What is Paradise? Throughout history man has sought to create, find, or at least image a paradise on earth, a place where there is peace, harmony, and a surcease from the pain that plagues our lives. On the eve of World War II, James Hilton imagined such a place in his best-selling novel, Lost Horizon. The story itself begins when an evacuation of Westerners is ordered in the midst of revolution in Baksul, India. A plane containing four passengers is hi-jacked and flown far away into the Keun-Lun Mountains of Tibet. The plane crashes and the passengers are welcomed to the valley of the Blue Mo...

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... the dominance of these traditions in the Greek culture during the classic time period. While there were numerous themes in the epic, the role of hospitality was one of the most prominent. Throughout the story, Homer depicts scenarios in which hospitality, both on the part of the guest and the host, ... welcome and generosity that they are offered, thus avoiding many conflicts and being prepared to protect themselves. Other generous gift givers are the Phaeacians who give Odysseus many valuable gifts, such as "...bronze and hoards of gold and robes..." (XIII, 155) and transported him to I...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a warrior who killed monsters and saved a city. In both epic stories there are similarities and differences; primarily these similarities and differences focus on the themes of women, character style, and religion. First off, women play major roles in both epics. In The Odyssey women were treated as slaves. They ... his journey. Also, the women that were at the hall were sleeping with the suitors. "I would not give the clean death of a beast to trulls who made a mockery of my mother and of me too-you sluts, who lay with suitors." (Fitzgerald, Book XXI 514-516). A similarity that both ......

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• Grade Level: High School

... in Dante's Inferno when he knowingly uses wit to satisfy his worldly emotions of wrath and vengeance. "When/I sailed away from Circe, who"d beguiled me/to stay more than a year there /neither my fondness for my son nor pity/for my old father nor the love I owed/Penelope, which would ... industrial power. Industrialization is similar to the quests of Ulysses, since it is about building more things to make a better, more effective modern society. The themes in "Ulysses" suggest the idea that the only path to knowing is experiencing, and if knowledge relies one's experience, a person can ga...

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• Grade Level: High School

... the other hand, "The Penelopiad," written by Margaret Atwood in 2005, is a contemporary retelling of the Odysseus, from the perspective of Penelope. The story is comical parody of the original tale with Penelope narrating in the 'Underworld'. While it is based on events of Odysseus's excruciating adventure to ... return home, it's feminist representation of characters and themes set it apart from the original. The focus of this essay is to analyze the identities of the two focal characters Penelope and Odysseus and ... trick Polyphemus, humour is employed when Odysseus states his n...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Odyssey by Homer is an epic of enormous proportions. The themes, ideas and messages in the poem are timeless and appeal to every generation of readers. The Odyssey's protagonist is Odysseus, the ruler of Ithaca ... Odysseus" tale reveals herself and teases Odysseus, "You terrible man, foxy ingenious, never tired of twists and tricks-so not even here, on native soil, would you give up those wily tales that warm the cockles of your heart! " This part of the text exemplifies Odysseus" shrewd and calculating characteristics which are so amazing they are ... chief guardian, revealing herself t...

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... Some parts of the epic also took place in Pylos, Nestor's home; Sparta, Menelaus" Kingdom; and Ithaca, Odysseus" kingdom. The mood and atmosphere of the story is filled with feelings of grief, determination, wit, hope, and true love. IV- Characters: • Odysseus- also known as Ulysses; King of Ithaca; ... of others." As the Greeks ransacked Troy when it fell at the close of the Trojan War, they were very much victorious that they forgot to give tribute to the Gods and Goddesses that helped them- Athena and Poseidon for example. Also, a soldier named Ajax did an act of sacrilege against ....

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• Grade Level: High School

Homer's The Odyssey has many different themes. Among them is Telemachos' own journey from a child to a young man. In the book, Homer shows Telemachos' change from a child who, lacking his father's guidance, ... men are. Once he is recognized, Telemachos asks Nestor about his father. Nestor describes the circumstances under which he last saw Odysseus, but he isn't able to give Telemachos any help in locating him. Instead, he suggests that the crew go see Menelaus in Sparta. Nestor even provides them with a chariot and some of his best ... by nightfall the second day. They reach the island in...

• Word Count: 1330
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School