“They burst into cries, wailing, streaming live tears that
gained us nothing-what good can come of grief” Book 10, Pg. 236, lines 220-221
In many occasions
throughout books 10-12, Odysseus admonishes his crew for weeping over the death
of their comrades. This is showing that Odysseus is holding himself and his
crew to a higher standard than regular men. This standard calls the men to keep
their emotions tucked away, but as more happens this proves to be an impossible
task. It is impossible because, while these men are warriors, they are still
human.
Odysseus and his men act in ways
that prove they are not able to be as immovable as they hope to be. They deal with whether heroes should be held
to a higher standard simply because they are heroes, or if they allowed to
express their humanity in ways that would make them appear weak. Is the ability
to express emotions weakness or strength, and is this standard that Odysseus
tries to uphold for himself and his crew reasonable? Without the allowance of
these emotions, is someone truly living? Without emotions is one simply a car
that runs without someone driving it?
I commented on Hannah and Wendy's posts.
I commented on Hannah and Wendy's posts.
I think it is actually more of the fact that time is of the essence. When the men are grieving, it's not necessarily that Odysseus frowns upon their display of emotion so much as he is trying to get them to act quickly.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is reasonable for Odysseus to hold his men to these standards. He must show strength and lead in strength so that his people will, in turn, be strong. However, I believe that there is a time to express emotions, emotions make them human. There is a fine line between strength and weakness in the ability to express emotions.
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting observation, and I am curious to know how the story would have played out differently if there was a different level of emotions. Maybe not even that, because the crew mainly let their desires run rampant as they greedily claimed possessions. They were focused on satisfying themselves, driven by their desires. Maybe the question is how could they have used emotions to their advantage rather than letting their emotions overcome them?
ReplyDeleteI believe that Odysseus does know there is a time for grief and tears as he is seen weeping over the Trojan War with the Phaecians, yet when it comes to battle or standing against enemies one must seem stronger so that there can be a intimidation.
ReplyDelete