Sep 16 2014
The Odysey Books 21-24
In books 21-24 of the Odyssey, we finally get to the moment we have all been waiting for. Odysseus achieves his homecoming. Although Odysseus returned disguised as a beggar in the previous books, he tackles a few obstacles that stop him from making his homecoming complete. During our discussion today we will address and elaborate on Odysseus’ final interactions with the suitors, the massacre, Penelope’s test, and the ending of the book overall. Also with the help of a scholarly article, I would like to talk about a theme we had discussed in the previous class which is the host-guest relationship and how it relates to the suitors.
Citation for Scholarly Article:
The Odyssean Suitors and the Host-Guest RelationshipAuthor(s): Harry L. LevySource: Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 94 (1963),pp. 145-153Published by: The Johns Hopkins University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/283642 .Accessed: 15/09/2014 00:08
9 responses so far
9 Responses to “The Odysey Books 21-24”
In the Odyssey, we see all different types of Host- Guest relationships. In most of “The Odyssey” we see a good host and guest relationship, because that was the ethical norm and resulted in misfortune if broken. But at the end of the book, we kind of see Odysseus act like a bad host and the suitors acting like terrible guests. The suitors wrecked Odysseus’s mansion while he was gone and even when he was back they hit him with a stool to show off that the suitors don’t care or want to hear anything about Odysseus’s homecoming. Odysseus soon comes up with a plan to kill all the Suitors that live in his palace. We kind of see the guest wanting to kill the host and the host wanting to kill the guest.
I was thinking about our discusion in class on tuesday and realized there could be another way to view Penelope’s need to test Odysseus. If she would’ve said on the spot that she is his wife rightaway , maybe Odysseus would’ve been in doubt if this really is his wife. We know that they frequently test each other, so if she would’ve accepted him with no “fight” or resistance he would’ve been in doubt. This could’ve bean her way to prove to Odysseus that she is really who she claims to be his wife.
Hello, Noel, you did a great job on the discussion leading of the Odyssey last week. I am interested in the question you asked at the end of the discussion, which is how do we feel the ending of the book. I actually like the book’s ending. Even if the whole book is about how Odyssey made his homecoming and punished the suitors, the gods is the key to push the story going. Think about that, without Athena’s help, the Odyssey wouldn’t even made his homecoming, not to mention revenging on all the suitors. I think this is the theme that the book really want to reflect: God would punish all the evils, and keep the good ones in peace with each other. The whole world would be getting wonderful. So I like the book’s ending.
I think the massacre that Odysseus employed against all of Penelope’s suitors was a huge statement. It was him regaining all that was his before his journey. Now that Odysseus is back, he has his power back as well as his wife. He was not going to let these group of suitors take her away from him. He needed to make it clear that he was the “alpha-male”. By destroying all of his competition, he was able to keep what his his.
I feel that the story ended off the way it was suppose to. Odysseus wanted to be remembered as a great war hero and he came back to reclaim what was lost from him even so being killing anyone in his path. He got his wife back and also his home. Through his journey he never stopped and continued to go to his ‘homecoming.’
My name is Kathryn, and I found the ending quite appropriate. At first glance I felt it was sort of an easy ending, that Athena wiped everyone’s memory and created peace, but as I reflected further, I thought this ending had a message in itself. This could be inferring that violence creates violence, and that it is a never ending cycle, unless some higher power stops it. If that is the intended message, then I think the ending is pretty compelling.
In my opinion, these last books contain the most important messages of the whole story, not because it is the end of it but because through them we see realized the wishes of each of the characters. Particularly, I was expecting a different ending. I feel that there were several situations that were left in the air and the fact that Athens has restored peace in the way she did it seems an easy way out of a story so full of difficult moments. All achieved their goal and “justice” won but what happened next? Is it really possible to end all happy after what happened? It’s so easy to re-take control of a life that no longer belonged, that in the case of Odysseus. Well, those are the things that leave me thinking the end of the book, many forgotten details.
I like the ending of the book, Odysseus and his son end up killing all suitors in the great hall. when victims’ family members go after Odysseus in revenge, the gods stop them. However personally I don’t like Odysseus personality because he doesn’t trust anyone, his son, wife and even the god Athena who always helping him.
It caught my attention in your post that Odysseus had to “tackle a few obstacles that stop him from making his homecoming complete.” This is very interesting to me because it shows that the almighty Odysseus, however god-like and powerful he is portrayed, he is still a human being. The universal human encounters suffering and obstacles in his lifetime. This is highlighted in Odysseus’ long journey home, where he was unable to save all of his crew men, and without the help of Athena, he may not have ever made it back to Ithaca. Sometimes I feel like us readers are manipulated by the narration to side with Odysseus and embrace his strength, confidence, and wit. However, with further analysis, we start to notice his very human-like traits as well. One major human characteristic of Odysseus’ that I consider as a flaw is his hubris. This can be seen in his unnecessarily exaggerated lies in order to disguise his identity. Although in some situations it is needed for survival, I thought that he took it too far when he tricked his father too. Odysseus’ hubris is unjustified, and this is very evident at the end of the book when Athena was the one who saved the day by bringing peace to Ithaca after the blood bath. Although Odysseus receives the spotlight in this book, I believe the real hero is Athena.