Storytellers In The Odyssey Essay

Words: 1671
Pages: 7

The Odyssey Essay Outline
Introduction:
The Odyssey written by Homer tells the epic tale of Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero, and his ten year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. In greater context, however, The Odyssey is really a story about stories or more specifically, a story about the power of storytelling. When talking about the distribution of power within The Odyssey, most focus their attention on the Greek gods, who appear to play a very active role in the lives of humans. They have the ability to influence, manipulate and define each individual’s destiny. Yet, just as we see the gods play an influential role within human nature, so do storytellers. Through song, they have the power to manipulate emotions, bringing sadness, pleasure and sadness again. Just as the gods can determine the destiny of humanity, storytellers define the destiny of a story and whether or not it continues to live on throughout history. Arguably, storytellers are the human analog of the divine as they exert their influence in a manner similar to the gods. Just like the Greek gods’ influence tends to be morally ambiguous, so do the actions of the storytellers. Homer amplifies the importance of
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Chapter 8 most clearly highlights how the actions of storytellers can be considered morally ambiguous. Through song, Demodokos, the blind Phaiakian Muse, brings Odysseus to tears, making him grieve for all of his fallen comrades. Odysseus attempts to gain control over his emotions by “skillfully drying his secret tears,” yet as “soon as the minstrel plucked his note once more, Odysseus wept again” (Homer. VIII. 95). In this instance, Odysseus is the puppet and the Demodokos is the puppeteer, who, with the pluck of a harp string, can toy with Odysseus’