Author Archives: Marzena Wawrzaszek

“And yet Athene would not altogether permit the arrogant suitors to keep from heart-hurting outrage, so to make greater the anguish in the heart of Odysseus, son of Laertes. There was a man among the suitors versed in villainy; Ktesippos was his name, and he had his home in Same. He”

In this quote, Athene wants the suitors to tease Odysseus so he’ll get all worked up in anger. My question is why does Athene want to get Odysseus angry if she was the one who helped him transform into a beggar?

In The Odyssey of Homer, there are several scenes where characters disguise themselves in the books. Towards the end of book 13, Athene tells Odysseus that she will make him look like a beggar so that no one can recognize him, “but come now, let me make you so no moral can recognize you. For I will wither the handsome flesh that is on your flexible limbs, and ruin the brown hair on your head, and about you put on such a clout of cloth any man will load the when he sees you wearing it; I will dim those eyes, that have been so handsome, so you will be unprepossessing to all the suitors…” (396-404). In book 14, when Odysseus arrives at swineherd’s home disguised as a beggar, he is treated very kindly by Eumaios who opens up to him and about Odysseus leaving to fight in Troy thinking that he is dead. Odysseus still disguised as a beggar tells Eumaios that Odysseus is not dead, that he will come back. Eumaios doesn’t really believe him but it brings him hope about Odysseus coming back. He then brings the beggar more food and wants to treat him the best he can. Odysseus is touched how kindly Eumaios treats him.

The Jarobean Era was about drama, violence and revenge plays. The movie that came to my mind was Oldboy. This movie is about an advertising executive Joe who ruined a meeting with a potential client by hitting on his girlfriend. After the meeting Joe gets very drunk and starts speaking to a woman with a yellow umbrella. Next morning when he wakes up, he wakes up to find he is a prisoner. He is captured in the room for 20 years without knowing why being fed Chinese food everyday. As he daily watches TV he finds that he has been framed for a rape murder of his ex-wife and that his daughter has been adopted. Joe spends his 20 years writing letters to Mia, watching TV matches and becomes very fit while planning his revenge.

Later, he is drugged and wakes ups in a Louis Vuitton box with money and a cell phone in the middle of nowhere. He noticed a woman with the same yellow umbrella whom he was with 20 years ago before he got captured in the room and chased her to a clinic where he met a nurse that offered him help. She began reading his letters to Mia after he passed out from dehydration and decided to help him. They both go to all the Chinese restaurants in town to figure out which food he was given while captured, once he finds the restaurant he follows a guy who arrived to take a major food order to an abandoned factory where Joe was kept. Joe follows the SUV to the factory and fights all the guards in order to go in further to find out that the man that kept him hostage was his classmate Adrian from back in high school who had a sister and Joe saw her having sex with an older man and spread the news all over campus. Later, His high school classmate blamed Joe and revenge against him for humiliating and destroying their family. Joe and the nurse have sex in a hotel room where he is watched on camera by Adrian. When Joe goes to Adrian’s penthouse he congratulates him for discovering whom he is. Adrian reveals to Joe that his daughter Mia was a hired actress and his real daughter is the nurse who he had sex with in the hotel. Joe begs Adrian for death but instead Adrian commits suicide himself. Joe writes a letter to the nurse saying that they can never meet again and for her to never think of him again.

Deer Enclosure

“Empty Mountain, no man is seen.

Only heard are echoes of men’s talk.

Reflected light enters the deep wood

And shines again on blue-green moss.”

This is a very short poem, which can have many different meanings to it. To my understanding, the poet is at his emotional state in life and seeks a place in the nature where he can put his thoughts together with no one around. He goes to the mountain with the hope to find peace and quiet to think about the shot he had missed in life and what he can do in order to get another chance to do things right.

To me, this poem relates to the song “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. He raps about taking every chance because it may be the only one you get. He also raps about how he has been through a lot of struggles and a lot of pain to get where he is today, and even though he missed his first shot at life, he still got a second chance and went right for it.

“Coast to coast shows, he’s know as the globetrotter

Lonely roads, God only knows

He’s grown farther from home, he’s no father

He goes home and barely knows his own daughter”

This verse relates greatly to the poem by Wang Wei because he raps about being lonely. A person may look like they have everything on the outside but only he and God know how lonely his soul is may be.

The narrator in the poem wanted to find a peaceful place and he decided to go to the mountain to think about his life and how he can get another opportunity to make things right so he can be where he wants to be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmXumtgwtak