Introduction: In Homer’s The Odyssey, there are several forces exerted onto each character which dictate how they will behave. Fear, loneliness, and frustration, while all powerful forces, do not match the power of memory in this epic poem. Three of the main characters, Penelope, Odysseus, and Telemachus, are put into situations where they could act on these other three forces and feared less problems. The memory of what they once had, a family, is what enables them to be able to get through these difficult situations. Memory is the most powerful of all the forces featured in The Odyssey.
Body 1: Penelope, despite having several reasons to give up, stays loyal to Odysseus because of her memory of him and their relationship outweighs the strife she is currently experiencing.
- Penelope has no way of knowing whether Odysseus is still alive but still acts as though he were.
- The longer Penelope refuses the suitors, the more they will negatively impact the status of her home and wealth. However she continues to keep them at bay on the slight chance Odysseus might come back.
- She does not actually have Odysseus for support, she only has the memory of him to hold onto.
- She is obviously in pain (mentally), and might have some relief to move on from Odysseus but chooses to grieve over him anyway.
- Evidence: Book I Lines 356-364
Body 2: Odysseus had several opportunities where he could have stayed along his journey and been at least content with life, rather than fighting for his life. He chooses to dismiss these chances, for the slight possibility of returning home which he is never sure of on his journey (or even when he actually returns home). His memory of home is so strong that it over powers his logic, along his journey it seemed almost impossible that the would return home but he still dismisses these opportunities on the slight chance that he would.
- Odysseus’ persistence to return home is fueled by his memory
- At several points throughout the poem, Odysseus was in a desirable place where he could have just stayed and fared less trouble
- Aeaea, Calypso’s Island, and Phaeacia are some of the places Odysseus could have chosen to stay peacefully
- The memory of his home and family is what makes him want to return
- Odysseus overcomes obstacles posed by the gods because the memory of home is so strong.
- Evidence: Book V Lines 151-157
Body 3: Telemachus, while not even remembering what his father looks like, goes in search of him on a journey that could cost him his life. While his memory of Odysseus may not be so strong, others’ memories are. Everyone he meets along the way (including Athena who goes out in search of him) is willing to help him because their memory of the great and noble Odysseus is so great.
- Everyone Telemachus recieves help from praises Odysseus
- Telemachus receives help because people remember how great his father was
- The memory of the heroic Odysseus is what drives people to help him in his search for information
- Evidence: Book III Lines 132-137
Hi Alex-Nicole,
Your thesis is really interesting, but midway through it got a bit confusing. Perhaps rewriting it a bit will make the thesis stronger. You chose really amazing examples that perfectly back up your thesis. It’s also interesting that all the people that let memory rule their lives are in the same family.
I like how you have shown memory to be a force that keeps Odysseus and Penelope going. At first, the force resembles their will and resilience. But I don’t see how this conception of memory fits in with Telemachus’ will to find his father and the ones who had helped him. The role memory played in that episode was more informative and didn’t really have that force-like characteristic.
Hey Alex-Nicole,
I like how the examples you chose were all of the same family. You might be able to play on that a bit to show the link of memory between the 3. However, I think you need stronger evidence to develop into a thesis. You might need to pick new pieces of evidence to do so.
Hi Alex-Nicole,
Great start! Comments on claim and evidence follow:
CLAIM: I think instead of claiming that memory is stronger than three other forces (fear, frustration, and loneliness) you may want to simplify. Reading through the outline of the body, it seems to me that you are arguing that the claims of memory trump a *variety* of other claims: relief from pain, comfort and ease (P getting remarried; O staying with Calypso), the desire to give up entirely and die (Odysseus feels this way after being blown back from Ithaca). So instead of trying to sum up all of these competing impulses under the banner of “three forces,” make the claim about memory’s power to provide an impetus to action, period, despite myriad other spurs to action (or inaction).
EVIDENCE: About Telemachus–I think you can do more here. Your post has me thinking: is he, in going to Nestor and to Menelaus, trying to “gather” memories of his father? To obtain and internalize memories he himself cannot possibly have, so that memory will do what memory is supposed to do: maintain this family? I wonder if this isn’t why Athena sends him on this (otherwise totally useless!) journey: to learn about Odysseus by hearing others’ stories of him. If I were you, I’d look back at the specific language in which he gets them to talk about his father.
Strong work so far.
Prof Kolb