Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Odysseus v. Rama
Both the Odyssey and the Ramayana feature a hero who suffers a series of misfortunes. They both are separated from their wives and risk losing them to another man. Both heroes also undertake a journey. How are Odysseus and Rama similar? How are they different? In what ways are their journeys similar or different? How does Gilgamesh and his journey fit into this picture?
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Odysseus and Rama are similar in the way that they both have wives who play a major role in their journey and lives. Both Penelope and Sita are “held captive” with Penelope and her suitors always plotting to get rid of Telemachus and Sita captured and taken to Ravenna’s home. Odysseus is eager to get home to his wife and free her of her suitors. “…you long to see your wife, the one you pine for all your days. (5.231-232)” He does everything in his power to get home to her as soon as possible. For example, he gives up the life he could have had with Calypso (a life full of delicious foods, goods and pleasure). To Odysseus, staying with Calypso would have meant giving up on his goal: returning to his wife, son, and kingdom. He was willing to give up his life trying to reach his land knowing that at least he tried getting to his soul mate, “…what pains/are fated to fill your cup before you reach that shore. (5.227-228)” Like Odysseus, Rama also goes on an extreme journey to reach his wife and get her back. He risks his life and it takes him a long time to reach her, just like Odysseus. Through many feats he is able to conquer and get her back. Both men also have “enemies” in the way of them and their mates. For Odysseus, it’s the suitors while for Rama it was Ravenna. They both had (Odysseus will have) to fight in order to get their wives back. Odysseus will have to fight and kill the suitors while Rama had to fight Ravenna in the Finale Battle. The main difference concerning the wives is that Odysseus has to get home and get the suitors out of the house but, Rama had to go away and try to get his wife back and then get home. Odysseus and Rama share many similarities such as the journey they have to go through to get back to their soul mates.
ReplyDeleteRama and Odysseus exhibit a different attitude concerning morals and battle tactics. On the surface, Rama and Odysseus are both strong, crafty leaders, but deep down they have different morals. Fearful of wrong doing, Rama thinks through his plans before taking initiative. For instance, when Rama and Ravana are in the heat of battle, Ravana becomes injured and weak. Rama does not make a snap decision, and he terminates the battle until he recovers. In this instance, Rama did not attack the defenseless. If Odysseus was in this situation, he most likely would not have thought to do this. Unlike Rama, Odysseus makes thoughtless decisions. In Book 9 of the Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew raid Ismarus, the stronghold of the Cicones. Odysseus states, "There I sacked the city,/ killed the men, but as for the wives and plunder,/ that rich haul we dragged away from the place…“ (9. 46-48). In this case, Odysseus makes a thoughtless decision that leads to six ships getting wrecked and seventy-two men losing their lives. Raiding the Cicones’ island is senseless because Odysseus’ crew did not gain any new knowledge about returning to Ithaca. They are able to get ahold of some food, but nothing more. Odysseus undertakes more senseless acts in other parts of the Odyssey, but on the other hand, Rama shows that he thinks through his decisions in the Ramayana.
ReplyDeleteOdysseus and Rama are two great heroes that have suffered a lot misfortune. These heroes are similar because they both come from royal backgrounds. Odysseus is the king of Ithaca and Rama is one of the princes of the kingdom Ayodyha. These heroes have also both have had similar life crises. Both of these men were separated from loved ones from an extended period of time, but did everything in their power to reunite with them. Odysseus longs for his wife, Penelope, even though staying with Calypso is luxurious,
ReplyDeleteLook at my wise Penelope. She falls far short of you,
your beauty, stature. She is mortal after all
and you, you never age or die…
Nevertheless, I long—I pin, all my days—
to travel home and see the dawn of my return (5.338-243)
This shows how determined Odysseus is to return to Ithaca. He admits even though Calypso is far superior to Penelope, he still wants to come back to her, even though he is risking his life yet again. Rama and Sita are also separated for a while when Sita is kidnapped by Ravana. Rama, like Odysseus shows the same determination to liberate Sita from Ravana. Although these heroes share a lot in common, they also have some differences. The main difference between Odysseus and Rama is their morals. Odysseus always tries to find ways to boost his fame and increase his riches, while not prioritizing the safety of his crew first. Rama, on the other hand is always watching out for others, even if he must take the punishment and never jeopardizes the lives of anyone to obtain fame and wealth. These two heroes have very similar problems through their journeys, however chose to handle their problems very differently.
