Conclusion Of The Odyssey Essay

In the end, most of the problems are solved by Odysseus using his cunning and tactics to outsmart the suitors, monsters, and any obstacle that gets in his way. New problems were created by him because he couldnt control the urge to keep his mouth shut. Most of the obstacles were caused by Poseidon and his ship mates. Because his shipmates couldnt control their urges and had to know what was in the bag, or had to taste the cattle, a lot of his problems could have been prevented. Also, if Odysseus hadnt teased the Cyclops, he could have made it home faster.

All of the characters have their own tests that apply to their specific situations. Telemachus goes through seeing his mother full of misery and sadness, while the suitors are pursuing her, and having to deal with the suitors without any guidance from anyone. Penelope goes through the grief of losing a husband and then losing her son, and having the suitors demanding her to marry one of them. Odysseuss sailors go through being turned into pigs, being away from their family and seeing their shipmates be killed by numerous monsters, as well as dying, though they brought that on themselves. Odysseus goes through the loss of his family and shipmates, as well as seeing his sailors dying. The biggest test that he had was to survive his journey and to get home and beat the suitors so he could be with his wife and son. He had to fight monsters, gain the trust of different kings, and please two goddesses. After he got home, Penelope gave him two different tests that would prove that he was her husband. The first was getting the arrow from his bow through the axes, while he was disguised. The second was telling their maid to get her bed, even though Odysseus had built it into their home. The test that Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus shared was the suitors, and what to do with them.

The crisis points were mainly at conflicts with the monsters and when the king of Aeaea didnt give Odysseus help the second time. The conflicts with the monsters usually ended up with the loss of some men until they all died by eating Helioss cattle. When the king turned them away because he believed they were cursed by the gods, it really affected Odysseus, and from there we pulled away with heavy hearts is how homer described Odysseuss feelings.

There are many themes in the odyssey such as brains over brawn, and the fight to reach home, but one that is a very large theme in the book is fighting temptation. The temptations mainly affected Odysseuss crew, because a lot of Odysseuss failures had something to do with them. At the Aeolian island, the king had given Odysseus a sack full of winds so they wouldnt push him off course. Later on, on the tenth day, when they could see Ithaca, the crew decided to open the bag to find out what treasures were in it. When they opened the bag, they let the winds loose and blew the ship off course. Another example of the crew giving in to temptation is when they ate Helioss cattle when Odysseus had told them not to do it. These events really stood which made the theme more obvious because the sailors had brought their demise onto themselves by not listening to Odysseus and by not focusing on getting home like Odysseus did. They were drawn away by the temptations on the journey, and they didnt have the strong will that Odysseus did.

The epic concludes with Odysseus at his fathers house, talking and sharing his stories after Odysseus tests Laertes. While Odysseus was reuniting with his father, the suitors relatives were planning to overthrow him and kill him as revenge. Laertes manages to kill Antoniuss father, but Athena stops them before Odysseus and Telemachus kill all of them. The conclusion basically shows how even after a long journey, he is still up for a fight and will beat them if it means living in peace.