The Odyssey by Homer Essay Example for Free

The Odyssey by Homer Essay In the morning, Nausicaa, daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete, goes with her friends to the river with the laundry and begins to wash and play games. Odysseus wakes up by their noise and, covered in salt and covering up his private parts with a leaf, travels to them. Nausicaas friends run away screaming but Nausicaa stays to listen to what the stranger has to say. Fearing that he may scare her if her were to grab her knees in supplication, Odysseus pleads with her at a distance. Nausicaa respects Odysseus and his fine words and thought and gets her friends to bathe him in the river and to clothe him. In the process, Athene divinely enhances his appearance so that he looks quite like a god. The fact that Nausicaa, without her maidservants and veil the two things that protect her person and reputation in public stays to talk to Odysseus shows her spirit and sturdiness of character. Fearing gossip, Nausicaa tells Odysseus, after inviting him to the palace to meet her parents, to wait in the grove. While there, Odysseus prays to Athene to aid him in his supplication to the king and queen. Book 6 contains an element, which although not scarce in the Odyssey, is certainly very rare in most epic poem: comedy. The comic element is unmistakeable in these scenes. Odysseus embarrassment when making his approach to the girls and right before bathing, as well as the girls terrified reactions to his nakedness, cannot help but elicit a lighter mood in the poems action, which until now had centered solely on the horrible problems faced by Odysseus and his family. Homer uses a simile to describe Odysseus as a lion (used in war situation in the Iliad which demonstrates, in this non-warfare situation that the girls viewed Odysseus as a dangerous and wild beast) and Nausicaa and the other girls as sheep. Here, the ravenous lion, buffeted by the elements but striving onward to state his all-consuming hunger on helpless sheep, is compared to the salt-covered Odysseus, ragged from days at sea, and filled with a hunger of an entirely different nature. The relation of the sheep to the girls can be seen clearly in retrospect when the girls flee before this ominous figure of male sexuality as sheep would flee before a hungry lion. This simile does not serve merely to make us once again pity the poor, travel-beaten Odysseus; it is rather an attempt to lighten the tension filling much of the first five books. BOOK 7 W HEN NAUSICAA AND HER FRIENDS HAD REACHED THE PALACE, Athene, disguised as a young girl, offers to lead Odysseus to the palace and places a magical mist around him rendering him invisible in order to evade rude questioning. Athene tell him that in order to speak to King Alcinous, he must first win favour with Queen Arete. When they reach the palace, Athene leaves and buggers off to Athens. Odysseus admires the fine palace then enters, sees Arete and grabs her knees in supplication. She allows him to see the king, who after removing one of his sons off of a chair so that Odysseus doesnt have to sit in the ash, feats with them and tells them the story of how he came to Phaeacia. The queen notices his Phaeacian clothes and Odysseus tells them about their daughters generosity. As they admire Odysseus and Nausicaa ha refused all other suitors, Alcinous hints at marriage but Odysseus stresses that he wants to go home. He is therefore promised their magic ships to sail home by. The ships can reach any destination and return in a day. Arete and the servants then prepare a bed for Odysseus and sleeps. In Book 7, we see the epitome of a motif that runs throughout the Odyssey: the relationship of host to guest. We saw the kind treatment Telemachus bestowed on Athene when was disguised as Mentes as well as the great hospitality extended to Telemachus by both Nestor and Menelaus. Now it is Odysseus himself who comes as a stranger to a foreign court and must act accordingly. Indeed, the role of a foreign visitor is one that Odysseus knows well, for he has wandered long and far and knows the customary courtesies expected by guests. Contrasted with his seasoned guest, Alcinous, although kind and benevolent as a host, is unused to receiving guests, and is initially unsure of how to react to Odysseus suit. After Odysseus has humbled himself by sitting in a heap of ashes, no one, including Alcinous, knows quite how to act. Finally, an elder named Echeneus, the oldest man of Phaeacia speaks. Echeneus tactfully reminds Alcinous of his duties as a host to a stranger. Once again, it is not Alcinous social grace and magnanimity that is lacking; it is his inexperience with situations of this sort that temporarily holds him back from action. We are also given insight into another motif of the poem: the nature of divine disguise. Alcinous suggests that Odysseus might be a god who has come to test the Phaeacians benevolence towards guests. We have already been told of the gods special love for the Phaeacians, and how the people of Phaeacia themselves are nearly divine. Now we lean that the gods manifest that love by appearing to them not disguised, but in their actual form. This gives us an indication of just how strongly Athene loves Odysseus, for she often converses with him in her pure, undistinguished form. But it is not until Odysseus once again reaches Ithaca that she will be able to do so without fear of Poseidons wrath. Homer, by mixing in some elements of magic (the forever ripe fruit and semi-divine Phaeacians) prepares the reader for the fantasy books. BOOK 17 T ELEMACHUS LEAVES EUMAEUS HUT AND GOES HOME AND IS WARMLY greeted by Eurycleia, maidservants and his mother, Penelope. He tells her to go and pray to the gods while he meets Theclymenus the seer and Peiraeus in the place of assembly. There he tells Peiraeus to hold onto his Spartan treasure until after the conflict with the suitors. Theoclymenus and Telemachus then return to the palace where Theoclymenus reveals a prophecy of Odysseus already being in the city to Penelope over dinner. Odysseus and Eumaeus then head off into the city and meet the traitorous Melanthius who both physically and verbally abuses Odysseus who manages who his peace while Eumaeus tells him off. Unshaken, the goatherd goes off into the palace. Then, as they approach the palace themselves, they see Odysseus old dog Argus is dying on top of dung. The dog wags his tail as he recognises his master after twenty years of separation and then dies. In the palace, Telemachus gives Odysseus a meal and then Athene commands Telemachus disguised father to beg from the suitors. Antinous, who was slightly provoked by Odysseus beggar, throws a footstool at him and Odysseus walks off bitterly and silently. The fact that Antinous did this, and was corrected and doomed by the other suitors, shows that he has no respect for Xenia. Penelope then decides that she wishes to speak to Odysseus as the beggar. Eumaeus, however, tries to dissuade her from this as she has heard so many false tales from men who have falsely claimed to have met Odysseus. Still, she wants to see him. But Odysseus only wants to see her after the suitors have left. She agrees and Eumaeus goes home but is asked by Telemachus to come back to the palace in the morning. Now that Odysseus has appeared before the larger Ithacan community in disguise, there is more room for the dramatic irony that fills many of the verses of The Odyssey. We see this notably during the Melanthius episode. Although Odysseus holds his peace after Melanthius attack, Eumaeus calls upon the gods to return Odysseus to his home so that he can punish the scornful goatherd. Melanthius, a loyal follower of the suitors, knows the power that will be his when Telemachus is eliminated. His own vow, of course, recoils back upon him. Melanthius wishes that Telemachus may suffer death as surely as Odysseus himself has already done so. The irony lies in the fact that Melanthius vow is fulfilled, only not in the way he had intended. Odysseus himself has not died, and is in fact standing right there. Therefore, as surely as Odysseus has not died, so too will Telemachus not die. Melanthius has unwittingly stated the truth. We see a similar use of irony later, after Antinous strikes Odysseus with the footstool. Only this time, no one specifically mentions the long-lost Odysseus. Instead the suitors remark that Antinous did badly to strike the beggar as he could have been a god testing the suitors kindness. Of course, we know Odysseus is not a god. But the gods have indeed disguised him fir the very reason that the suitors suggest: to test them and to see which are righteous and which are malevolent. It is also appropriate that Odysseus disguise makes others liken him once more to a god. Yet this time the situation is reversed. Before, Telemachus thought Odysseus a god for removing his disguise. Now, the suitors consider the possibility due to the lowly appearance of the disguise itself, not because of the majesty with which the gods envelop him when he stands revealed in his true form.

