Essay on the Double Meanings of The Odyssey -- Homer, Odyssey Essays

The Double Meanings of The Odyssey      Ã‚     Throughout Homer's The Odyssey, there are a number of tangible symbols that are used to represent abstract ideas. I would like to suggest that each symbol that Homer uses within The Odyssey has two clear meanings. The double meanings of these symbols are used to represent Odysseus and Telemachus as they strive to meet each other. While each symbol has a meaning that represents the growth of Telemachus, each one also represents, by another meaning, the growth and development of Odysseus. When they meet for the first time, the symbols, and the character traits that they represent confluence, and the resemblance between Odysseus and Telemachus becomes complete. One of the main ideas running throughout the Odyssey is the importance of water. It has the power of giving life and quick, safe travel, but it also has the potential to drown you through the itself. While it is often perceived as being good and usually life giving, it also demonstrates how too much of a good thing can bring harm. It brings much harm to Odysseus as he is traveling to Phaeacia, "At Zeus' command the whole sky is heavy with clouds, the sea is seething, squalls from every corner hurtle together. There is nothing now for me but certain d... ..., et al. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988 Jones, Peter V. Homer's Odyssey : a companion to the translation   of Richmond Lattimore.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Carbondale, IL : Southern Illinois University Press, c1988. PA4167 .J66 1988 Peradotto, John , Man in the Middle Voice: Name and Narration in the Odyssey, Princeton UP 1990 Stanford, William Bedell. Homer's Odyssey. 2 Vols. Macmillan   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thalmann, William G., The Odyssey : an epic of return. New York : Twayne Publishers. PA4167 .T45 1992 Tracy, Stephen V., The story of the Odyssey. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1990.   PA4167 .T7 1990