Throughout reading the Odyssey, I have noticed that there is a considerable amount of tears being shed, especially involving Odysseus and his son, Telemachus. This quality probably stands out to me because I am not used to male characters in heroic stories being so teary eyed, or even emotional for that matter. The act of crying isn’t usually considered a “manly” act, and therefore is seen as degrading to a man's manhood.
But when you consider what both Odysseus and Telemachus have been through, is makes sense why they would be so emotional. They haven’t seen each other in years. Telemachus has had to wake up every morning with rude suitors using up all his home’s resources. He must deal with the fact that possibly, on of these suitors may be his new father-in-law, and the new king of Ithaca. Odysseus becomes more disappointed as he tries to travel home, but he keeps getting pushed back. He has battled numerous monsters and gods, and still has not made it home. The scenes of Odysseus crying, tend to occur when stories are retold of the battle of Troy. The battle of which, even though they were militarily successful, emotionally, they were not. Almost no one from that battle made it home. The crew Odysseus set out with have perished, leaving Odysseus alone.
By knowing all of this, I consider the amount of tears being shed to be acceptable. Both of the men, Odysseus and Telemachus, have been through a lot, so let it’s reasonable to cut them some slack. Real men cry. Real heroes get emotional. They are no different.
As we have seen throughout the book, Odysseus is known for having a lot of pride in himself. If he is suppose to be portrayed as someone who has so much pride in himself why do you think Homer has him cry so much throughout the poem?
ReplyDeleteI believe that, although Odysseus has a huge ego, he is also human. He is someone who has suffered greatly over the years, and to not show his emotions, would, in my opinion, dehumanize him.
DeleteI think what Homer is doing here is showing the different sides of Odysseus. Our view of him as a proud hero is not one that he can't maintain 24/7. I think that Homer makes Odysseus cry rather often so as to provide another dimension to Odysseus. Otherwise, he would be a rather boring and predictable character if he was always playing the hero role and never showed any emotions outside of that.
DeleteI understand why they are crying, and it does make a lot of sense. My main issue with it is kind of what Claire brought up with Odysseus being known to be a leader and have a lot of pride in himself, and I don't typically associate that kind of personality with someone who cries at every possible opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you! The bias against men that says that they can't cry and show emotion is ridiculous! These heroes have been though a lot and deserve a bit of a emotional release now and then. Crying isn't bad, it's just that society believes that it is unmanly to do so. Telemachus and Odysseus are the real men in the. #empowered #dontdrythosetears #yougoman
ReplyDeleteI agree with Luke. I mean, if a person goes to war with all his/her best friends, and is the only one to make it back, I can't imagine how hard that would be. To be honest, Odysseus's lucky he didn't come back with PTSD.
ReplyDeleteI essentially agree with everyone else. Although it may seem kind of conflicting with Odysseus's skills as a leader, emotion and tears are only natural. For me, this added touch of realism made Odysseus a more convincingly practical character.
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