Character Analysis of Penelope in The Odyssey

In ancient Greece, women were objects to be won. In The Odyssey by Homer, Penelope is shown as a one sided character. She only weeps and waits for Odysseus. She is portrayed as an eternally faithful wife. In The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, we see another side of Penelope. The book is set in the underworld after they have all died and Penelope is telling her side of the story. She is shown as a strong, clever, deceptive woman. She is a more developed character and actually has opinions and thoughts. In The Odyssey, set during the Trojan war, Odysseus was away fighting. After the war was won, it took ten years for him to return. The Odyssey is about Odysseus and his adventures. Penelope was the queen of Ithaca and she was still disrespected…

The Odyssey is a classic tale filled with monsters, heroes, gods, and perhaps the most shocking, poor gender representation. It follows Odysseus’s journey home to Ithaca and his wife, Penelope. Penelope is an interesting character in this story, especially in the third part of Simon Armitage’s translation. In the first two parts of the translation, readers get to know Penelope through her performance of a woman: poised, graceful, and caring. She shows a different side to her character that…

The Odyssey and O Brother where art thou? demonstrates how male roles change with evolving political and social values. The Odyssey utilizes male protagonists to make a commentary traditional values of focalizing a member of the aristocracy position whilst Oh Brother questions the political climate of the Great Depression. Foreground characters used in Homeric poetry are aristocrats, which means the “rule of the best,” which suggests that the Odyssey was created at the end of the Dark Age (c.…

Women of the Odyssey Throughout the Odyssey women are viewed in a myriad of ways; however, a common thread is woven into the epic. Women are seen as subordinate to men. Goddesses obey the gods, and mortal women kneel before their male counterparts. Suffering places itself upon women who disobey men. Females who allow men to control them are regarded with higher esteem than those who transgress the beliefs of men. At a glance it may appear that women are inferior to men; however, with deeper…

In the essential odyssey an astute reader can not only enjoy the adventures of Odysseus, but catch a glimpse of ancient greek society as well. By carefully observing the relationships between Odysseus and female characters, a reader can understand the social structures and gender roles of the ancient greeks. When analyzing the female characters through their dress, speech, or actions, distinct female archetypes begin to form. The Odyssey portrays three specific female archetypes, the seductress,…

and The Odyssey do feature male leads and very few, or essentially none in the case of The Iliad, non-static female characters, it should be taken into consideration that this was the desire of the Greek audience for which they were written. Furthermore, Homer altered the function of women between The Iliad and The Odyssey based upon the primary themes of the respective epics themselves.…

An epic poem starring a heroic character, and a novel which follows a 10-year-old boy may seem quite different. However, they do share similar traits that make both texts parallel to each other. Odysseus and Oskar travels in hopes to solve their problems, such as loneliness and anguish. The Odyssey is written with objective narration, which allows holistic analysis of the events. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is written with Oskar’s voices, therefore provides highly subjective analysis of…

Character Analysis of Odysseus Homer an ancient, Greek poet composed the notable epic The Odyssey. This remarkable piece apprises the adventures of the prominent epic hero,Odysseus. Odysseus is a Greek soldier trying to find his way back home, after ten years of battling in the Trojan War. During the epic,Odysseus reveals to have many different character traits .In the great classic The Odyssey , Odysseus, is erudite and allegiant, but also fatuous, as he travels on his journey to…

Hero: (noun) A man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. In the epic poem called “The Odyssey” by Homer, the main character, Odysseus, is forced from his home to pursue his duties as king of Ithaca. He leaves to protect his country and win the trojan war. Once Odysseus is in the midst of his quest, he is faced with many conflicts of which he must overcome. However, Odysseus lets many people down and hurts more people than he saves, yet he still…

The ancient Greeks believed that to honour one’s guest was to honour the god’s. This concept of hospitality and comradery is frequently explored in Homer’s the Odyssey through the lens of Odysseus’ reciting of his voyage home to Ithaca and his wife, Penelope following his victory in the Trojan War. Book IX presents the crux of Odysseus’ tale in his encounter with Polyphemus where Shewring’s translation presents the tale of Odysseus candidly and without verbosity allowing the formation of…