Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In Literature: An Analysis Of The Odyssey
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Literature:
An Analysis of The Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of the most well known stories about war and its effects on the survivors. Homer goes out of his way to share the names and families of fallen soldiers for many reasons. The deaths in The Odyssey are exceptionally bloody and gore-filled, which allows the reader to vividly see the scenes depicted and understand the true horror that violence holds. The war scenes are particularly gruesome and filled with death. The only part of The Odyssey that Homer has left to the reader to venture in to is what Odysseus has going on inside his head. How did the Trojan War affect Odysseus mentally?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition …show more content…
Many of his men were torn from the ship by the heads of Scylla and some of those that survived were swallowed by Charybdis.7
A large part of PTSD is the unwillingness to talk about what happened during the time that traumatized the individual. After the games and feast from Alcinous, the king asked Odysseus to tell his tale. To refuse would come across as a bad guest. Though Odysseus does not refuse, he expresses his discomfort to Alcinous.8
Another form that the results of PTSD take is violent outbursts and uncontrolled anger. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca and slaughters the suitors, he then turns on his own house. Odysseus ordered the deaths of the maids who had turned on his house and the death of Melanthius. While these traitors to the house of Odysseus deserved death, Melanthius also was mutilated and left to die from blood loss.9
The Odyssey shows a great deal of what a returning veteran goes through when Odysseus returns to Ithaca. When he reaches Ithaca, he does not recognize it for the suitors had overrun his home. Many war veterans go through this same problem when returning home. The place they had left is not the same place that they are returning …show more content…
Military has perfected a way to train their soldiers in Basic Training. The recruits are rewired to act and behave a certain way in situations. This has an amazing success rate but the only downside to it is that the person who first came to Basic Training is no longer themselves. Training Officers describe the process as, ‘breaking the person that is standing in front of you and making them a machine of war’. The psychological effects of the training method have been documented by the Naval Health Research Center (Naval Health Research Center) and have shown no complete personality changes. The best way that is has been described is taking a person who is normally carefree and forcing them to strategically analyze every waking moment for threats. This does not normally cause a large change in personality until the subject finds something that they deem as a threat. This is where the training kicks in and forces them to move and act in the way that they were
An Analysis of The Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of the most well known stories about war and its effects on the survivors. Homer goes out of his way to share the names and families of fallen soldiers for many reasons. The deaths in The Odyssey are exceptionally bloody and gore-filled, which allows the reader to vividly see the scenes depicted and understand the true horror that violence holds. The war scenes are particularly gruesome and filled with death. The only part of The Odyssey that Homer has left to the reader to venture in to is what Odysseus has going on inside his head. How did the Trojan War affect Odysseus mentally?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition …show more content…
Many of his men were torn from the ship by the heads of Scylla and some of those that survived were swallowed by Charybdis.7
A large part of PTSD is the unwillingness to talk about what happened during the time that traumatized the individual. After the games and feast from Alcinous, the king asked Odysseus to tell his tale. To refuse would come across as a bad guest. Though Odysseus does not refuse, he expresses his discomfort to Alcinous.8
Another form that the results of PTSD take is violent outbursts and uncontrolled anger. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca and slaughters the suitors, he then turns on his own house. Odysseus ordered the deaths of the maids who had turned on his house and the death of Melanthius. While these traitors to the house of Odysseus deserved death, Melanthius also was mutilated and left to die from blood loss.9
The Odyssey shows a great deal of what a returning veteran goes through when Odysseus returns to Ithaca. When he reaches Ithaca, he does not recognize it for the suitors had overrun his home. Many war veterans go through this same problem when returning home. The place they had left is not the same place that they are returning …show more content…
Military has perfected a way to train their soldiers in Basic Training. The recruits are rewired to act and behave a certain way in situations. This has an amazing success rate but the only downside to it is that the person who first came to Basic Training is no longer themselves. Training Officers describe the process as, ‘breaking the person that is standing in front of you and making them a machine of war’. The psychological effects of the training method have been documented by the Naval Health Research Center (Naval Health Research Center) and have shown no complete personality changes. The best way that is has been described is taking a person who is normally carefree and forcing them to strategically analyze every waking moment for threats. This does not normally cause a large change in personality until the subject finds something that they deem as a threat. This is where the training kicks in and forces them to move and act in the way that they were