Unpopular Opinion: Old Yeller had a Better Life than Argos

So after finishing the entire Odyssey, the character I felt for the most was surprisingly not the title character, but his dog. The main characters waiting at home for Odysseus are all exceedingly loyal (see Penelope, Telemachus) but Argos’s loyalty matters no less just because he’s an animal. Odysseus and Argos reunion was one of the most emotional for me, unspoiled by any kind of scheme. Penelope and Odysseus’s reunion was certainly dramatic, but there was too much scheming and distrust and need for proof that when it actually happened my thoughts were just “FINALLY….. Could have been more emotional.”

Speaking of emotion, meeting Argos is the first time Odysseus really shows emotion in Ithaca without being prompted by someone (Athena) that it’s ok to do so. When Odysseus sees Argos, weakly wagging his tail and on the verge of death, he literally sheds a few tears and has to try and straight face it to Eumaeus. During most of Odysseus’s time in Ithaca so far he’s been super stoic, sticking to the deceit, enduring the abuse, and honestly not showing as much emotion as I thought he would/should. The most charged moment it seems is his reunion with Telemachus. But even that is kinda spoiled, because Odysseus is in disguise, Telemachus doesn’t know who he his, and Odysseus has to make small talk until Athena allows him to reveal himself. Then they have a nice tearful father-son reunion for a while, but this too is marred by a quick switch to planning the death of 99 men. The transition is just too grizzly, and there was too much emotional holdback.

Odysseus also had to suppress his emotions when he sees Argos, but it was forced by the situation. Also, both parties reacted immediately in some manner, if not the one they wanted. Odysseus literally sheds a few involuntary tears when he sees his dog; when he sees his son, he just kinda stares at him. Holding back from Argos was the biggest tragedy for me because with humans there will be always be qualms in this situation (i.e. do I know you anymore) but there’s none of that with Argos. Here is the dog that Odysseus raised and trained since he was a puppy, lying neglected and nearly dead on the dung heap by his master’s palace. Odysseus can’t comfort his dog at all by scratching him on the ears or letting Argos lick his hand, etc. He just has to keep walking into the palace. At least with Telemachus Odysseus got to hug im and cry before they fought the suitors, and Odysseus got to talk with Penelope (in disguise) and encourage her that he was coming back.

The most frustratingly heart rending part of Argos’s situation for me was that after Odysseus has taken back his palace and “restored justice,” Argos gets none of the rewards. Fagles translation makes it sound as though Argos died basically immediately after he saw Odysseus had returned. So his only reward, after 20 years of waiting, is to see his master cry a little bit and walk on by. Fagle also doesn’t make clear if Odysseus saw Argos die or not….. So there’s this gaping hole if Argos died after Odysseus walked on, or if Odysseus watched him collapse and couldn’t do anything. Ultimate angst (no I’m not crying).

So I’ll finish rambling explication with my final inflammatory claim, is that Argos’s story is sadder than Old Yeller’s, our friend from the title. Old Yeller was happy for most of the story before he got shot, but Argos spent his life on that dung heap, waiting for Odysseus, and suffering.  

Your fave is problematic: Odysseus

• Cheats repeatedly
• Excessively proud
• Overly reckless

So for years I’ve been hearing about how great The Odyssey is, and what a Cool Guy™ Odysseus is -- and now that I’ve read (half) of the epic, and I can mostly agree. But as I was reading Odysseus’s exploits I was growing more and more uncomfortable with “the man of twists and turns.” I understand that heroes often have a fatal flaw (or two or three), but usually someone points them out along the course of the story, and helps to outline/bring attention to what they are. That doesn’t happen to any great extent in the Odyssey, except for Poseidon being angered by Odysseus’s pride, demonstrated in blinding and then taunting Polyphemus.

Heroes in general tend to be reckless, that’s what gives them some of the courage to take their risks. But Odysseus crosses the line between bravery and stupidity way to often, and it takes the lives of his (now non-existent) crew. He invited himself into Polyphemus’s cave to steal cool guest gifts, and only gets out after several of his men are eaten (although Odysseus is the one to get them out). Although I understand he was stuck between a cliff and a hard place, he goes by Scylla’s cave without letting his men know what’s going to happen. And when he reaches Circe’s island, he sends his men ahead to go party without asking them to scout first, to report if the owners are friendly or hostile. After his experience with Polyphemus, I feel that he should have known better.

