AAAAIn class, we discussed the use of violence in The Odyssey and whether it’s necessary in the fight against the suitors. I am here to argue a simple point: yes. You can not have an epic poem without a climax nor can you deny the buildup that has been collecting since the very beginning. If the suitors are the “villains” in this case, then they gotta go and if that includes mindless slaughter, then so be it. Never mind the fact that “some” may be innocent or that the crime doesn’t justify the punishment, we are all here to see Odysseus kick some ass.
AAA It’s impossible to put logic into the slaughter scene. If the main character were to pause and actually think things through, it ruins the flow of the story and reduces the satisfaction of Odysseus’s return. No one wants to see Odysseus meet with each, individual suitor and question them on their loyalty and behavior. That would take forever and over complicate the plot. With revenge stories, it’s best to keep it simple: either they’re innocent or guilty. In most cases, guilty equals glorious battle.
AAA So, it’s not surprising that this theme is very common in modern film. In Oldboy, a man spends 15 years in isolation and after he escapes, he goes on a huge murder spree to get vengeance against his captor (and features one of the best fight scenes in cinematic history*). Similarly, Taken focuses solely on Liam Neeson killing everyone in his path to try and save his daughter. Both of these films depend largely on violence as means for the hero to be victorious. While watching these films, no one considers, “Geez, he just brutally killed that guy. I mean the poor dude probably just wanted a paycheck.” No, let’s be honest, we all get distracted by the punching and kicking and general coolness of the fight scenes.
AAAEven at a young age, the final battle has always been essential to the hero’s journey. For example, The Lion King. The climax of the film is when Simba returns from the forest to avenge his father. What follows is a dramatic scene of lion versus hyena and the confrontation between Scar and Simba. As an audience, we want to clearly see Simba’s victory and without a final battle, that would be hard to achieve. Additionally, we can draw comparisons to the almost unjustifiable ways each villain (or villains in The Odyssey) are killed. While Odysseus kills some suitors who may be loyal (?), Simba outright throws Scar off a cliff to be eaten by hyenas. What’s unjustifiable about that? I mean, Scar did do a lot of evil things in the film. Well, for one, it’s a kid movie! Such a violent death is not normal for these types of things. Also, Scar also has some merit. He tried to give the hyenas a better life, as in not let them starve to death. So, just like with the suitors, some of Scars actions are not entirely ill intended.
AAAAfter all is said and done, I think the massacre at the end of The Odyssey comes down to one thing: Homer wants a dramatic and exciting ending. If that includes killing a 100 people, then so be it. You kill those men, Odysseus. We’ve waited over 400 pages for this.
*Graphic content (violence)
I agree. Part of the appeal of heroic literature is watching the hero succeed, which can be defeating a boss or completing a mission. In The Odyssey, you are constantly reminded of the behavior and rudeness of the suitors, along with the helplessness of Penelope. As you read, you come to ANTICIPATE the bloodshed to occur. Athena even makes the suitors act reckless even more just so the killings seem more justified now that Odysseus has witnessed them for himself. Without an intense killing scene, the last few books of the Odyssey just wouldn't seem right.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me a lot of that packet reading on vigilante heroism and how accepted extreme violence is when it's just a story. It just kind of makes sense to kill off all the suitors because that's what characters like them get for being awful. It's not like casual listeners to the entire oral narrative would have time to analyze all the weird leaps of logic going on. Kill time is kill time. And it's fine, because the suitors never really existed and no one was actually killed. No one has to worry about the real-life implications of murdering 99 high ranking dudes or letting someone as bloodthirsty as Odysseus survive beyond the scope of his revenge plot, because as soon as the story is over, his world stops having anything to do with us.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree. An action movie without a final bloody confrontation just isn't very fun to watch at all. Its the same with the Odyssey. If there wasn't a climax or final battle it wouldn't feel right. This sort of ties in with our hero's journey theme. It's kinda like the final obstacle for the hero to overcome for him to finally reap his rewards.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree. An action movie without a final bloody confrontation just isn't very fun to watch at all. Its the same with the Odyssey. If there wasn't a climax or final battle it wouldn't feel right. This sort of ties in with our hero's journey theme. It's kinda like the final obstacle for the hero to overcome for him to finally reap his rewards.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that aesthetic trumps logic here. But this lesson is something we've seen throughout the Odyssey story, and not just in this scene. Odysseus chooses to listen to the Sirens even though its nnot safe or logical, because he's curious and it will make a cool story. And in the suitors "trials," Homer makes it clear that no matter what the suitors do that is somewhat nice, they will die anyway. The "due process" is just a front to justify the pre-determined killing. One interesting thought I had though, was why did Homer bother with having Odysseus do this mock trial, if the verdict was already chosen?
ReplyDeleteI think that the extreme nature of this scene is even more necessary because of the 20 book drumroll that has built up to this moment. Epic poetry is long, and at time slow moving, but after Odysseus gets back to Ithaca the plot slows to a snails pace. This has the effect of building up even more anticipation of the slaughter that is constantly hinted at.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the post, and I also think that it had to be there because of Telemachus' growth as a character. He starts as this weak teenager, who holds his feelings in, and at the end, similar to Kyle, he has gone so far, and is out of control. But the ending is necessary. Good post!
ReplyDeleteI definitely do agree that logic ruins the fun of the story. It really reminds me a lot of the ending scene of Deadpool, (SPOILER ALERT IN CASE YOU WANT TO SEE THAT). So at the very end of the movie, the heroes (Deadpool, Colossus, and some other fire chick whose name I don't remember at all) have just fought their respective big battle and now Deadpool is standing over the main antagonist, a super villain named Ajax. The antagonist had treated Deadpool and his friends like ABSOLUTE shit, (torture, taunts, the whole nine yards), but Colossus is all like "Cmon bruh, just let the authorities take care of him, we've done our part and we're heroes!" But Deadpool is like "nah fam" and just shoot Ajax in the face, and its really satisfying even though from a more logical point of view that final act of violence wasn't at all necessary. It's just a more aesthetically pleasing ending for the reader, and the situation kinda carries over in Odysseus' case.
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