Essay
Role of stories in the Odyssey - A* Essay
- Module
- H408/11 World of the Hero
- Institution
- OCR
A* Essay on story-telling in the Odyssey
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IntroductionStorytelling is a type of art that is mostly found in the literature of different kinds. Stories
come in a variety of forms, such as songs, poetry, or even plays. Storytelling is the cultural
and social activity of sharing stories, which sometimes include improvisation,
embellishments, or theatrics (Russell). Each culture contains its narratives or stories, which
they share as a means of cultural preservation, entertainment, education, or instilling moral
values (Konvisser). Therefore, storytelling can be described as a means of interpreting and
sharing one’s experiences. It can be used in teaching values, ethics, as well as cultural
norms and differences. For instance, most of the time, learning is most effective if it takes
place in a social environment that provides the learner with authentic social cues and those
that indicate the application of knowledge. Storytelling, therefore, acts as a means of passing
knowledge in a social context. It is essential as it promotes the liveliness of learning and
enables creating an immersive and participatory experience, which allows the learners to
enjoy learning more about language in an entertaining, stylistic and dynamic manner.
Through storytelling, the learner is also able to be aware of and enjoy the tone of the voice,
the intonation phrases used, natural expressions and soundings, and the interaction
between the different speakers. It also offers insights into life experiences, encourages the
use of creativity and imagination, and promotes well-being, relaxation, and fun. Generally,
storytelling provides every person a chance to enjoy language and discover new worlds,
worlds, and new things about themselves, such as their personalities.
The Odyssey is full of storytelling. In The Odyssey, storytelling was a way of entertainment to
Greek society. There were no televisions, no cell phones, no radio, no games, no movies,
and no internet during that period. So the Greek society had to come up with a way of
entertaining themselves. Men, women, and children used to listen to any stories given with a
lot of attentiveness than they would later share the stories throughout their lives to the next
generations. Storytelling during that period took many forms, such as songs, poems, or even
tales. If the element of storytelling was never included in the Odyssey, then Odysseus’s story
would have been concise and also very insignificant in Greek society. This paper will analyze
the role of storytelling in the Odyssey by looking at the poem’s varied rhetorical situations.
Storytelling in the Odyssey
, Since the beginning of humanity, people have continuously tried to develop ways to keep
concrete records of their life experiences. For instance, there were cavemen drawings in the
underground caverns. There came the hieroglyphics from Egyptians, and later there were
the vast libraries of knowledge in the ancient Italy and Greece centers. All these stories and
histories played an integral part in society at large. A few renowned books with exceptional
storytelling arts also emerged and studied from one generation to the other. One such work
is The Odyssey, which is an epic poem by a blind poet named Homer. Homer could not read
because he was blind and also because, during that time, people did not know how to read
or even write. Therefore, he was an oral storyteller who used to recount vast tales for
entertaining people, and most of the time, he accompanied it with musical accompaniments.
The Odyssey can be said to be Homer’s greatest work and one of the best-known pieces
from him. The telling of stories as well as the stories take a large part of the poem. In the
poem, the main characters are set on a journey, and throughout the journey of the
characters, the reader learns a lot about their essence from the encounters they get. From
the journeys of the characters’ experience, the art of storytelling by the author portrays itself.
The original medium used to convey Homer’s Odyssey was the spoken word. Initially, it was
a compelling and entertaining story. The story has survived for thousands of years due to its
depth in penetrating the in-depth details that govern the interaction between humans and the
social order. The Odyssey is of great importance to Greek culture and also signifies the
importance of storytelling. Storytelling is an essential part of nature and serves an essential
purpose for most cultures. Storytelling also provides an easier medium of remembrance
where culture, values, and customs are passed from one generation to the next. Through the
Odyssey, Homer tries to show us that it is impossible to maintain our culture without
storytelling.
In the poem, Odyssey goes through twenty years away from his wife and children.
Determined that he would one day return home, Odysseus fought monsters and men, he
was rejected by wooers from his city, and he also met many people who tried to trick him as
he journeyed back home (Finley). He saw no peace as he traveled back home. Odysseus is
always lamenting on how he misses his family and how he also misses going home. When
he finally manages to find his way back home, he hides his true identity and becomes a
beggar where he plans revenge against the wooers who had stolen from him and taken over
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