The Adventures of Odysseus…in our Times

One of the questions during the last midterm examinations in my World Literature class is: Choose one of the adventures of Odysseus. Briefly recount the story. Does the story have a modern-day equivalent? Give an example. Here are some interesting answers from my students:

Image from MLahanas.De.

Among the adventures of Odysseus, I chose the adventure where he met the witch. Circe and Aeneas were once against each other. Circe turned Aeneas’s warriors into pigs. But eventually Circe fell in love with Odysseus. In our modern times, the story of Odysseus and Circe definitely still exists. We are all familiar with couples who started out as enemies but as they went by, they would realize that they love each other; even if it is a one-sided love story like the one between Odysseus and Circe.--Jerome, BS Accountancy

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Image from OdysseyThemesAndCharacters.Edublog.Org

One of the adventures of Odysseus was when his men killed the cattle of Helios despite the order of the god not to touch it. When Odysseus went somewhere to pray for a while, when he came back, he found his men eating the cattle. This story is very similar to when happens in our society. People, when ordered not to do things, always have the tendency for doing it. For example, in public places, there are signages that the government is implementing but some people go against these. When the sign says not to relief yourself in this area (for men), you will always find someone doing his thing. Same with traffic rules, public utility vehicles pick up commuters and unload them in places where a sign of “No Loading and Unloading” is placed. It looks like people, no matter how hard they try to follow, always wind up breaking the rules. --Mycee, BS Accountancy  

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The adventure of Odysseus on the island of Calypso has a modern-day equivalent. She really fell in love with Odysseus that she will give him everything, will do everything except give him freedom…in short “martir”. Today, some of us also do this kind of thing for the person we love, even though the person does not love [us]. We have this thing called “friend zone” as popularized by Ramon Bautista. --Erica, BS Accountancy

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Calypso is a sea-nymph who kept Odysseus on her island for eight years. She really loved Odysseus that is why she gave him all his needs; but still Odysseus does not love her. After all her kindness and generosity, she ended up with nothing. This kind of story about sacrificing all one has, giving up everything, but still the person they love doesn’t love them back.

You can give all of your time and everything but in the end you will still get hurt. This kind of story is very common in our modern day. Loving a person who is not worthy. Loving a person that you know would not love you back in return. --Sarah Mae, BSED English

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Just like in the modern days, there is always a Calypso, a girl who would do anything and everything just for their loved ones. Girls nowadays would give money, time, and even their own bodies to get a guy they want and end up having a one-sided love. In the end she will have to let go of Odysseus and face the fact that Odysseus won’t love her back despite that she gives him everything that he needs or wants. In a relationship it’s not the gifts that count; what matters most is the love for each other. --Vicky, BS Information Technology

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