Wednesday, April 23, 2014
In Medias Res: Chronological v. Narrative Order
In class we observed the narrative order of the Odyssey, the order the event are retold in the epic, are different from the chronological order, the order the events occur in time. The epic begins in medias res, literally in the middle of things. What is ONE reason that the story begins in this way? Why doesn't the story begin with Odysseus leaving Troy?
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This happened, then that happened, then this happened. Most stories we hear happen in this order. Chronological order, black and white, clear, plain, and simple. Why is it then that a great work such as the Odyssey is over-complicated and made so confusing. Therefore, there must be a reason that the text takes on this odd story-telling format. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is much more than just the hero. He represents Homer when he relays his story to the Phaecians. He shares things from his perspective, allowing him to change details, and make it all more articulate. The idea of fame being increased by the bard is so important it needs to be reinforced over and over. For the same reason, Demedocus shares several stories. Stories themselves are very important things in Ancient Greek Society, and this format promotes these stories, "Odysseus, the great teller of tales, launched out on his story:" (9:1). This quote, for example, proves Odysseus is the bard telling this important famous story. It allows the story to take on a better and more developed form through the bards eyes. The narrative story also allows the story to pick up with Telemachus, and the strife in Odysseus' home setting up the tension in is house so it can build when Odysseus does tell his story. The narrative in the end is extremely important to the flow of the piece.
ReplyDeleteBecause Odysseus tells his own story of his journey between Cicones and Phaeacia and because it is not in chronological order with the rest of his journey, emphasis is put on the many mistakes Odysseus makes and his views of them during that portion of his journey. As Odysseus travels from the Cicones to the Lotus- Eaters to Polyphemus' cave and so on, Odysseus makes leadership mistakes and suffers greatly at every stop. Revealing each event that hurt Odysseus and diminished his crew consecutively, without the rest of Odysseus' journey causes the reader to notice Odysseus' repetitive mistakes and the continuing consequences of those mistakes. Because this portion of the journey is told like a flashback, Odysseus is the narrator, which allows the reader to see how he feels about these mistakes and his suffering. For example, after the mistake is made of opening the bag of winds and the men suffer from being blown away from home, Odysseus blames, "A mutinous crew undid me--that and a cruel sleep." (10.74). Because of the way the story is told, the readers get to hear Odysseus' own opinions on the events of his journey, such as his lack of responsibility. Placing the story of Odysseus' journey from Cicones to Phaeacia in the place that it is in the Odyssey forces the reader to notice Odysseus' repetitive mistakes and understand how he himself feels about them.
ReplyDeleteThe events in Homer's Odyssey are arranged in narrative order as appose to in chronological order to build up the magnitude of the gallant and heroic aspects of Odysseus' character with the aim of ultimately having the reader rooting for Odysseus in his climatic battle against the suitors at the end of the story. For example, when Telemachus visits Menelaus in Sparta, the story shifts from chronological order when Menelaus tells the story of Odysseus' heroic actions when he craftily concealed his men inside a Trojan horse to sneak into and successfully raid the city of Troy. Menelaus claims that before being inside the horse with Odysseus, "he [Menelaus] had never laid eyes on a man like him [Odysseus]" (4.303) because of the "heart that fearless Odysseus had inside him!" (4.304). Such descriptions successfully build up the heroic and courageous qualities of Odysseus' character in the eyes of the reader. In addition, also while Telemachus is in Sparta, Helen tells the story of when Odysseus was brave enough to brutally lash "his own body with mortifying strokes" (4.274) solely to "slipped [slip] into the enemy's city" (4.276). Such portrayal of Odysseus as a humble man who is willing to sacrifice himself for a greater cause furthers the reader's wondrous impression of Odysseus and contributes to them rooting for him in the battle at the end of the book.
ReplyDeleteHomer's use of In Medias Res allows for the use of foreshadowing throughout the book. Instead of telling the story in chronological order the events so the reader understands perfectly and has no questions or doubts, Homer puts important and interesting mini-stories later in the book to keep the reader's curiosity piqued and afraid of how the story is going to play out up to the point that we have already read. For example, in book 6 of the Odyssey, Odysseus makes it to the shores of Phaeacia alone without any crewmembers. Starting in book 9, he tells the story of him and his fleet of ships that set sail home from Troy. Homer is implying that all of Odysseus’s crewmembers are either lost or killed in some way. This makes the book more interesting because the reader has time to imagine what horrible fates could have taken his crew before they find out the rest of the backstories. If Homer would have told the story chronologically all the way from leaving Troy, it would not have had the same effect and would have instead not have been as impending as the crewmembers were picked off by mishap after mishap.
