Book 1~4 of Homer’s Odyssey outlines Telemakhos’ attempt to
search his father Odysseus who failed to come back to Ithaka
after the Trojan War. I’ve discovered some traces of oral
literature which are repeated phrases in the story such as
“grey-eyed Goddess (p. 3)” and “When primal Dawn spread on the
eastern sky her fingers of pink light (p.19)”. I ‘ve thought
that there would be significance to these phrases, but
ultimately discovered that these are just repetitions to
emphasize the characteristic of protagonists in the poem or to
make the following content more memorable. Also, the cultural
aspect shown in the Odyssey was foreign to me. There is certain
way to greet strangers: offering them food, asking their
background, and giving presents. I found this greeting very
intriguing since it’s hard to show such hospitality to total
stranger from the contemporary perspective. Furthermore,
people’s various response towards Gods raised the question of
“Why do bad things happen to good people?” Some parts suggest th