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Isaac Newton: The Mathematician Sir Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1643, in Woolsthorpe, England. Isaac Newton was the most famous scientist in history. He was one of the most revolutionary, established, and influential physicist, philosopher and mathematician ever known. He was credited as one of the most brilliant minds of the 17th century scientific revolution. As Newton discoveries such as optics, motion and mathematics all together newton developed the principles of modern science. Born to a prosperous local farmer, also named Isaac Newton, who died three months after Newton was born. Newton was born as a premature baby who was feeble and weak and was told that he would not survive. At the age of 12, Newton attended Kings School in Grantham, where he stayed with a local apothecary and was then that newton was introduced into the fascinating world of chemistry. His mother pulled Newton out of school to become a farmer and not only Newton disliked being a farmer but he was also bad at being a farmer. He went back to Kings School to finish school. Once he finished, his u... Essay -- Isaac Newton: The Mathematician Sir Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1643, in Woolsthorpe, England. Isaac Newton was the most famous scientist in history. He was one of the most revolutionary, established, and influential physicist, philosopher and mathematician ever known. He was credited as one of the most brilliant minds of the 17th century scientific revolution. As Newton discoveries such as optics, motion and mathematics all together newton developed the principles of modern science. Born to a prosperous local farmer, also named Isaac Newton, who died three months after Newton was born. Newton was born as a premature baby who was feeble and weak and was told that he would not survive. At the age of 12, Newton attended Kings School in Grantham, where he stayed with a local apothecary and was then that newton was introduced into the fascinating world of chemistry. His mother pulled Newton out of school to become a farmer and not only Newton disliked being a farmer but he was also bad at being a farmer. He went back to Kings School to finish school. Once he finished, his u...