ReplyDeleteOne way narrative order helps a story more than chronologically is it builds suspense to help make the audience members more invested while listening or reading the book. Suspense is important to a story because it hooks the audience in and will win their attention. This is shown in the beginning when the epic starts showing Telemachus and his mom getting harassed by suitors. This builds suspense in the reader as he constantly urges Odysseus to get home as quickly as possible to drive away the suitors. As Odysseus dawdles on during his journey it captivates the reader to read on and see how Odysseus will get home.
ReplyDeleteOne reason for the Odyssey's use of a narrative order is to provide a sense of suspense in the story and to give the reader a reason to root for Odysseus. The narrative order employed in the Odyssey effectively introduces us to plot points that, had they been told in chronological order, would have hampered the story's ability to keep readers interested. For instance, the condition of Odysseus' home and the presence of suitors who are both picking his palace clean and trying to marry his wife is told before the reader is introduced to Odysseus in order to create suspense. Odysseus has been trying to fight his way home for 20 years, and when he arrives, he will be treated to the sight of countless men treating themselves to all the spoils of his hard work and courting his wife. Throughout the first 10-12 chapters only the reader is aware of the suitors and they are left struggling to put the book down because they are waiting to see what Odysseus does to them when he returns to Ithaca. Additionally, the narrative order also gives the reader a reason to sympathize and root for Odysseus. After seeing how hard he has worked to get home, the reader feels bad for Odysseus that he must return from years of hardship to a deteriorating home full of men trying to steal his wife. Clearly, the author chose to employ a narrative order in the Odyssey as opposed to telling Odysseus' story chronologically, in order to keep the reader invested in the book. While the tale is interesting regardless of the sequence it is told in, the narrative order provides a more dramatic effect which helps to keep the reader interested.
ReplyDeleteThe narrative order that the story is told, builds the suspense that enhances the excitement and fame of the Odyssey. If the story were told in chronological order, the build up to the climax would not be as intense as the story Homer wrote. The beginning of the Odyssey is a dramatic irony, because the reader is introduced to the main problem of the story before Odysseus knows. Like in a horror movie, a dramatic irony is used to build up the suspense, the same works in the Odyssey. In the first two books the readers are introduced to Telemachus and the problem with the suitors. However Odysseus is in a world of his own, he has no news of his home land. As the readers we want to yell to Odysseus to warn him, but what makes the Odyssey a classic piece of literature is the dramatic effects. The excitement boils because the reader wants to see how the protagonist deals with the problem, and how or if that problem will be solved. A chronological book doesn’t pertain the same elements, such as momentum and suspense which a narrative book has. The Odyssey is one of the most influential books because of the excitement it provides and also the brilliant use of literature by Homer.
ReplyDeletePresenting the Odyssey not in chronological order puts an emphasis on the mistakes Odysseus makes throughout his journey home to Ithaca. Throughout the epic, Odysseus explains many of the poor decisions he has made, but in Books 9 through 12, Odysseus describes countless mistakes. For instance, in Book 10 Odysseus and his crew dock on the Laestygonian Island. Odysseus docks far away from the harbor, knowing that it will be easier to flee from farther away. For no rational reason, he elects not to tell the other ships this crucial suggestion. Because of this mistake Odysseus makes, eleven ships were lost. Odysseus causes more ships to be destroyed when he chooses to dock on the island of Thrinacia, where Helios resides. Odysseus gives in to Eurylochus' plea to dock in Thrinacia, and his men eat the Cattle of the Sun while he is asleep. Odysseus' poor choice kills his remaining men and angers numerous gods. Putting many mistakes in narrative order makes the reader realize how many poor decisions Odysseus makes throughout the duration of his journey back to Ithaca.
ReplyDeleteHomer puts the Odyssey in the Narrative perspective to allow the reader to dive right "in media res" of this tale to experience Odysseus in his true, raw form. This was chosen opposed to chronological order to reflect how Odysseus' character got up to his current point instead of growing along with the character as the story progressed. I believe this was chosen for many reasons such as to add suspense to make the story more interesting. In this perspective you have many different forms of story telling such as flash backs and stories the bards tell during feasts that have already occurred. Odysseus also would not of had the opportunity to "become" a bard like he did in chapter nine explaining his feats like surviving Polyphemus. In chronological order Odysseus wouldn’t of have been able to "flash" back to these experiences which demonstrates a big part of him: fame. We learn through his story telling that fame is a big part of who he is which would have been very hard to portray if done the other way. The Odyssey in narrative perspective allows the author to really capture Odysseus' true character and personality.
