First of all I hope you all notice the degree at which Homer is pushing on the moments before the big battle. When I was starting Book 17 I hoped that by Book 20 , the battle to remove the suitors would be up and running . But Homer does not neglect any details during those moments, from the repetitions of old stories we have already heard about in early books, or the emphasis put on the fate of the suitors ( who all have to die by the way ), or again in bringing up minor characters into play; everything is made to amplify what is coming. Odysseus and his son Telemachus are shown to be extremely patient , but isn’t how everyone prepares for a big battle ? because besides strategy you also have to be patient if you want to kill all your enemies. Though, I was struck by the same fate given to all the suitors. Why for example the worthless Antinous and Melanthius should have the same fate as Amphinomous who appear to be a good man ? What this done to put the accent on the bitterness on the revenge ?
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Rangers jerseys deals on Tragic Irony, Peripeteia, Anagnorisis, Hamartia, and Katharsis
- lundqvist jersey on The Kokinshu
- http://www.asheronline.net/design/wp-content/sitemap.xml on Tragic Irony, Peripeteia, Anagnorisis, Hamartia, and Katharsis
- ph152693 on Hamlet: Act V Scene ii
- pb165314 on Hamlet: Act V Scene ii
Archives
Categories
Meta
I believe its more about trust than revenge. At this point of the story, Oddysseus does not really trust anyone because of all the betrayals he has been through in his voyage. Even though Amphinomus appeared to be a good man out of all the suitors, he is still labeled as a suitor thus his fate is death in Oddysseus’ eyes.
Just because Amphinomous “appears” to be a good man does not mean he is. I’m pretty sure he did as many wrongs as the other suitors and just because he shows pity on a homeless man does not mean all should be forgiven. I mean I don’t know if there was a part in the book that I missed that said he was forced to join in with taking Telemachus out of power and trying to force Penelope into marriage?
ps I know this comment doesn’t count but I had to do some catching up in the book so I thought I should comment 🙂