The Odyssey is really quite powerful. I mention this now because I am working on it with my 8th graders. (I prefer the phrase "working on" to "teaching to" especially in the cases of literature.). Although the text was admittedly never one of my favorites, I find myself more and more in awe of the Grecian epic each time I encounter it. Here, on a page of paper is our ancient past. To gaze into this text is to gaze into our humanity through a lens that older than almost any of our treasures - Older than Nick Carraway, older than Lemuel Gulliver, older than Hamlet, older than even my beloved Arthur. Yet, thinking of how these texts talk to each other is quite remarkable. Each of these characters is, in his own way, an everyman. They are profoundly vulnerable, while at the same time full of potential and Odysseus is their ancestor.
Despite his massive muscles and monster destroying resume, Odysseus is an everyman for the simple reasons that all of his major conflicts come from within. Sure all of the iconic episodes within the story somehow involve a battle or the defeat of an enormous monster, but Odysseus never really has any major problems with them (of course, there is the occasional dead, nameless Greek - perhaps the origin of the red shirts on Star Trek?) Instead, the major trouble he gets himself into always flows from within. His arrogance and lust for fame are inner conflicts that if Dante is believed, Odysseus struggles with his entire life and into the next. How true this is for all of us.
Like some others stranded on a strange island longing of home, the castaways of Lost, learned almost everything that we obsess with in our day-to-day lives is worthless. We must find, instead, all of our true challenges and worth from within. This idea is old, older than Odysseus. It is hard to not be distracted by the things that constantly demand from us everyday. Our job, our responsibilities, even our bodies- all of these things provide distractions from the real monsters we must defeat. All of which are far more dangerous and resilient than a six-headed sea serpent.
My advice to myself which I offer sternly, and to my reader, which I offer humbly, is to keep this in mind as you face the challenges of the world and the challenges of the spirit. Keep your perspective as you are find yourself in a gilded mansion, surrounded by the worldly wise, left inactive with obsession, or find yourself vulnerable to baser minds which distract you from your quests. Remember that defining yourself as you flee the cyclops is so much more important to your story than blinding the beast.
Sometimes it is comforting to gaze into the past and see oneself. It makes one feel so much less alone.
Despite his massive muscles and monster destroying resume, Odysseus is an everyman for the simple reasons that all of his major conflicts come from within. Sure all of the iconic episodes within the story somehow involve a battle or the defeat of an enormous monster, but Odysseus never really has any major problems with them (of course, there is the occasional dead, nameless Greek - perhaps the origin of the red shirts on Star Trek?) Instead, the major trouble he gets himself into always flows from within. His arrogance and lust for fame are inner conflicts that if Dante is believed, Odysseus struggles with his entire life and into the next. How true this is for all of us.
Like some others stranded on a strange island longing of home, the castaways of Lost, learned almost everything that we obsess with in our day-to-day lives is worthless. We must find, instead, all of our true challenges and worth from within. This idea is old, older than Odysseus. It is hard to not be distracted by the things that constantly demand from us everyday. Our job, our responsibilities, even our bodies- all of these things provide distractions from the real monsters we must defeat. All of which are far more dangerous and resilient than a six-headed sea serpent.
My advice to myself which I offer sternly, and to my reader, which I offer humbly, is to keep this in mind as you face the challenges of the world and the challenges of the spirit. Keep your perspective as you are find yourself in a gilded mansion, surrounded by the worldly wise, left inactive with obsession, or find yourself vulnerable to baser minds which distract you from your quests. Remember that defining yourself as you flee the cyclops is so much more important to your story than blinding the beast.
Sometimes it is comforting to gaze into the past and see oneself. It makes one feel so much less alone.
