Book 17

Scenes and Characters

Book 17 starts off with Telemachus, Odysseus (disguised as a beggar) and Eumaeus on the farm. Right now Telemachus knows that Odysseus has returned but Eumaeus does not. Telemachus decides to go ahead of Odysseus and return to his palace. The swineherd leads Odysseus a little later to the palace.

The next important scene occurred when Telemachus reached his father’s palace after his long journey away. The first person he ran into was Eurycleia, his old nurse. Then Penelope descended the stairs and greeted him with tears and kisses. Penelope said “You’re home, Telemachus! Sweet light of my eyes! I never thought I’d see you again.” I was amazed by how Penelope could have survived without her husband or son. Neither of whom she new was alive. Homer represents her here as the epitome of a Greek wife. She waited all these years for the return of her husband and when her son left she was still able to get through her sorrow.

Telemachus then told his mother about his voyage and of the news he heard of his father. He described how he sailed to King Nestor’s palace and then he rode by chariot to the palace of Menelaus. During this entire conversation Telemachus knew that his father was here on Ithaca, but it was not time to tell Penelope yet. Do you believe that Telemachus has learned the art of deception, like his father did, through his journey? I believe that before his voyage, Telemachus would not have been able to lie to his mother like this. He now is thinking ahead and realizes it would be better to tell her later.

The next important scene is when Odysseus and Eumaeus are at the fountain in the city and they run into Melanthius. He is a goatherder and servant of Odysseus. He is the first servant we meet who truly despises Odysseus’ household and is on the Suitors’ side. How does Melanthius help develop the story? He is not a dynamic character but he does represent the opposite of Eumaeus. We know that Melanthius despises Odysseus and loves the suitors, so he represents the traitorous servants. He helps develop the other side of the conflict.

The last important scene in book 17 is when Odysseus, disguised as a beggar goes up to Alcinious and begs for scraps of food. Alcinious attacks Odysseus with words at first, saying he is good for nothing. Eumaeus responds “Antinious, highborn as you are…that was a mean low speech!” This quote shows Alcinious’ arrogance and how he believed his power is his own birthright. We see this a lot among the suitors. In this scene Alcinious gets so frustrated with Odysseus’ insults that he throws a chair at him. What does this show about Odysseus and his ability to remain calm in the moment? This is a test of real character that Homer uses to help the reader understand Odysseus’ personality. He is able to stay clam while the Suitor’s are plaguing his own home. He is plotting their death in his mind, but he knows it is not time to retaliate yet.

Guiding Question 1: The title of this book is stranger at the gates. Do you feel that this is fitting for this chapter? Does Odysseus come home as just a stranger because of his physical appearance or has his journey home made him into a different person?

Illuminate the Text

Epic Machinery is used extensively throughout book 17. On lines 135-140 Homer uses an epic simile to give the audience an idea of how the Suitors have used Odysseus’ possessions and how they will pay the price with their lives. He compares them to a doe that nurses her fawns in a lion’s den and the lion returns and deals a mighty blow the fawns, whom are using the lion’s lair. By using this in Homer’s poem the reader can understand Odysseus’ situation.

Another example of Epic Machinerey occurs on line 163. Homer uses an epithet. Homer calls Theoclymenus the godlike seer. He uses this epithet to convince the reader the Theoclymenus can truly see the future. In this scene Theoclymenus sees Penelope’s future and he says to her that Odysseus is on native soil. Although the reader already knows Oddyseus is on the island, this makes the reader feel anxious because they want Penelope to know that everything is ok. The reader becomes more involved in the novel.

In another scene, Telemachus tells his mother of his journey to find word of his father. This is an example of Epic Machinery because it is a previous episode in the story being later retold. Homer uses it because it puts the reader in the moment instead of saying “and so Odysseus told Penelope about his voyage home and then they had a bath.”

Although there is only one translator note for my book, it is extremely important for the reader to understand. The translation occurs after Eumaeus is summoned by the queen.  Penelope tells Eumaeus that she wants to have a word with the beggar (Odysseus). Penelope says that she is frustrated with how the Suitors “bleed her house white”. She wishes Odysseus would come back so he and his son could avenge the outrage of the Suitors. Telemachus then sneezes. This seemed extremely odd to place in a book. The translator said that a sneeze was regarded by ancient Greeks as an omen, since it is not produced at will, so it must be the work of a God. This means that the Gods were responding to Penelope’s decree and hence saying it will come true.

