Essence

For my world literature final, we were asked to present the essence of one of the works which we had read during the semester.  Basically, we were to come up with something that we felt captured the entirety of the work and allow others to find meaning through it.  My group chose to do The Odyssey, and this was what we had far to much fun discovering. (it should be noted, only the first 5 minutes of the video where shown in class.

And here is our write-up.  It probably doesn't appear all that funny, but we had fun writing it anyways, so I hope you enjoy at least learning of The Odyssey from it.

The essence of The Odyssey is found in the ocean. The ocean represents a consistent inconsistency found in both Odysseus and Homer’s outlook on human nature. Odysseus stays consistent in his purpose of returning home to Penelope and Telemachus. However, his promptness varies like the waves of the sea. For example, he has a desire to get home, but when he approaches the island of the kyklops the adventure delays his primary purpose. Other examples of consistent inconsistency are his love for Penelope compared to his lust for other women and the thrill of travel compared to the stability of the islands. The different islands, as part of the ocean, are representative of stages in life discovered in the different parts of the journey. They can also signify the situational inconsistency of human beings despite their consistent personality traits. The journey through the ocean symbolizes development. This is seen in comparing Telemachus and Penelope. Penelope, living on land, embodies the very idea of stability by showing little development throughout The Odyssey. Telemachus is initially stable, yet he experiences growth as he starts his journey on the ocean. Athena tells him to “go abroad for news of your lost father…you are a child no longer” to encourage him to make his journey so that he can grow and develop (193-194). However, extended development on the ocean leads to the stormy, wild personality that we see in Odysseus when he returns home. This can be contrasted to Penelope’s calm demeanor developed while on land. The ocean therefore is the essence of character development throughout The Odyssey and the consistent inconsistency found within it demonstrates Homer’s outlook on human nature.