Body Language Injury and Identity in The Odyssey and Oedipus the King Literature Essay Samples

Non-verbal communication Injury and Identity in The Odyssey and Oedipus the King In depicting the characters of Odysseus and Oedipus, Homer and Sophocles both abstain from characterizing these men by normal physical attributes, for example, height or unmistakable facial highlights. Rather, these creators center around enumerating explicit real injuries that work as epitomes of each character's personality. Equal plotlines in The Odyssey and Oedipus the King uncover the emblematic essentialness of Odysseus' scar just as that of Oedipus' swollen foot and gouged-out eyes. In the two works, the curse of these wounds is fundamental to the characters' destinies, with the particular level of individual inclusion in the formation of these injuries working as an impression of the measure of control each man separately has over his life. Moreover, Odysseus' scar and Oedipus' swollen foot, as the signs and evidences of their roots, consider others to remember them. In any case, the genuine nature and noteworthiness of these wounds, while emblematically comparative, vary: fo r Odysseus, his scar is a key to recovery, while for Oedipus, his swollen foot and harmed eyes are inevitable markers of his reviled destiny, delegate of his definitive demolition. All through The Odyssey, Odysseus, known for his brains and intelligence, shrouds his character with the expectation that he will have the option to return to his home in Ithaca and establish vengeance on the ill-mannered admirers tormenting his dedicated spouse and child. Over the span of doing as such, he utilizes numerous camouflages both all alone and with the celestial assistance of Athena; turning stories to those that he meets on his excursions, he likewise utilizes his rhetorical capacities to make new personas for himself. The scar on his upper thigh, in any case, stays a steady all through these physical and verbal transforms as a characteristic of his actual personality. At the point when he enters the royal residence and is washed by his old medical caretaker, Eurykleia, it is this scar double-crosses his appearance as a poor person: Presently Odysseus was sitting near the fire, yet abruptly went to the clouded side; for by and by he thought in his heart that, as she took care of him, she may know about his scar, and all his story may come out. She came very close and washed her master, and without a moment's delay she perceived that scar, which once the hog with his white tusk had caused on him (19.389-394). Following this staggering snapshot of acknowledgment, the attendant reviews the account of Odysseus' name and how he got the scar through a chasing party. Etymologically, Odysseus implies the child of agony, and fittingly his scar capacities as a token of his roots: conceived in a snapshot of torment, Odysseus by the by keeps up the imprint as an indication of valor and genuine royalty. Besides, on the grounds that he knows about the ramifications of his scar, Odysseus can utilize it for his potential benefit, by recovering his way of life as legitimate ruler with the goal that he can recapture his seat. In contrast to Odysseus, Oedipus, who is neglectful of the genuine importance and nature of his injuries, starts the play blinded to the truth of his conditions. Amusingly, in spite of the fact that his name itself signifies swollen foot, Oedipus decides to see his physical issue just as an inconsequential and irritating token of old agony, and subsequently stays oblivious of his actual way of life as the offspring of Jocasta and Laius: OEDIPUS. What troubled me when you took me in your arms? Errand person. In that your lower legs ought to be observers. OEDIPUS. For what reason do you talk about that old agony? Detachment. I loosed you; the ligaments of your feet were penetrated and chained OEDIPUS. My wrapping up garments presented to me an uncommon disrespect. Delegate. So that from this you're called your current name (1031-1036). In this trade among Oedipus and the delegate, Sophocles shows that Oedipus is more worried about keeping up his status than with understanding reality, even despite the most implicating proof of all: his own body. Given the open door for cleansing acknowledgment like that accomplished by Eurykleia, Oedipus rather wanders further from the truth and straight into the snare of his inevitable destiny. The peak of Oedipus the King presents another curve in the conversation of wounds and characters. Having acknowledged past the point of no return that he is himself the executioner that he has been searching for and the culprit of inbreeding, Oedipus gouges out his eyes. Though his swollen foot was a physical issue exacted upon his body by his folks without his own insight and support, Oedipus currently rebuffs himself in a demonstration of self-governance: Yet the hand that struck me was none however my own. For what reason should I see whose vision gave me nothing sweet to see? (1331-1332). Through blinding himself, Oedipus is allowed the chance to at last recapture some power over his life and shape his destiny. This obvious demonstration of self-mutilation is his last outlet of articulation in the play and his harmed, ridiculous eyes become an image of his new way of life as a pitiable outcast, a fallen lord. In the realms of The Odyssey and Oedipus the King, people are characterized by their mortality. Bound to delicate bodies, trapped in a consistent strain among life and demise, the physical injuries that these people have become ideal exemplifications of their personalities, steady all through notwithstanding the obstruction of otherworldly changes and abrupt variances of destiny.