Nature vs. Culture in Odyssey Essay

The symbolism of nature and culture interfaces each scene from Book 9 to Book 12 in Odyssey. On the place where there is Cyclopes, Odysseus’s experience with the one-looked at ignoble mammoth discloses Odysseus’s shrewdness as a socialized individual; Nevertheless, Odysseus in the long run neglects to conquer the defect of human trademark, as he enlightens Polyphemus regarding his genuine human personality when he is cruising ceaselessly, which eventually brings Poseidon’s retribution to Achaeans. At a certain point human progress shows Odysseus the expertise of utilizing wooden staff and wine to battle with Polyphemus’s quality, however the idea of superpower can without much of a stretch outperform human beings’ insight. At the point when Circe in Book 11 transforms Odysseus’s men into pigs, when the visually impaired prophet Tiresias prognosticates Odysseus’s destiny, and when Zeus rebuffs Odysseus with another tempest, Odysseus and his men are frail yet acknowledge their fate. The contention among nature and culture interfaces humans’ world with gods’ world, along these lines makes each story intriguing to follow as unseemly animals have human attributes and cultivated individuals have â€Å"limited† superpower. For instance, in book 10, when Circe transforms Odysseus’s men into pig, Odysseus can just overwhelm Circe by adhering to Hermes’ guidance: â€Å"Take this herb, which is one of extraordinary prudence, and keep it about you when you go to Circe’s house, it will be a charm to you against each sort of mischief†(Book X, 54). At the point when Odysseus â€Å"rushed at her with blade drawn†, Odysseus is in a position where he is even ready to defeat the intensity of an everlasting animal. Both Polyphemus and Circe speak to the intensity of nature, as their reality doesn't have any law or profound quality, while odysseus’s venture speaks to the intensity of culture, as the man of culture crushes amazing eternal animals through keenness and patience.