How do The Odyssey and The Crucible use the hero in order to explore the concerns of their times?

The concept of what constitutes a protagonist varies according to the values, culture, consideration and setting of the society in indecision. bulls eye in his epic poem The Odyssey and Arthur miller in The Crucible with the portrayal of the wedge heels in their textual matterbooks Odysseus and trick observe, reflect the values of the time in which the text was set save more importantly provide a cordial commentary on the condition of the texts. two looking to the past to provide answers and draw parallels with the present.The Odyssey was indite approximately in 700 BC and was set in twelfth carbon BC, in what was known as the Bronze Age. The Hellenics believed that this earlier period was a more glorious and sublime age, when Gods still frequented the Earth and heroic, godlike mortals with herculean attri thoes populated Greece. The Odyssey is episodic in nature and in many shipway consisted of nation building myths which were unifying and drew on what was common in Grecian culture by detailing the exploits of the classical archetypal Greek hero, Odysseus.Essentially it is an epic tale in which the wicked atomic number 18 destroyed, overcompensate prevails, and the family is reunited. On the other hand, The Crucible was written in the early 1950s in the States and is set in 1692 in capital of Oregon, a small town in colonial Massachusetts. It follows the witch-hunts of 1692 which began when several young girls were stricken with an illness characterized by symptoms of hallucinations and seizures, which were ascribed to witchcraft. This led to the eventual exe sheerion of thirty individuals for the crime of witchcraft.They were tried and convicted in an atmosphere of moral absolutism through which Miller alludes to the events which took place in the 1950s before the syndicate of Un-Ameri rout out Activities Committee in Washington. The Crucible can be viewed as allegorical text non for anti-communism, or as a faithful account of the Sa lem trials, just as a powerful timeless description of how intolerance and hysteria can get across and tear a community apart. Furthermore, in contrast with Odysseus, John Proctor is a tragic hero, who would rather die then confess and lived with a marred name.This idea of nobility is inseparable from the tragedy genre. Tragedy in many ways enlightens, in that it points the heroic finger at the confrontation of a mans freedom. The quest for freedom is the quality in the tragedy which exalts. Both texts are framed by religious imagery. In The Odyssey Odysseus does not question the power of the Gods and in many ways Homers text can be viewed as a moral lesson, through the omnipresent nature of the gods as they guide the wandering hero home.This reflects the Greek notion that the gods exercise compulsory power over the mortal world. In the poem mortals are always making sacrifices to the gods to earn their favour. Conversely, offending the gods creates immense problems as is illus trated through Poseidons hate against Odysseus for blinding his son Polyphemos. Moreover, it is still through Athenas guidance throughout the text that Odysseus can survive his dangerous adventures.This distinguishes an important point as it reiterates not only the all-powerful nature of the gods but excessively introduces the idea that if Odysseus the hero cannot survive without guidance from the gods then the rest of the members of society must swallow up their fate as lying in the hands of the gods. What must also be noted however are the characteristics of the gods, which were a mixture of magical, infinite powers and basic human instincts, the gods were not perfect. Through this portrayal of the gods in the text Homer presents a more glorious time in Greek culture in a time when Greece was only a behind of its former greatness.This however varies in The Crucible which is set in a theocratic society, in which church and state are one and the religion practised was rattli ng austere form of Protestantism known as Puritanism. In this form of society there is no room for deviation from social norms, since any individual whose private life does not conform to the establish moral laws presents a threat not only to society but also to the rule of God You must understand, sir, that a person is all with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.John Proctor challenges this religious individualism of time and shows how man has used god to manipulate and control individuals and it is ultimately his choice not to confess to witchcraft, which is a true religious and personalized stance. In this way The Crucible can be viewed a typic of the paranoia of the communism which pervaded America in the 1950s. Several parallels existed between the witch hunts of 1692 and the House Un-American Activities Committees rooting out of surmise communists.As with the alleged witches of Salem, suspected Communists were encouraged to confess the ir crimes and to name names, identifying others sympathetic to their radical cause. Miller through the actions of the hero Proctor foregrounds the McCarthyist excesses, which wronged many innocents, making a strong policy-making statement. Furthermore, both Odysseus and Proctor are flawed and hitible and both of them fall into the seductive charms of the seductresses as is portrayed in the texts.Women are presented as any sainted virgins Elizabeth and genus Penelope or seductresses Abigail and Calypso this dichotomy represents the patriarchal structures of the place setting of the texts. Moreover the texts also highlight the dangers of giving women power and of female internal potency. Odysseus infidelity when he is trapped by Calypso serves to reflect sexual activity roles and the replicate standard in Greek society. Homer does not slang the responder to view Odysseus infidelity with any disdain or upbraiding withdrawing into the caverns deep recesses, long in each others arms they lost themselves in love (250-51).It is somehow acceptable for Odysseus to sleep with another woman, while Penelope is represented as morally dubious for allowing the suitors to remain in the house. It is only Calypso who challenges these gender roles You unrivalled lords of jealously/ scandalized when goddess sleep with mortals (131-32). While Homer portrays these sexist views, he also through Calypsos dialogue brings to attention the double standards of the society and more importantly introduces a naked idea which whitethorn have been viewed as subversive in Greek culture at the time.On the other hand in The Crucible, John Proctor as the plays tragic hero is honest, upright and blunt spoken, Proctor is a sober man however his fatal flaw is his lust for Abigail Williams which leads to their affair. Proctor is very self-critical and this in a way reflects how his moral code is a growth of the society in which he exists But I pass on cut my hand off before Ill ever rea ch for you again. once the trials begin, Proctor realizes that he can stop Abigails rampage through Salem but only if he confesses to this adultery.This highlights how the hero must face a series of trials and tribulations in order to be redeemed, in Proctors case these are more physiological battles whereas Odysseus faces more physical challenges. This illustrates the way in which the various contexts result in the formation of varying heros reflecting the values of that particular society. Finally, Arthur Miller once said Nobody wants to be a hero but in every man there is something he cannot give up and still remain himself If he gives that up, he becomes a different man, not himself It is Proctors self-critical nature which distinguishes him because he does not set out to be a hero.Normally he would not be considered a saintly individual, and he has not great eagerness to be a martyr callable to his underlying guilt at his infidelity, which in turn he projects on Elizabeth I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that decide you. Nevertheless when put to the final test, the meaning here of crucible, he will go to his death rather than irrevocably compromise his integrity.Through his mold of Proctor as the tragic hero Miller creates a new post-modern ideology of the hero in which the hero is not extraordinary physically or mentally but rather what is heroic is the individual who stands by his personal principals, he does not set out to be the hero but rather the situation merely reveals the hero within. This notion explores the concerns of 1950 America in which the heros were not theMcCarthyists as it might seem on outbound examination but rather those who only through their personal actions transpired to be essentially heroic. In conclusion, The Odyssey and The Crucible through the representation of the hero in text foreground the concerns of their times. The texts have revealed to me that what constitutes the hero varying according to context and setting and can help us gain further sharpness into the concerns of the society in question. Essentially the characteristics, which form the hero, are fluid prevail over to the values and culture of the times.