ABC Manufacturing Company Essay

The ABC Manufacturing Company is a metal working plant under the direction of a plant manager who is known as a strict disciplinarian. One day a foreman noticed Bhola, one of the workers, at the time-clock punching out two cards his own and the card of Nathu, a fellow worker. Since it was the rule of the company that each man must punch out his own card, the foreman asked Bhola to accompany him to the Personnel Director, who interpreted the incident as a direct violation of a rule and gave immediate notice of discharge to both workers. The two workers came to see the Personnel Director on the following day. Nathu claimed innocence on the ground that he had not asked for his card to be punched and did not know at the time that it was being punched. He had been offered a ride by a friend who had already punched out and who could not wait for him to go through the punch-out procedure. Nathu was worried about his wife who was ill at home and was anxious to reach home as quickly as possible. He planned to take his card to the foreman the next morning for reinstatement, a provision sometimes exercised in such cases. These circumstances were verified by Bhola. He claimed that he had punched Nathu’s card the same time he punched his own, not being conscious of any wrongdoing. The Personnel Director was inclined to believe the story of the two men but did not feel he could reverse the action taken. He recognized that these men were good workers and had good records prior to this incident. Nevertheless, they had violated a rule for which the penalty was immediate discharge. He also reminded them that it was the policy of the company to enforce the rules without exception. A few days later the Personnel Director, the Plant Manager, and the Sales Manager sat together at lunch. The Sales Manager reported that he was faced with the necessity of notifying one of their best customers that his order must be delayed because of the liability of one department to conform to schedule. The department in question was the one from which the two workers had been discharged. Not only had it been impossible to replace these men to date, but disgruntlement over the incident had led to significant decline in the cooperation of the other workers. The Personnel Director and the Sales Manager took the position that the discha rge of these two valuable men could have been avoided if there had been provision for onsidering the circumstances of the case. They pointed out that the incident was costly to the company in the possible loss of a customer, in the dissatisfaction within the employee group, and in the time and money that would be involved in recruiting and training replacements. The Plant Manager could not agree with this point of view. â€Å"We must have rules if we are to have efficiency; and the rules are no god unless we enforce them. Furthermore, if we start considering all these variations in circumstances, we will find ourselves loaded down with everybody thinking he is an exception. † He admitted that the grievances were frequent but countered with the point that they could be of little consequence if the contract agreed to by the union was followed to the letter

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