Reunification in Homers Odyssey :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Reunification in Homers Odyssey In Homers epic poem, the Odyssey, the main theme is the reunification of the family, as Odysseus struggles to return home and rejoin his wife and son. Throughout the Odyssey, we are shown examples of families good ones that prosper and bad ones that do not. As Telemakhos struggles to become a man and Odysseus struggles homeward, the conceit of rose-cheeked family life is stressed. At the end, when all conflicts are resolved and Odysseus is reunited with wife and son, the lesson that a united family can overcome any obstacles is shown and is one that todays families should heed. As the Odyssey begins, we match a family in disarray. Odysseus whereabouts are unknown. Penelope has spent four years keeping the suitors at bay and spent 20 years crying for Odysseus. And Telemakhos has braggy up confused and unsure of himself, without a real father figure. Simultaneously, as a result, we see a kingdom also in disarray. Ithaca has no king, thusly no father figure. And the sons of the kingdom, hence the suitors, have no guidance and act in an egregious manner. They eat and drink all day, slowly depleting Odysseus cattle and booze stock. They gamble and constantly harass Penelope and Telemakhos. As Telemakhos, who is ignorant of how real family life should be, travels in search of his father, he learns about family life. In Pylos, he meets Nestor, who asks his son, Peisistratus, to surveil him. This is important because it is the first time Telemakhos has a real friend. In Sparta, he meets King Menelaos and Helen, who are in the midst of the celebration of a double wedding. here he is shown what a real family should be. Menelaos and Helen have had their troubles. But since they were reunited after the Trojan War, their lives together have been happy and their relationship is loving, honest, and healthy. By the same token, their kingdom thrives, because of this healthy family relationship. Menelaos brother, Agamemnon, does not have a healthy family relationship. His family is held up to everyone as what a family should not be. It is ironic that the marriages of two brothers, Agamemnon and Menelaos, to two sisters, Helen and Clytemnestra, should be such exact reversal in their outcome. During his absence during the Trojan War, Agamemnons wife, Clytemnestra, took a lover, Aigisthos. Upon Agamemnons return, Clytemnestra kills him and his slave-mistress, Cassandra.