The weathered mountain lion – blog #2

“A weathered mountain lion steps into a clearing,

Confident in his strength, eyes glowing.

The wind and rain have let up, and he’s hunting

Cattle, sheep, or wild deer, but is hungry enough

To jump the stone walls of the animal pens.”

On the first two lines of this short passage, Homer refers to god-like Odysseus by comparing him to a feral mountain lion. In doing so, he indirectly depicts Odysseus’ s solid character. He has shown to be not only physically but also mentally strong. At this point in the reading, he had recently swum for two entire days and spent a night in the middle of the woods, filthy with mud and hidden in a pile of leaves. Like Odysseus, despite all his troubles, the mountain lion’s eyes are glowing, indicating that his spirits are still high and that all the suffering he endured did not discourage him from eventually achieving his objective. Odysseus is confident in his strength, and just like the mountain lion, even though he is “weathered,” he is nonetheless a lion—a fearless creature, one able to resist many challenges. His persistence is further portrayed by the last three lines of the passage, although he is patiently searching for a solution, he is willing to do whatever may be necessary to obtain it as soon as possible. He is determined to get what he wants and no one is stopping him.

I believe this passage embodies the concept of perseverance—a thematic idea continually seen throughout The Odyssey. The formal definition of perseverance states that it is “a continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.”  Without perseverance Odysseus would have never been able to make his journey across the ocean, courageously confront his obstacles, and ultimately reach his native land and see his loved ones again. Aside from Odysseus, some of the characters we have read about so far have also shown traits of determination and purposefulness. Penelope has displayed perseverance by remaining faithful during all the years Odysseus has been gone. She has been determined to finding ways to delay her marriage to one of the suitors no matter how long it has been or what she may have heard about Odysseus’ whereabouts. Penelope and Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, has also shown to possess perseverance despite his young age and lack of manhood. Although he gets belittled by the suitors when he attempts to throw them out of his father’s house he does not give up his ultimate goal. The suitors refused to leave but that didn’t stop him from embarking on his journey and pursuing news about his missing father. Overall, the entire Odyssey is based on the idea of remaining strong and determined, the same way the mountain lion in the passage above remained confident in his strength and actively pursued his needs despite the difficulties the rain and wind may have brought on.