The Odyssey

[Mina]

While I was reading the Odyssey I was quite confused. There were times
when I read but could not explain what I have read and still until now
I do not know what I have read. However, the class discussion helps me
understand why it took him so long to return home and why he disguised
himself.

If Odyssey would not have disguised himself I believed that the
suitors would have probably tried to kill him because it was so many
of them. I think that Odyssey strategy worked even though some of the
class may have thought that by disguising himself he was not being
truthful. Just imagine what would have happened if he was truthful? He
probably really would have been dead long before he arrived back home.
Even when he revealed himself they tried to overtake and kill him. So
I am almost certain that if he would have shown his true colors before
hand that he would have been dead. Also, the epic probably would not
have been named The Odyssey.

[Jeffery L]

One thing I understand in The Odyssey is the willingness of the human
to survive. To me, this means to be smart in the actions taken. A
person should always evaluate the consequences of their actions. This
plays throughout the entire epic from the cyclops to Odysseus to
Penelope and more. Those who did not evaluate the consequences in
this epic met a terrible fate. For example, the suitors did not
realize that the shame they brought to the house would not come
without recompense. The suitors were not given the privelege of proper
burial, nor were they given the honor of a glorious battle before
death. They were merely slaughtered like cattle. This plays into the
representation of animalistic nature in the epic. Those who acted
like pigs died like pigs: the suitors. I believe someone asked the
question why did Circe turn the sailors into pigs; my belief is that
they were overindulgent and is the animal which best represents their
nature.

Something I did not understand well is why does Odysseus choose to go
through all of the terrible obstacles. Well, in theory, it could
because it is merely his nature. He lives in his own glory. Not so
much is it the idea of Carpe Diem, but it is more the glory after
doing so. Achilles learns differently in his demise. The advice
which he gives Odysseus is much needed. Otherwise, Odysseus could
have abandoned his duties as a father, husband, and captain. His life
would then be meaningless. His name would cease to exist, and he
would die resulting with dullness and lonleiness just as Achilles
did.

The point is to live the good life.