Part one
Finally Odysseus’s journey is over and he is able to go back to his home town of Ithaca. On his journey home he, “slept in peace, the memory of his struggles laid to rest” (289). This day is a turning point and an end to all struggles. But Poseidon is not pleased with the Phaeacians for helping Odysseus, so he asks Zeus if he can punish them. He “stuck (the ship) to stone, rooted her to the ocean floor and made for open sea” (291). The prophecy from years ago came true. On the land of Ithaca Odysseus awakes and thinks that the Phaeacians dropped him off on “no man’s land” and he is appalled. He trusted these people and does not understand why they would play a trick on him. Athena then appears, disguised as a shepard, and convinces Odysseus that it is the land of Ithaca and it is time to, “plot the death of the high and mighty suitors” (298). To do this Odysseus needs to be in disguise, so she transforms him into a beggar.
Why was Odysseus so quick to accuse the Phaeacians when he did not recognize his hometown of Ithaca? Was it because of a lack of trust or something else?
Part two
Odysseus journey home was very peacful; he was able to sleep the whole way there. Odysseus’s sleep was, “the sweetest, soundest oblivion, still as the sleep of death itself” (289). Odysseus was finally able to sleep in peace. He had nothing else to worry about. His crew was gone, sad but also less to worry over, and after years of being stranded his journey and hard times were over. He could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, which his sleep resembled. The ship Odysseus and the Phaeacians sailed on seemed like the strongest ship a person could have, which is also why Odysseus slept in peace. The ship was, “like a four-horse team careering down the plain… leaping with hoofs high to run the course in no time…” (289). This epic simile uses imagery and personification to help enhance the ships beauty and safety, which leads to Odysseus trusting the Phaeacians. This leads to the question that was brought up before on why Odysseus blamed the Phaeacians when he awoke. Later in this chapter Athena explains to Odysseus that, “no man, no woman, not a soul” should find out that he is, “the wanderer home at last. In silence (he) must bear a world of pain, subject (himself) to the cruel abuse of man” (296). Athena then changes Odysseus into a completely different person so not a soul will recognize him. Odysseus seems fine with this but if I were him I would not want to do it. After coming home from years and years of “torture” the first thing I would want to do is see my family, and how could Odysseus do that if he is a different person. He can not even come home and enjoy what he has missed because he has to fight off the suitors. Athena states that he must bear a world of pain, so is she saying that being out at sea was not enough torture for him?
Is changing Odysseus’s identity, so he is able to attack the suitors, a punishment for what he has done out at sea or is it something that had to be done for him to get his life back? Is Odysseus’ identity something he values?
Part three
Identity is an important issue today as it is in The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, identity is an issue that is valued in some circumstances but not at all important in others. In previous chapters Odysseus hides his identity until he absolutely needs to share with everyone who he is. He at first does not tell the Phaeceians who he is, and with the Cyclopes he tell his real name only when his crew and him escape from his island. Odysseus uses his identity to an advantage in some cases because he knows it will make him look like a better person. In other parts of the Odyssey, one’s identity is changed, which makes it seem like identity is not valued at all. In book thirteen alone we see identity change twice. Athena is in disguise when she first meets Odysseus at Ithaca, and also Odysseus’s identity is changed so he can get rid of the suitors. People act differently when certain people are around so disguising ones true identity can be used to an advantage, but then true identity is not valued. But also when a person disguises their true identity they end up learning something new about themselves. Is this why identity change is an occurring theme in The Odyssey? Today many people struggle with who they really are, and the only way to act “them selves” is to hide who they really are. Recently in society some students have been made fun of so much, because of who they really are, they had to take their lives because their true identity was not acceptable. This article describes how one student’s true identity was hidden and when revealed he could not go on living. Because of this, is true identity valued in society or is it better to not act lie yourself?