Literary Devices

Foreshadowing: Homer uses this device many times throughout the novel, especially in book 17. When Melanthius is chastising Odysseus, he says that if Odysseus goes to beg from the Suitors they will respond by throwing a chair at him. Of course, later on, this does occur. Like I stated before, when Telemachus sneezed, it sealed the fate of the suitors. We now knew the Suitors were going to meet their ends.

This book is filled with Irony. The whole premise is that Odysseus is disguised as a beggar so that he can test the suitors and how corrupt they truly are. The readers know that the king will take his revenge one day soon, but the Suitors do not realize that the beggar is actually Odysseus. They taunt the beggar, without knowing it means their doom.

Imagery is also extremely important in this book. Homer describes the enormity of Odysseus palace to help the reader gain an idea of who he really was. The feasts are describe in extreme detail along with the clothes the suitors where and even the chairs they sit on.

Guiding Question 2: Put yourself in Odysseus shoes. After being aware from your wife for more than twenty years could you have waited like Odysseus did, taking insults from all the suitors, and not have told your wife you had returned?

Themes:

                Before Odysseus’ enters his own palace he tells Eumaeus to go ahead of him. He says “But there’s no way to hide the belly’s hungers what a curse, what mischief it brews in all our lives! Just for hunger we rig and ride our long benched ships on the barren salt sea, speeding death to enemies.” What significance does this quote have outside of the novel? I believe that he is not talking about physical hunger but about desire. The downfall of some men has been because of their desire to want more in life. Nothing is enough. We look at others and see what we don’t have and not what we do have. The major wars in history have been fought over this reason. The battle of Troy was fought over Helen. World War Two began because the Germans wanted to unify a race a country throughout Europe. They were hungry for more land. Indian tribes used to live off of each other by raiding. In The Odyssey raiding is considered a good thing. Men are praised for stealing riches from others.

                I will compare this theme of hunger to one man we should all know: Macbeth. He was promoted after the battle but his new power was not enough. Instead, he had to kill anyone in line to the throne. He started a war because of his greed. It is just like how the Suitors have gone too far and will meet there death by Odysseus’ hand.

Guiding Question 3: If resources were unlimited would there be no more war?

Money

One other theme that was fairly present in the play “A Doll’s House” was money. Money was what drove the entire play. In order for Nora to pay for their trip to Italy she had to borrow money from Krogstad. It was illegal for women to borrow money at this time. Krogstad used this against her to keep his job at the bank. The reason Nora was happy with Torvald was because of the money he was making and the money he was going to make because of his promotion within the bank. Also, the reason that Ms. Linde left Krogstad was because she had to support her dying mother and siblings. Krogstad was not well off and could not provide that monetary support for her. This turned Krogstad into corrupt human being. The only thing that Helmer truly cared about was his reputation and the wealth that would bring him. This ultimately caused the failure of his marriage with Nora.

                I related this sad story of wealth to the novel The Great Gatsby. In this novel a man tries to win back his long lost love with all the wealth in the world. He got rich by boot legging during the early 20’s. He planned his whole life out so that he could win back his love. He wanted her to be jealous of his new found wealth. In the end he was left only with his wealth, which meant absolutely nothing.

                This is similar to how Torvald only cared about his reputation and wealth. He was not gaining his wealth so he could win over Nora but wealth is what corrupted him and other main characters in the novel.

                Similar stories even occur in present times. As they say wealth cannot buy everything. It can corrupt innocent people. It is the root of all evil, but it makes the world go round.

Feminism

Another major theme of this novel is feminism. This is represented by Nora. She tries to break the oppressive bonds of marriage that Torvald holds on her. The play portrays Nora as a trapped soul who is oppressed by the customs of society during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. This means that women were seen as the care takers, house cleaners, and subordinates. The men were seen as the breadwinners, holders of reputation, and face of a family. The novel shows the impact this era has on a woman’s life. It is a backlash against old customs that put women as subordinates to men.

This time period was the beginning of the feminist movements. The artifact I chose is a poem that represents the impact this movements had on the present day.

I am a female of the new times,
Which means I really haven't any clue.
Men may carry over some belongings,
But women will be altogether new.

Each of us will have to be a sculptor
Carving madly every stage of life.
Our models must be pure imagination
Dancing in the winds of daily strife.

I'm sure there will be much I will regret:
Freedom offers vast fields for mistakes.
But I will spend my time among the mountains
Bathing in the shock of icy lakes.

