Comparing Ramayana and the Odyssey Essays

Comparing Ramayana and the Odyssey Essays Comparing Ramayana and the Odyssey Essay Comparing Ramayana and the Odyssey Essay Essay Topic: The Odyssey The Ramayana and the Odyssey have many things in common. One thing specifically similar between The Odyssey and The Ramayana is the experiences of Sita from The Ramayana and Odysseus from The Odyssey. Their adventures are parallel. Sita and Odysseus went through very similar struggles during their journeys and when they returned home to their spouses. Odysseus is the obvious hero of the Odyssey while Sita is an unexpected hero for with standing torture from Ravana and staying true to her spouse. Sita and Odysseus were both held captive by powerful characters of the opposite gender. Sita was kidnapped by the creature with ten heads named Ravana. Odysseus was held captive on an island by the beautiful Calypso. Odysseus tries to resist Calypso and go home, â€Å"Ah great goddess, don’t be angry with me, please. All that you say is true, how well I know. Look at my wise Penelope. She falls far short of you, your beauty, and stature. She is mortal after all and you, you never age or dieNevertheless I long – I pine, all my days – to travel home and see the dawn of my return. And if a god will wreck me yet again on the wine-dark sea, I can bear that too, with a spirit tempered to endure. Much have I suffered, labored long and hard by now in the waves and wars. Add this to the total – bring the trial on!† (Homer, 159) This quote not only shows his loyalty to his wife and his genuine attempt to resist Calypso but it is also very romantic. He is exp laining to Calypso that even though she is perfect and doesn’t age and that Penelope, his wife, could not match her beauty, he still loves Penelope and wants to go home to her. This conflict is similar to Ravana and Sita, who has been taken from her loved one, Rama. Ravana’s relationship with Sita is very similar to the relationship between Calypso and Odysseus. Ravana obsesses over Sita. He asked Soorpanaka to stir an image up of Sita and when she did Ravana fell deeply in love with Si