How to Structure Essay on the Hero’s Journey in ‘The Odyssey’
When it comes to essay writing, literature essays happen to be the most difficult ones to write.
Writing on ‘The Hero’s Journey in ‘The Odyssey’’ is not going to be easy. You can choose to buy assignment solutions from online academic brands like MyAssignmentHelp.com to manage the task. In this particular essay, you need or write about how Odysseus became the hero that he has been referred to. You need to talk about the adversities that he faced, that brought about the growth in his character.
You can ask your teachers or your seniors for guidance if you need help with assignment writing like this one. The text that you will be working on is a highly revered epic poem, so you need to be very careful while working on it.
Before we help you understand how to structure an essay on the hero, Odysseus’s journey in ‘The Odyssey,’ let’s go through a very brief summary of the epic.
The Odyssey – An Overview
The Greek poet Homer wrote the epic ‘The Odyssey’ presumably around the 7th and 8th century BC. It is a timeless tale that talks about a particular time period in the life of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. The story does not follow the chronology properly; it begins somewhere in the middle of the timeline. You get to know about past events through Odysseus. In the beginning, it is seen that his wife Penelope and their son Telemachus are waiting for him to come back from the Trojan War, as others are trying to take over his position. The son starts on a journey in search of his father, meets two fellow warriors of his father, and receives the news that Odysseus is not dead.
The story then shifts to Odysseus. He and his crew face a shipwreck, and on their way back home, they encounter various kinds of mythical creatures. The protagonist somehow manages to escape from all of these situations, but he is left alone. He finally returns to Ithaca after facing a lot of trials and tribulations. The journey that he has to undergo in order to come back to his own kingdom is what makes him a ‘Hero’.
Now, let’s go through the basic structure of an essay. You need to remember this when you are writing about the journey of Odysseus.
| Introductory Paragraphs | In this section, you will introduce the topic briefly. You also need to add your thesis statement. Adding a hook will make it even more interesting. |
| Body Paragraphs | This is the major section of your essay. The number of paragraphs depends on the length of your essay. Each paragraph will consist of a topic sentence, each of which will be supported by facts and statistics. |
| Conclusion | Sum up the major points of your essay in this section. You can also present your own thoughts briefly in this ending section. |
Next, you need to learn how to structure the essay where you will be talking about the journey of the hero.
How to Structure an Essay on the Hero’s Journey in The Odyssey
You need to follow the basic structure of writing an essay while talking about this timeless epic.
1. Setting the Stage –
This will be your introductory paragraph. What you write in this section has to be very interesting, as this is your chance to grab your reader’s attention. Use a hook, or you may also ask a question to make sure that the reader is intrigued.
Over here, you need to mention that Odysseus has not returned to his kingdom, Ithaca, even after the Trojan War has ended. His wife Penelope and their son Telemachus are facing difficulties as Penelope’s suitors are becoming more aggressive day by day.
2. Body Paragraphs –
This is where you will be narrating the entire story about why Odysseus is considered a hero. There will be multiple paragraphs, but the number of them will depend on how long your essay needs to be.
Over here, you need to mention the entire story in proper detail. Write about all the hardships that the protagonist had to face in order to come back to his kingdom. Here are a few of the main points that you have to mention –
- Suffered a shipwreck and landed in an unknown land
- Encountered various kinds of creatures
- Managed to successfully escape from all these situations and
- Came back to Ithaca.
3. Conclusion –
In the ending section of your essay, you need to briefly summarize the main points that you have written within your essay.
Write about what makes him a hero and whether you agree to it or not. You can add how you felt while reading about this heroic journey of Odysseus.
To Wrap It Up,
While writing an essay, you need to remember that you need to have an introduction, some body paragraphs, and a conclusion. In an essay on the journey of Odysseus, you need to briefly mention the condition of his kingdom when he was not there. Then, you need to go through the journey that he had to undertake to get back to his kingdom. The amount of details that you need to mention will entirely depend on how long your essay needs to be. End the essay by stating how this journey makes him a hero.
