| Demonstrated when Odysseus needs Athena to calm him down when he sees his maids running off to sleep with the suitors. | Man vs. SelfOdysseus is struggling to contain his own anger and pride. |
| Demonstrated throughout the book, as Odysseus’ own anger and pride are the very things preventing him from getting home to his wife and child. | Man vs. Self. |
| Odysseus (disguised as a beggar) fights “Iros” the beggar | Man vs. Man, because Odysseus is pitting his strength against another man.Man vs. Self because Odysseus has to control his own anger and strength so that he doesn’t give himself away. |
| Odysseus kills all the other suitors | Man vs. Man, because Odysseus is pitting his strength against other men. Just because there are A LOT of them doesn’t make them super-human… get it? |
| Telemachos wants to kill Eurymachos and Antinoos | Man vs. Man. Just because Telemachos doesn’t actually DO it doesn’t mean it isn’t a conflict. |
| This type of conflict doesn’t appear in the 2nd half of the Odyssey. WEIRD! | Man vs. Monster |
| Odysseus has to battle Poseidon’s will in order to get home. | Man vs. god/nature. Odysseus is struggling against forces that are out of his control. |
| The suitors have to contend with Athena’s will that Odyssus will avenge himself | Man vs. god/nature. The suitors are doomed to failure by forces that are out of their control (*think of Amphinomos) |
| Odysseus has to struggle to regain what is rightfully his from his townspeople | Man vs. Society. The individual (Odysseus) is struggling for his rights in the face of the society (the suitors & the people of Ithaka) |
| Telemachos wants his birthright (meaning the lands and valuables that his father would leave to him) before the conflict between the suitors and Penelope destroys it all. | Man vs. Society. The individual (Telemachos) is struggling for his rights in the face of the society (the suitors/the people of Ithaka.) |
| Penelope struggles for her right NOT to marry someone she doesn’t love, even though the people of Ithaka deserve a powerful ruler. | Man vs. Society. The individual (Penelope) is struggling for her rights to choose her own husband in the face of the sociey (the people of Ithaka) that deserves a strong king and protector. |
Odyssey Conflicts
April 20, 2020