But then again, if Odysseus wasn’t such a wild guy, we’d have no story. The qualities that lead to these blunders, the pride and the recklessness, can in different circumstances be courage and a self-confidence which inspires obedience/help from others. But no matter what I think of Odysseus’s flaws, it seems that the gods -- or at least Athena -- like them. As mentioned in class, their interaction seemed to be that of equals conspiring. So Odysseus, flaws included, is almost like a god.

Which brings me to the actual gods…. I could do a whole other “callout post” for them. The flaws that in Odysseus that irked me and contributed to his crew members’ deaths, actually bring him *closer* to the gods. Yet by now we know the gos are not necessarily (not even usually) benevolent -- they like to interact with the mortals for their entertainment. The lives of regular people are like a reality show to the gods, and they love stirring up trouble -- as well as defending the power of their name. Sure Odysseus was “overly proud” when he gave Polyphemus his home address after blinding him, but it really doesn’t compare to Poseidon, who gets so (pardon my French) butthurt after the Phaeacians “disrespect” him that he destroys their harbor……. Their entire livelihood.

So I’ll end with a kind of “out there” theory. Clearly the Greeks are not a fan of the gods’ attributes that lead to “mountains around your harbor” and eternal psychological abuse, but they never really criticize the gods outright. There’s always a search for a reason why Zeus or Poseidon or Hades is mad, and never just anger at the gods or “the system” for kinda being generally “rigged” and cruel. But there is definitely criticism of Odysseus, even at that time -- the way Homer seems to shore the character up, and spend effort justifying some of Odysseus’s mistakes, seems to be evidence. Maybe Odysseus, with his god-like qualities but problematic episodes, acts as a stand-in for the actual gods, but one within criticism.

When a 2,000+ Year Old Greek Legend has Better Representation of Women than a Modern Novel

So completely the opposite of what I expected, I found myself relating more with the female characters in the Odyssey than with those in Memory of Running. Which seems odd, because the main women in the Odyssey are either gods or queens, while the women in McLarty’s novel are “just regular people.” But I found that Chris, Norma, and especially Bethany all fell flat as characters. Their actions and emotions weren’t very believable, and I didn’t get the sense that they were full people in their own right, that they could be a protagonist in their own story. It seemed that their actions and lives were all in relation to Smithy, and not just because he is telling the story. Not to mention the annoying fact that ¼ of what we learn from Smithy about any given female is detailed commentary on their breasts.

Like Lauren mentioned, Norma’s continuous obsession with Smithy struck me as irritating and unrealistic. Why does she still love a man who ignored her existence for 20+ years, and takes months to respond in any way when she says she loves him? And why is Chris so interested in this random guy she meets on the road who is 20+ years older than her, and go so far out of her way for him? Unrealistic. Bethany was a tougher case because I don’t know the particular nature of her mental illness, but it didn’t seem realistic. Her episodes seemed forced, and mostly there as a way to mark Smithy’s life and spark his development. Bethany’s illness felt like a different version of the movie trope where a man’s wife dies, mostly to further his pain and give him a motive for revenge or a journey.

Women of the Odyssey have their own annoying idiosyncrasies, but in general the poem does a much better job fleshing them out and exploring their motives. Penelope is a great example in this respect. She’s in a very difficult position, being plagued with suitors while Odysseus is gone, and at first glance it looks like all she does is stay in her room and hide. But she has a strategy. I interpreted Alcinous’s complaint of Penelope “leading them on” as her method of holding the suitors at bay. If she says no outright, they will demand to know why and escalate the situation. But this way, it looks like Penelope is weighing her decision carefully. And then there’s the sly funeral shroud trick -- which Penelope keeps going for three years!! It really takes skill to keep people from being too impatient for that long. And although her goals center around her long lost husband and son, Penelope reads as a character with her own personality and her own goals.

And then of course there is Athena. She’s a pretty special case, given that she’s a goddess and no regular woman. But she is clearly a being with her own agenda, and someone to be respected or feared. We don’t yet know why Athena takes such an interest in Odysseus or Telemachus, but we trust that she has a reason. Essentially, the women in the Odyssey, while not numerous, come across far more realistically than those in The Memory of Running.