Odysseus and Rama are very similar through many traits. They both have very important and valuable skills. Odysseus is a very wise man just like Athena, a goddess who knows everything. Rama is also very smart this is also due to the fact that he is also a god reincarnated. Both Rama and Odysseus have military strengths. Rama is a great leader who knows exactly what he is doing and what his actions will lead to. On the other hand Odysseus is an ‘okay’ leader but he can control his crew/army and have them follow him into any war he leads, also Odysseus is a strategically war planner. Meaning, that he saw out all of his opportunities before the actual war. On both of their spiritual journeys they were able to overcome their obstacles and pass through but sometimes in the Odyssey the crew and Odysseus were set back a little and lost a lot of men instead of charging on full speed. But in the end both Rama and Odysseus had finished their conquest and returned back to their home. In some ways they were different with their ethics and ways of fighting. When Rama killed that one man the story went into a crazed state because of the laws and rules Rama was following. While, Odysseus is a cold blooded killer who does not think twice about killing another man or leaving one of his own men behind to die. Odysseus has to code or rules to live by making his a very powerful man that can do plenty things without having restrictions. This is kind of like how Gilgamesh acted but towards the end of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh started to learn what his actions where leading to and he decided to change his heart of mind. Although, Gilgamesh does not have very good leadership skills, making it difficult to say he is a hero just like Rama or Odysseus. It is clear that Odysseus and Rama have powerful gifts while Gilgamesh does not.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the heroes of The Ramayana and The Odyssey, Rama and Odysseus, can be superimposed, their differences are more significant as their similarities. Rama and Odysseus are similar in that they both hail from noble lineage and that they both successfully conform to their respective noble duties. Yet, Rama’s embodiment of the ideals of a perfect brother, son, and husband in his portrayal as a role model in dharma drastically differs from Odysseus’ countless flaws. While Rama is revered as a saintly man who has mastered his emotions and ideals that many members of the Hindu religion strive to emulate in their lives, Odysseus’ character reveals emotional instability, cunningness, infidelity, arrogance, in addition to unruly selfishness. For example, Rama remains faithful to his wife even when the beautiful forest maiden, Kamavalli, tries to cajole him into marriage. On the other hand, while Odysseus’ wife waits 20 years, refusing the offers of countless suitors and enduring "unforgettable grief” (1.394) as she “weeping [weeps] for Odysseus, her beloved husband” (1.419), "he'd [Odysseus would] sleep with" (5.171) the Goddess, Calypso, “in the nights” (5.170). In addition, in multiple instances throughout They Odyssey, Odysseus’ emotions overcome him, leading him to create multiple excessively emotional displays. For example, throughout the multiple years he spends on Calypso’s island, “all his days he’d sit on the rocks and beaches, / wrenching his heart with sobs and groans and anguish” (5.173-74). Even though Odysseus’ flaws are downplayed by his heroic accomplishments as a warrior, his imperfection makes him more relatable as a character. On the other hand, Rama’s degree of seemingly impossibly attainable perfection and therefore the reader’s lack of connection with him divert the attention of readers. Thus, The Odyssey engages readers more successfully than The Ramayana due to Odysseus’ relatable imperfections and Rama’s unrealistic and out of reach degree of perfection.
ReplyDeleteRama and Odysseus have many things in common as their stories are similar and they exhibit many of the same personality traits and experience similar circumstances throughout their stories. Both The Odyssey and The Ramayana are tales about a man going off on a risky journey with companions. As they encounter obstacles the reader learns more about their personalities and their character traits. Separated from wives that they love, both are trying to find or return to their spouses. Both men are missed by their families and their wives remain loyal to them. This suggests that Rama and Odysseus are both caring and loving people and their wives both trust that will be together again. During their journeys, both men encounter different people or things that they have to get past or escape from. They are also different in some important ways. Rama, for example, is always looking out for his companions and making sure that they are safe. He tries to make good decisions that are in the best interest for his companions. Rama is looked up to as a leader and is known to be someone who is known to be a perfect person. On the other hand, Odysseus favors himself most of the decisions he makes. One idea that might be a reason between this is that Rama goes on a journey with close companions who chose to be with him when he had to leave. In Odysseus’ group, he selected a crew that probably did not mean much to him. This could have effected the decisions he made because he did not care if these people died. Rama, on the other hand, felt strongly about protecting his friends and remaining loyal through out his journey.
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