Introduction.
Odysseus’s story of wandering from one adventure to another clearly shows how travel plays a key role in literature. It is from travelling that many narrators, storytellers and even novelist finds an ingredient for their stories. Even with technological advancement, there is still need to travel to make literature real and practical. In travel literature, the author explains the experiences along the journey. In this paper he explores Odysseus’s and his friend’s eleven journey travel.
Journeys 1: The narrative begins with Athena requesting Zeus the he be given a chance to continue with his journey home. Meanwhile, Odysseus is engaged in another journey from Troy all the way to Ithaca. It is already evident that this travel has created a story. Every person on a different journey, one from Toy to Ithaca and another one to Telamachus. Literature develops from such journeys what the travelers sees and their reactions.
Journey 2: Here Telemachus travels to city of Sparta after realizing that Pylos, a place where he landed had no much to learn. Again, we note the importance of travel here that from traveling one gets to know adventure found in different places. If one feels not comfortable with one place it is easy to switch to another. Travel helps authors of different types of literature to clearly describe various places they visited based on facts and how they feel.
Journey 3: We find Telemachus finally at his destination. Menelaus on the other hand makes a recap of his journey home. Travel then gives us something to think of when one has finally reached the destination. It gives one something to say about the whole experience what, and whom they met on their way. Telemachus receives news from Menelaus that his father is stranded in Calypso Island and begins another journey. It can be clearly seen that travel keeps literature moving giving new experiences daily.
Journey 4: Odysseus’s story restarts here again. He prepare for his travel by making a raft, which was later destroyed. It was indeed a tough experience being thrown into water unexpectedly. He struggles to float until he finds his way out. Experiences in preparing for a journey and the preliminary attempts to travel further tell us why travel is key in literature. This journey does not only shows the challenges but it also explains that some things may not be imagined, it is until one travels that they can realize them.
Journey 5: Odysseus now tells of the experiences he went through in his journey back home. It was full of many mysteries like meeting raiders, the magical place of lotus-eaters and terrible Cyclops who eat men. Journey 6: He continues with the story of his travel and the voyage they had. He had and his crew but unfortunately, he never told of the mystery that storms are kept in bags where the king gives them as a gift. When the men opened the bags, they were blown and landed in a terrible place of torment and man eating. After all that experience, they are told to make a journey to the land of death. The two journeys reveal the role of travel as an investigative tool. The survivors of this voyage had a lot to say about how they slipped out the hands of giant man-eaters. It gives a clear understanding of how the magical powers operate and so helps in compiling a evidence based literature.
Journey 7: Here Odysseus takes the advice he was given and travels to the land of the dead. This journey is significant that it is only once in a lifetime and so he is his way together with his men. Tiresias is the one giving them instructions on how to conduct themselves and when to leave. This journey signifies some kind of rituals, which people do perform. Travel makes people understand some cultures and how the rituals are performed. These are the issues which are which are addressed by literature and without literature it is not easy to understand secrets of some cultures.
Journey 8: Odysseus comes back from the journey of the land of dead and he meets Circe who gives him an advice on how to go on with his journey. Together they travel past Charybdis Scylla with six men down. They spent some time in the island and after twenty days, they slaughter the forbidden cattle later their ship is destroyed leaving all his men dead. In journey 9, he finally makes his travel home while asleep and on waking up he could not recognize his home. The two shows that sometimes circumstances make people terminate their journey.
In journey 10, Telemachus makes his very last travel, which is so quick. The last journey tells of Odysseus revealing the main purpose of the whole journey. In short, travel is an aspect, which gives literature a meaning and makes it real. It is the spice of literature.
The story of Genesis tells of Adam and Eve being thrown out of the garden of Eden for eating the forbidden fruit. God had instructed them that they should eat fruits from all the trees in garden except from one tree “the tree of life’. The devil came and deceived Eve that if they eat from the tree, they will become as wise as God and will not die. Eve gives in to the deception of the devil and convinces then husband to do the same. After they bate the fruit, they realized that they were naked and begins to hide from the face of God. This is the point that God sets them on a journey out of the garden for failure to abide by the rules.
The two stories are similar in that they are both about journeys. They depict a clear understanding of importance of travel. Additionally, the two involves supernatural beings who seem authoritative commanding their victims to subject to their will.
The two stories differs in that The story of Odysseus’s is more of fiction story talking of magic powers and the giant man-eaters which may not be practical in the real life. The story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden is more of true story other than fiction literature. The story on Adam and Eve also has religious background where some Christians base their faith an issue that is not evident in the other story. The goals and aims of the two journeys are also different, one is out for adventure and the other is because of forced travel.
Works Cited
Whybray, R. N .Genesis. London, UK: Oxford University Press. (2001).
Brodie, L.Thomas. . London, UK: Oxford University Press. (2003)
Marshall, James. The Odyssey. Dallas, TX: Trojan Publishers. (1999)
