Skip to main content

What is a good topic in the Odyssey to write an eight-page research paper on?

For a research paper, you can try discussing certain themes from The Odyssey. I will discuss two below.

1) Hospitality

This is one of the major themes of the story. Some questions to explore:

a) Should hospitality be regarded as a reciprocal arrangement?

b) If guests abuse their privilege, what recourse does the host have?

c) If the host in question is powerless to prevent her quests from taking further unwanted liberties with her person and property, should she resort to violence? If she cannot do so, should another party resort to violence on her behalf?

In the story, Odysseus' wife, Penelope, is powerless against the machinations of her suitors. They shamelessly consume food and drink at Odysseus and Penelope's expense, and they also appropriate every luxury in the couple's palace for their own. Here, you can refer to the text to help you provide examples for the suitors' despicable conduct.

With Odysseus missing and Telemachus weakened by his fear, Penelope is forced to repress her anger. Instead, she uses her wits to keep her suitors at bay. She resorts to trickery by telling them that she must finish Laertes' shroud before she can marry any of them. Each night, she unravels her work so that the shroud is never completed. For three years, she manages to trick her suitors with her story. Later, when she senses that Odysseus is nearby (in the guise of the beggar), Penelope becomes more confident. She proclaims that she will only marry the suitor who can wield Odysseus' bow successfully.

Of course, the beggar (being Odysseus) is the only one who can truly wield his bow. Upon being exposed as Odysseus himself, the long-suffering husband proceeds to slaughter all of Penelope's suitors. Now, the denouement raises interesting questions. The suitors' relatives demand restitution for the deaths. Are their claims valid? Is Halitherses' proclamation that the suitors received their just deserts a good argument? Essentially, we revisit the question of whether hospitality should be a reciprocal arrangement. Your answer to this can be used as a working thesis statement for your essay.

2) Loyalty/ Fidelity.

Loyalty is a main theme in The Odyssey, and in Penelope's case, loyalty is richly rewarded. In the story, servants who remain loyal are also presented in a positive light. Some questions to consider regarding this theme:

1) Does gender play a role in defining loyalty? How does Penelope's loyalty differ from her husband's conception of marital fidelity?

Compare and contrast Penelope's sexual fidelity and Odysseus' seemingly gratuitous sexual indulgence while he is away. At the same time, it can be said that Odysseus is loyal in his own way: he overcomes great odds to return home to his wife and son. Is it possible to reconcile the two differing standards of loyalty? 

2) How do loyal servants preserve familial integrity? In The Odyssey, Eurykleia is a minor character, but her influential position helps her convince Telemachus to stay with Penelope. When Odysseus returns, she is one of the original few who recognizes him through his disguise. For more information about this, please refer to Book 19.

Basically, you can discuss how Homer uses the differing types of loyalty to tell an engaging story and to provide a glimpse into ancient attitudes about love, family, and community.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more