English Essay

Dana Bruce

Green

English 231 sec. 009

February 16, 2009

The Journey to the Underworld

In life, people have obstacles that they face while going through all types of

emotion to figure out what it is their really looking for. For some people, it can take a

couple of days or up to 5 to 10 years to get a full understanding as an individual what

their purpose is in life. Sometimes all it takes to get us through the worst times is

believing in ourselves, and to have hope for the next day. When Odysseus travels to the

underworld, he gains some insight about who he is as a person and returning to Ithaca.

After, speaking with his mother, he also discovers how much time he has wasted and

forgetting about the loved ones he had left at home.

The House of Dead is viewed as a dark, gloomy place where soul’s from the

deceased roam around in immortal agony. The atmosphere is filled with grief, anxiety,

fear, death, hunger, disease and old age. For example, when Odysseus opens up the

underworld he observes the ghost that are flocking towards him, he says, “Brides and

unwed youths and old men who had suffered much and girls with their tender hearts

freshly scarred by sorrow…” (43) Odysseus feels that being in the underworld is a

depressing place, and meeting with the different spirits he starts to get a different

perspective on how to live life. He first meets with Tiresias and learns about the outcome

of his wanderings. Later, he talks to other spirits in which they reveal how they passed on

to the underworld. From hearing their stories, Odysseus starts realizing what he wants to

do which is find his way back home to Ithaca. Basically, the spirits were giving him

advice on how to get to Ithaca, and what to expect when he returns to his family. For

example, Agamemnon’s ghost tells Odysseus not to trust his wife when he gets home, he

states, “…when you reach your homeland steer...