to withstand temptations that he encountered on his journey back home while Dante matured in hi way of thinking and making the right choices, that is why he chose good over evil. The protagonists were able to fight the divine and emerge heroes at the end of all the challenges they