Nature vs. Culture in Odyssey Essay
The imagery of nature and culture links every picture from Book 9 to Book doze in Odyssey.
On the area of Cyclopes, Odysseus’s face with the one-eyed uncivilized large unveils Odysseus’s cleverness as being a civilized human being; Nevertheless, Odysseus eventually does not overcome the flaw of human attribute, as he tells Polyphemus regarding his genuine mortal id when he can be sailing away, which eventually brings Poseidon’s revenge to Achaeans. By one level human world teaches Odysseus the skill of applying wooden personnel and wines to fight with Polyphemus’s durability, but the characteristics of superpower can easily exceed human beings’ wisdom.
When ever Circe in Book eleven turns Odysseus’s men in pigs, when the blind forecaster Tiresias foretells Odysseus’s destiny, and when Zeus punishes Odysseus with an additional storm, Odysseus and his males are incapable but acknowledge their lives. The issue between nature and lifestyle connects humans’ world with gods’ universe, thus makes every account interesting to follow as uncivilized creatures have got human characteristics and civil human beings own “limited” superpower.
For example , in book twelve, when Circe turns Odysseus’s men in pig, Odysseus can only overpower Circe using Hermes’ instructions: “Take this kind of herb, which is one of great virtue, and maintain it about who you are when you go to Circe’s house, it will be a talisman to you against every sort of mischief”(Book By, 54). When Odysseus “rushed at her with sword drawn”, Odysseus is in a situation where he is definitely even in a position to overcome the potency of an underworld creature. Both Polyphemus and Circe represent the power of nature, as their globe does not possess any law or values, while odysseus’s journey symbolizes the power of traditions, as the man of traditions defeats highly effective immortal creatures through brains and self-restraint.
- Category: United States
- Words: 308
- Pages: 2
- Project Type: Essay