Odyssey's Challenges Book Review Example

In an articulate and incisive voice, Stanley proves Odyssey`s as a man of various challenges on his return from the Trojan war. He faces various numerous socio-economic and psychological challenges. The ten years endless war makes him to face several challenges. Despite all these hurdles, he eminently struggles to overcome them and at the end makes it back to his homeland. The book presents, him as a person with strong will at every circumstance. His strong heartedness helps him to recapture the throne and peace within himself and the entire society.
In chapter one of the book, Odyssey is presented as a lone ranger. He has lost most of his comrades in the Trojan War (Stanley 50). He neither have his wife nor any family member. This situation is worsen when the protagonist is struck in the on the Island of Calypso. At such a time, his crew and ship are completely destroyed. In the Island of Calypso, Odyssey is unfortunately captured and imprisoned. While all this happening, his wife is engulfed with numerous suitors seeking her hand in marriage (Stanley 100). The revelation of the news makes some suitors to plot assassination of Telemachus, Odyssey’s wife. However, he is released and allowed to rebuild his ship for the final journey home. After leaving the land of Calypso, Odyssey spend couple of days before spotting Scheria, the land the pointed to him by Hermes. Poseidon in retaliation to show rage on the release of Odyssey set a violent storm on the sea with the aim of drowning him. With Ethena and Ino beside him, Odyssey manages to survive the storm leaving the ship to sink (Stanley 234).
In the most interesting yet horrific manner, the author continues to present the tale of this “poor man.” In chapter nine of the protagonist and his new comrades becomes victims of food poisoning in the land of Lotus eaters (Stanley 125. This situation together with the hostility that they faced made them to leave the land and soon settled in Cyclops. While in Cyclops, the crew encountered a herd of wild goats that threatened their lives. The situation forced them to move to the main land where they found numerous sheep and large supply of milk in a cave. Unfortunately, some members of the crew were eaten while others imprisoned by the cave residents upon their return. Odysseus uses wine to challenge Polyphemus and escapes from the cave with his crew.
Upon their release from the cave, the men set for the land of Aeolus. This was the main keeper of the winds. In the land, they are provided with the most prestigious gift of a bag containing the directional wind. Odyssey stirs up the Westerly wind to guide the crew home. This manages to guide them and news arrives that only in a couple of days the men were approaching the Ithaca. Unfortunately, due to the greedy nature of some of the crew members, they tear open Aeolus’s bag expecting to find silver and gold. The winds loosen up causing a terrible storm that directs the wind back to the Aeolus. In retaliation, Aeolus refuses to provide them with a new set of winds claiming that the group is cursed by their God.
In chapter ten, the narrator presents Odysseus and his men without a proper direction to follow. Without the gift of the bag containing wind, the crew decides to row to Laestygonia, the land of giants. Upon arrival in this home, Odysseus scouts are immediately killed. The giants toss boulders on the ships except the Odysseus ship that manages to escape narrowly to the foreign land of witch-goddess called Aeaea. (Stanley 126) The goddess immediately turns Odysseus crew into pigs. Odysseus is entice by the goddess and fall a prey of her love. They live a luxury life for more than a year by his crew that poses several dangers. The next vivid trial of his journey is when Odyssey and his crew arrived in the land of Scylla and Charybdis. In this place they encounter a Scylla, a six-headed monster (Stanley 262). The monster was determined to eat one crew member for the survival of his six heads. This forced him to sacrifice a total of six men in order to survive the situation.
Finally, Odysseys men despise his orders and slaughters a cattle while capping at Thrinicia. This action resulted in a punishment by throwing a storm that killed every man except Odysseus (Stanley 334). After this incident, the main protagonist made his way to Calypso Island where he spend a couple number of years. Upon arrival in his homeland, Odysseus finds his wife still engulfed by a couple of suitors seeking her hand in marriage. Unfortunately, he arrives in the palace as a beggar and this results to poor treatment towards him by the inner circles. He is reluctant to reveal his identity at first. He finally reveals his identity and reunites with his family members (Stanley, 240). Despite all these challenges, Odysseus is assured by the conformity and the faithfulness of his wife who maintains his family statues. He manages to capture his family protocol and captures the peace that is required in the life of every man.

Works Cited

Stanley Lombardo “Odyssey Homer” ISBN: 978-0-87220-4843 2000 Pp. 1-365