Odysseus Reborn: Parallelism between Odysseus and The Postmodern Man

Abstract

The mythical character of Odysseus has been a recurring figure since his first introductions, in the Great Greek writer, Homer's works around 700 BCE, in the, 'Illiad', and, 'Odyssey'. He has been invoked over the ages to suit the means of the said eras, trans-morphing the character of the Classical Greek Hero to meet the desired ends of the poets, authors and periods. The aim of the paper is to deconstruct the works where he has been mentioned and thus in turn construct the character itself. This will be done through the famous works he has been mentioned in, such as Virgil's 'Aeneid', Dante's 'Inferno', Horkheimer and Adorno's 'Dialectic of the Enlightenment'. In doing so, the paper shall establish the grounds for Odysseus to come out as a character that suits all ages for a good reason. Furthermore, a Psychoanalytical analysis and study shall establish his relevance and stand in the Postmodern age that we live in, which shall aim to decentralise popular notions, moving away from the modernist experimentation towards the postmodern appreciation of the classical character as one, who at the true core had been formed with such intricacy that writers have been forced to adapt him in their works, time and again.