Oral tradition is the oldest and most archaic mode of human speech. Homer's Odyssey is an example of a literary work that highlights the importance of this oral tradition. In it, the hero, Odysseus, is faced with the task of detailing, through poetry, how he found himself in the difficult situation of losing both the spoils he collected from the Trojan War and the lives of the men he fought with at his side. that war, and to be able to answer important questions about why he was the only man to survive the ordeal of his return to Ithaca. The story Odysseus creates must be able to withstand scrutiny, or suspicion and even civil unrest may result. Odysseus must practice the art of summarizing his own story for the Phaeacians because of the need of the people of Ithaca, particularly Odysseus' wife and son, to have a coherent story describing how those who died in battle as well as upon returning at home they met their ENDS; this would bring closure to the families of those who died and provide an explanation as to why Odysseus is the only survivor. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the times of the ancient Ithacans, acquiring honor in both life and death was of the highest priority. Because of this, the people of Ithaca need closure on how their loved ones died in battle and upon returning home. More specifically, Ithacans need to know whether their loved ones lived and died honorably or in disgrace. Odysseus, being the only survivor, is the only one who can answer this burning question in the hearts of Ithaca's fallen relatives: "My men were thrown into the water and, bobbing like sea crows, were carried away by the waves running all over around. the black ship, and the god carried away their return home” (12. 417-419) In this passage, Odysseus describes the shameful death of his companions, who ate Helios' cattle, and were punished by Zeus for their transgression. Unfortunately, similar to the crew described above, all of the Ithacans who die upon returning home die dishonorably, whether to Zeus or otherwise. This harsh reality seems to be a bit too much for the Ithacans to handle, and so Odysseus works to highlight the honor of his crew as he lives out the story of how the Ithacans strategically passed through the sirens' domain: One by one, I stopped the ears of all my companions, and then they bound me hand and foot in the fast ship, standing upright against the mast with the ends of the ropes tied around it, and then sitting down to row they lashed the oars in the gray sea... the fast ship as it approached was seen by the sirens, and they headed towards us their sweet song... and I signaled to my companions to release me, nodding with their eyebrows, but they leaned back and rowed hard, and Perimedes and Eurylochus, rising, immediately bound me with still more ropes and held me tighter. (12. 177-180, 182-183, 193-196)This description of the crew's iron will and loyalty is a mechanism that Odysseus will use to hearten the relatives of his fallen comrades by showing them the nobility in living.These each death tragic has a reason to occur. The inhabitants of Ithaca do not know these reasons for the death of their beloved warriors and therefore need an explanation as to why Odysseus is the only survivor of the journey home. Odysseus may point out the honor of his men, but places the blame on his crew for why they met their end. This principle of collective responsibilityof the crew can be seen in Ulysses' description of the deterioration of the bag of winds given to him by Aiolo. “…Now Aiolo also gave him all these goods out of friendship. Let us immediately look inside and see what is inside and how much silver and how much gold this bag contains" (10.43-45). The purpose of this is to demonstrate that Odysseus was not responsible for their deaths, because he intended to use the bag of winds to bring his crew back to Ithaca, but the crew, in their greed, brought upon themselves the relocation and ultimate destruction. This is the cunning with which Ulysses describes the honor of his crew. He praises the crew's honor enough to hopefully appease the families of his fallen comrades, but not enough to arouse their anger against him due to some sort of negligence or mistake on his part. This strategy is very important for Odysseus' reconnection with his own family. Telemachus has yet to form a good impression of who his father truly is, and Odysseus's first impression to his son would be one of contempt if there was any indication that Odysseus was in any way inferior to his subordinates in the accumulation of honor. . Penelope's reaction to Odysseus' recounting of such events is perhaps even more important, as she has held off numerous suitors who wanted her hand in marriage throughout Odysseus' absence. If Odysseus had returned home to tell her that he had let all the men of Ithaca die because of his recklessness, it is possible that Penelope would have regretted her choice to reject the suitors in anticipation of Odysseus' return. Odysseus created this story for the Phaeacians, as they ask him to tell how he found his circumstances. Odysseus agrees, albeit reluctantly, to tell the painful story of how he fell into such misfortune. This oral tale that Odysseus provides, however painful for him, is a perfect opportunity for Odysseus to practice telling his tale of misfortune to his fellow Ithacans; It gives him the option of a "rough draft", thus allowing him to synthesize his account from scratch without any challenge from other witnesses, and simultaneously allowing him to use the Feacans' reaction to his account as an accurate indicator of how coherent, the his story remains from beginning to end. If the Phaeacans had reacted badly, Odysseus would have had the opportunity to refine his narrative to better suit the interest of the Ithacans. Instead, the Feacans react extremely positively. Not only are they enchanted by Odysseus' gripping account of his struggles, but they return to Odysseus the transportation to his country, as well as the plunder such as bronze and gold: "'But they carried him, asleep in the swift ship, across the sea and laid him to Ithaca, and gave him innumerable gifts, such as bronze, and gold in abundance, and woven garments, more than Odysseus could ever have taken from Troy, even if he had returned home without pain and with his fair share of the spoils .'” (13. 134-138) This reaction of the Phaeacians shows Odysseus that he has indeed demonstrated his ability to masterfully create a testament of his experiences, as well as his ability to use that testament to his advantage 'Odyssey might say that Odysseus' irresponsible and reckless actions in the Cyclops' domain might reveal to the Phaeacians and Ithacans that Odysseus was partially responsible for the death of his companions examination of the text it can be deduced that the Phaeacians observe that Odysseus was very upset by his mistake and that the Phaeacians see this dissonance as a burden carried by Odysseus. This dissonance, feigned or genuine, is an even greater testimony to the passion and skill with which Ulysses tells his story. Please note: this is just one.