So in my notes from yesterday's class when we discussed books 23 and 24, I have written down "the hero in this poem?" I sort of mentioned this a little bit in class but I feel like I can expand on this topic. (prepare yourself for some rambling)
Let's start with Odysseus. From the very beginning of this poem, we learn that the hero of this story is the man of twists and turns. Although in my last post I said I felt a little uneasy at the slaughter in the hall, at least some of Odysseus' actions felt justified (killing Antinous at the very least seemed alright). However, I think I feel this way because for the entire book, Homer has painted the suitors as evil, power-hungry men. Even though we know that Odysseus is unfaithful and at times careless, Homer hasn't made him look like as villainous as he made the suitors look. Hearing things from the suitors' families' perspectives changes things. Ben pointed out that this makes Odysseus look like a dictator, seeing as he killed hundreds of his own people and then just threw them outside his house for their families to collect. After reading about how all the suitors' parents had to identify their children and imagining what it would be like to be in their place, I feel like what Odysseus did to the suitors kind of undoes all of his heroic actions from the Trojan War. Even though he's meant to be the hero of the story, I'm not so sure anymore.
I feel like I should mention Telemachus because I've been rooting for him this whole time. Telemachus is one of my favorite characters so I'm hesitant to deprecate him. There's been a lot of talk ever since we started The Odyssey about whether or not it's even possible for him to be a hero. I've been commenting a lot about how I think he has potential to be a hero and how if he overcomes his insecurities he could be great. If you consider Odysseus' massacre of the suitors to be heroic then I think you could also deem Telemachus a hero. He finally meets his father and fights alongside him to regain control of their palace. If you were to put it like that, I think you could absolutely classify Telemachus as a hero. However, now that I'm questioning Odysseus' heroism, I'm not really sure where Telemachus stands. He followed his father and fought with him to get rid of the suitors, who treated Telemachus like dirt. Telemachus still doesn't really do this on his own, he just does what his father does, so I'm not sure I would classify him as either a hero or a villain. What he does isn't morally just but And he yells at his mom a lot, which I'm not fond of.
When you think of the gods, or any divine power, you would expect perfection. We know that humans make mistakes and that no one is perfect, but I don't think this way with omnipotent beings. A ton of what happens in this book is because Athena wanted it to happen. This is all her show. Athena sets up everything and watches the events unfold. She's the one who wants to see Odysseus kill all the suitors and she's the one who tells Laertes to throw the spear and kill Eupithes (who wasn't really doing anything wrong?). I think Athena can take most of the blame for everything that happened. I understand that playing with humans is kind of a pastime for the gods, but I would at least expect her to do the right thing. But instead of doing the right thing, she erases everyone's memories?? I believe the parents of the suitors have the right to be upset that their supposed mighty king slaughtered all of their children, and to fix this, she just makes them forget they ever had kids. At least Odysseus (and Telemachus) have a bit of an excuse, being human and prone to mistakes and doing unjust things, but Athena is a goddess. It feels weird to say that she is to blame for everything, but maybe this is the case.
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Maybe it's because I'm also teaching a class on the coming-of-age novel right now, but my attention also tends to lean toward Telemachus--there's something inherently dramatic about the prospect of a young man (a prince) coming of age under such circumstances, and he has more room to develop than Odysseus (who has already proven his mettle as a hero at this point). I don't see Telemachus's heroism as diminished by the fact that he's like a subordinate officer to his father during their slaughter campaign--this is appropriate, as it's the King and Prince, side by side. But we see Telemachus emerge into the *role* of prince, to *believe* he's "royal," for the first time at the end. Early on, he cynically questions whether he even is Odysseus's son. Once Odysseus says to him, "I'm the only father who will ever return to you," all doubt is removed, and he fully embraces his role.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading The Odyssey, I also found myself also unable to distinguish a true hero of the story. Most would consider Odysseus, since he liberated his city from the power-hungry suitors that have inhabited his palace, drinking his wine and eating his food, for the past few years. But also, my moral conscience leads me to think other wise. That is why I have come to the conclusion that there is no hero. I really can't deem any character is this book because I don't think any of them had enough justification for their actions.
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