I know that I don't know what I will be,
And find that total ignorance inviting.
May many of my sisters come with me!
The journey will be painful and exciting.

            This poem shows the freedom that women gained through the feminist movements during this time. This can be compared to the freedom Nora felt after she told her husband that she was leaving. Torvald used to dictate Nora’s every move, but now she is on her own to decide her fate. Nora has no idea what she will do. It is just the thought that she has freedom that is guiding her every move. She can do whatever she desires with the impact of her father or husband. She is no longer a doll.

Identity Crisis

The second artifact that I have chosen that I believe pertains to “A Doll’s House” is the novel My Sister’s Keeper. Similar to self-actualization I think there is a theme of identity crisis shown by many different characters. The novel is about a young girl who was created to be a donor baby for her dying sister. The young girl has missed out on several important aspects of life and therefore has not developed an identity. She did not discover what sports she loved to play, the type of music she wanted to listen to, or even the boys she wanted to date. I feel that this connects to several characters in the play. The most obvious is Nora. At first she thought her life was paradise because her husband was healthy and had gotten promoted. Eventually she realized she was trapped by her own marriage and that she did not have one fundamental right given by god, which was freedom. Another character that went through and identity crisis was Krogstad. At first he was portrayed as a slimy, corrupt character. As the novel progresses we learn that he did make a few mistakes but it only went downhill after he lost his true love: Ms. Linde. Ms. Linde was also in an identity crisis aswell. She came to Nora in search of work because that is what she had known her whole life and she needed work to keep herself alive. When she met Krogstad, though, they worked together and began to reunite a lost love between them.

This also pertains to me as well. Right now and especially when I graduate from high school I will enter into an identity crisis. I will search for my place in society and what fits me best. After I have become aware of my destiny I will become a stronger individual like Nora became.

Self-Actualization

I believe that one major theme that can be interpreted from the play “A Doll’s House” is self-actualization. Throughout the novel Nora goes through an identity crisis and eventually she figures out who she is. In the beginning of the play she seems to be a possession of Torvald. He calls her his songbird. He says that he provides treats, such as money, so that his songbird may sing pretty songs to him. This sounds like Nora is somewhat like a pet to him. Throughout the novel she gains independence and sees who she really is. In the end she speaks with Torvald like another man would talk to him. This means that instead of being obedient she would argue and prove him wrong. In the end she went through self-actualization. Self-Actualization is prevalent also in the following quote.

            “When people appear to be something other than good and decent, it is only because they are reacting to stress, pain, or the deprivation of basic human needs such as security, love, and self-esteem.

The greater our need for food or safety or affection or self-esteem, the more we will see and treat the items of reality, including ourselves and other people, in accordance with their respective abilities to facilitate or obstruct the satisfaction of that need. Laboring under the effects of deficiency motivation is like looking at the world through a clouded lens, and removing those effects is like replacing the clouded lens with a clear one. Self-actualizing persons' contact with reality is simply more direct. And along with this unfiltered, unmediated directness of their contact with reality comes also a vastly heightened ability to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy, however stale those experiences may have become for others.

Practically every serious description of the "authentic person" extant implies that such a person, by virtue of what he has become, assumes a new relation to his society and indeed, to society in general. He not only transcends himself in various ways; he also transcends his/her own culture.”

-Abraham Maslow (1908 - 1970)

This quote shows the power that self-actualization has on a person. Maslow says that the reason some people seem hurtful and mean is because they are searching for the right people who can fulfill their needs. I believe that Nora was looking for a way to become independent of your husband. At first she wanted her husband to put her before his reputation but when she realized this would never happen she wanted freedom. When she was strong enough to achieve that freedom she was an entirely different person that “transcended” her own self.

"A Doll's House"

I guess this sounds informal, but I am talking about myself right? I have never done a blog before and the only reason I started was for a Senior English assignment. I thought what the hell I might as well have some fun with it. Of course you don't know me, but if you did you would know I would look for every way to make this otherwise tidious assignment interesting. I heard from a friend that you could make money of this blog through advertisements. Although this is not what I am here for it will definitely make this project all the more interesting.

I want to go beyond the limits my teacher has outlined for the class and make this into my own personal blog because this is what blogs are for. You will not only see me writing about my perception and analysis of the play "A Doll's House" but I may included subliminal ques about my own personal life. I hope this blog is as interesting for me as it may be to all of you