12 Angry Men Essay, Research Paper

In the epic the Odyssey by Homer (translated by Robert Fitzgerald)

one of the most descriptive and best written passages in the entire epic is

?The Slaying of the Suitors? (book 23 lines1-62). This is a good passage

for many reasons, one of these is that it is a part of the story that has

been built up and anticipated by all. Another is the vivid imagery used by

Homer. There is one more reason, this being the tone of the passage. The

tone of this passage is very important to it and adds very much to it.

One of the most talked of conflicts in the Odyssey is the suitors

ravaging the possessions and house of Odysseus. They were able to do this

because he was presumed dead and they didn’t worry about him coming to

protect his house and family. The impact of the passage in question is so

important because it is when Odysseus returns to his home and kills the

suitors. This is a large part of the final resolution, it al begins with

this, for once the suitors are gone Odysseus is free to reclaim is post in

society. It also gives the reader a great feeling of elation that the

suitors who are terrorizing the house of Odysseus. A quote that really

gives a good idea of the overall impact and resolution that this passage

gives is as follows ?You yellow dogs, you thought I’d never make it home

from the land of Troy. You took my house to plunder, twisted my maids to

serve your beds. You dared bid for my wife while I was still alive.

Contempt was all you had for the gods who rule wide heaven, contempt for

what men say of you hereafter. Your last hour has come. You die in blood.?

(page 410 lines 37-43). This quote gives a good impression of the closure

that is given by this passage, included for this purpose, because it give

Odysseus his revenge, the suitors will die in disgrace, Odysseus has

finally returned to claim his place. The dominant impression created by

this passage is summed up in the quote above, vengeance, elation at the

deaths of the suitors and the felling that Odysseus is back and he’s not

going to stand for what the suitors have done. This point of Odysseus not

standing for what they had done is further driven home by the fact that

Odysseus immediately turns away a bribery attempt made by a groveling

Eurymakhos.

There is also a great amount of imagery in this passage that adds

very much to the overall impression of the passage. Homer uses a great

amount of imagery that creates a vivid image of the vengeful slaughter that

took place in that hall. This is symbolized in several pieces of the

passage, one of them being ?Now as they craned to see their champion where

he lay the suitors jostled in uproar down the hall, everyone on his feet.

Wildly they turned and scanned the walls in the long room for arms; but not

a shield, not a good ashen spear was there for a man to take and throw.

All they could do was yell in outrage at Odysseus.? (page 410 lines 22-27).

The vivid picture painted by Homer in this passage is enhanced by the

choice of very descriptive words and phrases for example the first part of

the above quote. The description of the suitors craning to see their

fallen champion and jostling the room into an uproar paints a picture that

one can easily see with little effort. There is another quote that gives

an even clearer image to the reader than the last ?As they all took this in,

sickly fear pulled at their entrails, and their eyes flickered looking for

some hatch or hideaway from death.? (page 410 lines 44-46). This quote

gives amazingly high quality mental pictures to the reader, especially when

Homer uses phrases like, sickly green entrails, or their eye flickered.

The image is so strong of the suitors becoming mortally afraid and

frantically looking the entire room over for some refuge from this force

that they had never dreamed would come back. Shock and amazement, mortal

fear, these are the images conjured by the words used to describe the

beginning of the battle between Odysseus and the suitors.

The tone of this passage is serious, very serious indeed, the tone

has many aspects in this passage. The first is vengeance, the tone of

vengeance is one of the strongest in this passage, and this quote

accurately portrays that tone of vengeance ?So much for that. Your

clean-cut game is over? (page 409 line 5). This overtone of vengeance is

carried throughout the passage by Odysseus, nearly everything he says is

said in a way such that he seems to be happy to finally see to it that the

problems his family suffered through in his absence would finally be

destroyed. The other tone is one of fear and shock, this tone is mainly

exhibited by the suitors, being that their worst nightmare has seemingly

come true. A quote that shows the shock and fear that the suitors

experience is ?As they took all this in, sickly green fear pulled at their

entrails, and their eyes flickered looking for some hatch or hideaway from

death. Eurymakhos alone could speak.? (page 410 line 44-47). The suitors

are so shocked that they cannot even speak, save Eurymakhos, and they are

so frightened that they desperately seek some sort of hiding place, this

seems to add a bit of urgency to the selection. The attitudes and feelings

that the characters in a passage exhibit give the passage its tone, and in

this passage we see shock and fear, maybe some urgency expressed by the

suitors and revenge from Odysseus. Those are the tones of this passage,

they give it more life, a more vivid realization of what is happening, they

add to this passages impact immensely. Giving a feeling of elation to see

the suitors finally meeting their end and a feeling of urgency to this

passage.

In conclusion, the passage is made infinitely better by the amount

of imagery used by Homer to create a vivid picture in the mind of the

reader. The tone of this passage is also very important to the overall

effect that the passage is meant to have on the story as a whole. The tone

is very important because it gives the passage yet another dimension that

gives it even more impact in the entire book. The passage is very

important in the book because it gives a beginning to the end sort of

situation, the killing of the suitors prepares the reader and Odysseus for

the end of the book. Where Odysseus comes home and reclaims his glory,

vanquishes his enemies and ends his odyssey, that is why this passage is

important to the book. This passage is enhanced by the tone and imagery

used and in the end the magnitude of the events taking place are expressed

very expertly by Homer.