Introduction
A literary journey, whether through books or through the internet, is a pleasurable exercise of intellect. Such a journey involves no expenditure or planning. But what one has to spend is time, and that too in visualizing the written word and expanding on pictures that may result in an experience that rivals the actual physical journey. It involves the imagination since the sense of touch, smell, and hearing is not involved here. But there is a downside to the whole journey. A person has to love the written word to enjoy such a journey. A journey where you take part as an observer sympathizing and empathizing with the characters and feeling happy or sad as the protagonist moves ahead through the story till the climax is reached. After the journey is over, one can still visualize the events in his or her mind and extend the experience till other matters force the person to temporarily return to the real world. Not all works of fiction or fact merit such a journey. They are usually measured by how long the story or event is remembered.
The Literary Journey
This journey takes the reader on a journey along with Odysseus of Ithaca in Greece. This journey along its way will touch five internet sites that will guide the reader through this classic work by Homer. The first site to visit is, of course, the story told in simple and easy-to-read print, the story of Odysseus’ adventures. “Oh Goddess of Inspiration, help me sing of wily Odysseus, that master of schemes!” So Homer begins his epic, though the hero himself is still offstage. (Book One). This particular site was chosen for the benefit of the lazy reader who wants to know the story quickly and in simple terms. It is also because the habit of reading is slowly giving way to the visual medium of T.V. Each page contains no more text than what would be found in a large paragraph and is illustrated in a very simple manner. In under an hour, the reader can get to know the story of the hero’s adventures.
Let the next site show the armchair traveler the map of the world as it would have been drawn during the time of the Trojan War. Unable to capture the city, even after years of fighting, the Greeks pulled a ruse on the Trojans. They were presented with the wooden horse in which Greek soldiers were hidden while the rest of the army departed from Troy. This fooled the Trojans into thinking that the Greeks had left. The soldiers emerged from the belly of the horse at midnight and were able to defeat the surprised Trojans. This particular site is included because the story of the Trojan horse is a war strategy that was unheard of in those times. “A wooden horse was built to gain access to the city as a plan. well-armed men among them Odysseus of Ithaca and Menelaus himself hid in it.” (Agun). By now, the reader would have had a broad understanding of the story and also about the famous Trojan War. The next step is important because it gives the chronology of events in the book on a single page. The site also gives a thematic structure with important places and the emotions or feelings experienced in each of these places. It just shows you the different feelings experienced by Odysseus as he visited each of these places during his wanderings. The above-mentioned chronology and thematic structure can be found at the bottom of the web page. (Boyask).
An internet site visit about the author of this great work is essential. Two of his great works, the Iliad and Odyssey, can be found here. A short summary of Greece during the time of Homer and also a brief history of the author himself is also available for viewing by readers. A small list of comparative mythology is also compiled by the creators of the site. This list, though of the personal opinion of the owners and not at all comprehensive, will shed light on other major literary works. “Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are a major part of ancient history, especially that of Ancient Greece. This site, by means of a purely educational and learning mission, has put together a collaboration of materials and works by the team that we feel will help you to understand and get more out of Homer and his/her/their works”. (Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey). If the reader, till this moment, has found some value in the book and the journey, he might be tempted to go and read the full text of Homer’s classic.
The full English translation by many authors is available on the web with a simple search. But what is now intended at the end of a journey is a critical evaluation of the book so that when the reader begins to read the full text, he can evaluate the work as he reads along. It should be hard to imagine that the original story is contained in twenty-four volumes and has about 12000 lines. Odysseus is shown to have all the characteristics of a hero. He is shown as a brave, honorable, and noble person. Two underlying concepts in this story are disguise and recognition. Odysseus goes incognito back to Ithaca and reveals his identity to only very few persons. He is recognized by his dog Argus through his sense of smell, and Odysseus’ nurse recognizes him by seeing the old scar on his thigh. There are also views that Homer is not the original author of the work, and this has been a major area of debate among historians, linguists, archaeologists, and students of comparative literature.
Some say that the original collection was not written but was passed down the ages by bards. The story was believed to have been recorded on papyrus leaves using an ancient Phoenician alphabet that was believed to have been used by the Greeks during the time of Homer. It is believed that Athenian dictator Peisistratus was said to have formed a commission to see that the work was free of errors. The first printed version of the book appeared in Europe during the late 1400s. Though many people have translated the book, the most popular among them were translations done by George Chapman, Samuel Butler, Alexander Pope, and Richmond Lattimore. There are criticisms about the literary quality of the work also. It has been compared with the Iliad, and many feel that Odyssey is inferior to this work. The work is accused of being repetitive and that it has taken too long to tell a story that has such a narrow time frame… The initial four volumes of this book are a story by itself and are known as the Telemachia… It is also worth pointing out that the Iliad and the Odyssey are stylistically and thematically different. But no one can deny that this book is a masterpiece and will find a place in literature for all times to come.
Conclusion
The first time I read the book was an abridged version which gave me an impression that the book was no better than the adventure stories we see every day. That was during my schooldays. I did not bother to take it seriously until later in college where we were given a chance to do a dramatic adaptation of the Odyssey. When discussing the storyline among the members, it became more interesting, and this led me to take it more seriously. I managed to read the full version along with a criticism of the work and the characters and ultimately came to appreciate the worth of the book. As mentioned earlier the let the last stop of this journey end with a site that gives literary criticism of the Odyssey. “The Odyssey has often been unfavorably compared to the Iliad by critics who have condemned it for its excessive repetitiveness, drawn-out narrative, and lack of unity. Yet in spite of its weaknesses, the Odyssey is still considered one of the greatest literary works of all time”. (Odyssey c. Eighth Century B.C.: Critical Reception).
The literary journey of the Odyssey is over at least as far as this paper is concerned. What is hoped is that the end of this journey is that it will prompt the reader to embark on a more serious journey of the Odyssey and other literary classics, both modern and old. With easy access to the internet and a wealth of material available online, many more such journeys are possible. It can be done with the help of a guide of even better, a solitary journey where there is no one to guide your imagination but the text itself. I personally feel that there is no alternative to reading a book made of paper. Book readers never get bored if they have access to reading material. It can be done when sitting idle at home, during travel or waiting for the delayed flight. While others fret and fume about boredom, the book lover can travel on fantastic voyages with the help of his imagination and the story laid down in the book.
It is a sad fact that the reading habit among youngsters is replaced by the T.V. and the internet. The internet is used not for reading but to chat and be seen and read on the innumerable social networking sites that seem to spring up every day. It is a good sign that several modern authors like Puelo Coehlo or J K Rowling have been to some extent lure people back into reading books. Let us hope that more such writers appear and will prompt readers to take the classics once more.
Work Cited
Again, Kagan. The Story of Trojan War. Google. 1998. Web.
Book One. 2008. Web.
Boyask, Robin Mitchell. The Study Guide for Homer’s Odyssey. Temple University. 2002. Web.
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. ThinkQuest. 1998. Web.
Odyssey c. Eighth Century B.C.: Critical Reception. enotes.com. 2008. Web.