The Appeal of Home :: Essays Papers

The Appeal of HomeIn the Greek camp at the end of the Iliad, we see Achilleus arrive at the conclusion that is the theme of the replete(p) poemthat to be mortal is to suffer. However, Homer leaves unanswered the logical unbelief regarding this conclusion If to live is to suffer, then why live at both? This then becomes the central doubt of the Odyssey, in which we are given an but different kind of character who rejects two distinct possibilitiesan immortal blood and a utopian communityfor his own wife and his return (I, 13). The question we are then compelled to ask is, what could Penelope and his Ithakan household possibly pass that is worth more than utopia and immortality? To illustrate what Odysseus couldve had, Homer shows us a melody for each aspect of Odysseuss longinga couple and a community. Through these contrasts, we are shown just why these options dont peak up for Odysseus. The immortal couple is embodied in the marriage of Helen and Menelaos, who excite been promised the equivalent of eternal bliss in the Elysian Fields. While Menelaos had his homecoming delayed, he never had to resist temptation along the way. The Trojan fight and the journey back are nostalgic stories for him, to be recounted for guests as a means of recapturing the past glory of fighting. And Helen, unlike Penelope, certainly has never been virtuoso to spurn attractive custody and remain loyal to her husband, or to anything at all for that matter. She could not even choose a side in a war fought ostensibly for her sake (IV, 250-284). It is meaningful that, rather than submit to deal with the guests weeping, she slips something in their drinks to prevent their show of emotion (IV, 219-227). Helen avoids connection with men while her husband wants only to connect with the past. Once guaranteed immortality, there is no pressing need for either of them to attempt the extraordinarily difficult toil of truly understanding one another because there is always duration for that later. This is the marriage that Odysseus couldve had had he stayed with Kalypso, but he understands its emptiness and refuses it, instead choosing a woman whom he knows has spent the interceding years resisting men whom Helen wouldve jumped right into cut with.But Odysseus returns for more than just the single meaningful relationship betwixt himself and Penelope.