ReplyDeleteThe Odyssey was written in narrative order instead of chronological order because it can portray the creation of suspense of why Odysseus is in such a hurry to get home to his people. For example, dramatic irony was formed in the beginning of the story before we know anything about Odysseus and what is going on, the writer shows that Odysseus’s wife Penelope is waiting for him to come home and Telemachus his son wants to desperately see his father again. Later in the story, his journey is explained when he gets to the Underworld that his wife is awaiting his presence and his men are trying to marry her and trying to convince her that Odysseus has died on his journey. This shows that Odysseus must hurry so a suitor does not steal his wife while he is still alive on land so his dreams will not be vanquished. At the end of the day, Homer really decided to write in the narrative because it creates a more fascinating story and if it was in chronological order, the reader would not be as interested at the end of the story.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty reason why the story of The odyssey is told the way it is with the narrative and chronological events are out of order. One might say it is because it helps the reader understand why one thing must happen due to another thing that was done back in the past. But the biggest idea for why it might be is because the stories of gods and mortals show a strong connection to the real life situation. One story that stands out is the 'love of Ares and Aphrodite' story. This story is about a couple who is secretly in love and Aphrodite is cheating on her husband who is a very intelligent man. Hephaestus catches the action and puts In a punishment placed by the gods. This story connects to how Odysseus has bad things happen to him in his life but he smart enough to climb his way up to victory in any batter or problem he runs into. In this story the stories may not be in order but they help explain or give a connection to what is happening in present time during the story.
ReplyDeleteThe main motive of telling a story in narrative order that is different than the chronological order is to show how a particular tale relates to the life of the protagonist. Odysseus is introduced as a crafty, cunning man who is capable of concocting successful plans and missions, such as the Trojan Horse. In book 8 of The Odyssey, the story of Ares and Aphrodite proves that the gift of intelligence overpowers physical strength. Hephaestus, although crippled, is able to bind the muscular Ares with his chains. This same concept applies to Odysseus as a result of his intellect, meaning that he will be victorious over others based on his brainpower. The tale of Ares and Aphrodite was told after Odysseus, with the help of Nausicaa, snuck into Phaecia, to show that cleverness is always successful. An additional reason to place the tale of Aphrodite and Ares in book 8 was to display the concept of a loveless marriage, which is something that Odysseus fears. Hephaestus has left town, and Aphrodite, seeking love, decides to sleep with Ares. The story opens Odysseus's eyes to how his wife may act when he is missing. The location of the story makes sense, as Odysseus is beginning is attempt at returning to Ithaca.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of narrative order in this epic is emphasis. In the Odyssey we often find the chronological order of the story interrupted by a more comprehensive narrative version. A myth or flashback often interjects into the story line in times where the author wishes to put emphasis on an incident. An example of this is the story of Ares and Aphrodite. The story details the way in which Hephaestus, the cripple, catches his wife, Aphrodite, cheating on him with the war god Ares. Ultimately the moral of this story is that often times brain triumphs over brawn. This story was told by Demodocus, a short time before Odysseus and Broadsea have an argument. In the argument Broadsea teases Odysseus, and Odysseus responds by saying that the gods give out gifts unevenly. By this he means that while Broadsea is very strong and handsome; his head is an empty vessel. Odysseus outsmarts and embarrasses Broad-sea, similar to relationship between Hephaestus and Ares in the myth.
ReplyDeleteThe Odyssey was written in the narrative order purposely for multiple reasons. Homer wrote this novel in the narrative order to keep the readers engaged. The story is not told in chronological order but unfolds in a way that that keeps the reader involved and engaged. In this epic the perspectives are constantly changing which engages the reader to try to actively put the story together as it all unfolds. When reading this book, the reader feels like you are in the story and experiencing it. Homer wants you to know and to see that there are other ways to think about the things that are going on. By reading other perspectives of the same situation maybe the reader can resonate with one perspective more than another. At times this is confusing yet in the big picture you can learn more and see how complicated things are. I think that the Homer wanted the reader to go on a journey with the book. Instead of telling them a long story all by one narrator in chronological order, Homer tries to include the reader in the experience of going on a journey as the story is told with flashbacks. This requires the reader to put the pieces of the story together for themselves.
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