The Odyssey
In the book The Odyssey, the epic is created around the theme of trickery, which is used in escaping life-threatening situations when the Odyssey faces the one-eyed cyclops Polyphemus. Homer illustrates that deception is not always used for the worst, and by using irony, symbolism, and character, the author proves his point by showing how Odyssey devices a trick to escape Polyphemus. When Odysseus comes face-to-face with Polyphemus, who eats his friends, he quickly devises a scheme that saves him from this life-threatening circumstance. Using a trick known as “The trick of Nobody,” Odysseus tells the cyclops that his name is nobody and that “My Father and Mother call me Nobody as do all others who are my companions” (Homer et al., 2019, p. 146). Once he convinces the cyclops, Odysseus follows through by intoxicating the one-eyed monster and finding his way back to Ithaka.
He blinds it once the character convinces the monster that he is nobody and intoxicates the cyclops. The monster cries out by saying, “Nobody is killing me by force or treachery” (Homer et al., 2019, p. 147). Further, the character is full of deceit, and in another instance, he tells Eumaios that “I announce that my origin is from Crete…I am a son of a rich man” (Homer et al., 2019, p.215). The forms of deception in the book seem to come effortlessly to Odysseus, and the stories he tells throughout the book serve to protect him and his family.
King Lear
In society, acts of crime that oppose the laws governing it can only be punished severely as treason is punished. That is the case in the tragedy of King Lear. To alter his fate and gain power, Edmund employs deception to put his brother Edgar in exile. Edmund is Gloucester’s illegitimate son and has no right to inherit the land. In the Elizabethan era, bastards had no right to inherit their father’s wealth, land included, and since Edgar is the legitimate son of Gloucester, he is the rightful heir to his wealth. However, to gain control and power over the lands inherited by Edgar, Edmund devices a plan to overthrow his half-brother. In his plan, Edmund says, “Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land” (Shakespeare, 2021, p.19). To realize his plan, Edmund deceives his father against his brother by telling him, “Never, my lord. But I have heard him oft maintain it to be fit that, sons at perfect age and fathers declined, the father should be as ward to the son, and the son manage his revenue. Never my lord” (Shakespeare, 2021, p.32). Edmund dies at the end of the book to pay for the crime he commits against his step-brother Edgar.
Epic of Gilgamesh
Utanapishtim is the only human the gods grant the gift of immortality, which makes the hope that Gilgamesh works within trying to find the exact gift deceit. Fortunately, when Utanapishtim was king, he was the only human who had friends, the god Ea, in the high places. The god Ea gives Utanapishtim an advance warning on the upcoming flood and gives him instructions on building a massive boat that saves him from the flood. When Gilgamesh receives instruction on finding immortality, the path leads him straight to Utanapishtim, who asks Gilgamesh (Dixon & Kick, 2018). Once Utanapishtim talks to Gilgamesh about his journey, he makes Gilgamesh realize that his case was an exception the gods made to immortality.
However, even with the knowledge that no other man can become immortal, Utanapishtim challenges Gilgamesh to a contest to stay awake to trick him into gaining the gift of immortality. He does this knowing that no other man can ever achieve the same advantage. Even with Utanapishtim’s wife intervening and telling him to reveal the secret of the flower of youth, Utanapishtim believes that Gilgamesh will never succeed in using the flower. Every mistreatment Utanapishtim hands to Gilgamesh shows the harsh reality the truth about life is death (Dixon & Kick, 2018). Once he loses the flower, Gilgamesh goes back home, awaiting the reality that he, too, will die like his friend Enkidu.
References
Dixon, K. H., & Kick, R. (2018). The epic of Gilgamesh. Seven Stories Press.
Homer, Flaxman, J., Pope, A., & Woolerton, E. (2019). The Odyssey. Sirius.
Shakespeare, W. (2021). The tragedy of King Lear. Mint Editions.