Hades Essay

The ultimate danger lies within termination he worst failure in a move around is when the hero falls to the fiery grasp of Hell. Much like Odysseus a Greek hero whose tale can be found in The Odyssey Leopold roseola travels into Hades in episode six of Ulysses. The theme of death is a constant recurrence through forth Ulysses, and Hades, as its name implies, is the one chapter where death reigns. But Hades centers more on escaping Hell and returning to the land of the living. The heroes, in the face of death, come back to life. Odysseus and Bloom are mirro trigger-happy characters, and they both have managed to escape the Underworld.This essays main goal will be to analyses the Homeric parallels between Odysseus journey in the Underworld and Blooms travel to Payday Diagrams funeral, a real-life journey into the depths of Hell. prime(prenominal) of all, the Homeric parallels in episode six begin with the use of the number eleven. (l should note right a route that the funeral for Payday Digamma begins at eleven a. M. ) Eleven is an essential patch of the episode, breachce it is a number that represents sin and death. To understand wherefore eleven is considered a bad number, we must go back to old times.In ancient societies, pacifically Christian and/or Catholic cultures, the Decoupage, or the Ten Commandments, was used as a course credit into writing laws. The number ten-spot was considered a holy number, because there were ten fundamental laws to be followed in Catholic communities. Seeing as the number eleven oversteps ten, it was considered by many to be a transgression of law and of sin (Saint- Augustine, 464). Both Homer and Joyce were aware of the symbolism of the number eleven. The two authors went out of their way to weave the number into their works.However, the two writers did not use eleven as a symbol of in, but rather death. For example, in Homers The Iliad, Achilles grants the Trojan eleven days to complete Hectors funeral rites before t he battle recommences. (Bell, 404) If we were to compare The Iliad with The Odyssey, we would see a likeness in the funeral rites. When Odysseus descends into the Underworld, he meets the ghost of one of his men, Lovelorn, who had fallen to his death when he fell asleep in the tower on Circles island. Lovelorn begs Odysseus to give him a proper funeral, just as Hector had received.Lets now switch over to Ulysses because Diagrams funeral begins at eleven clock, Digamma is a parallel to Lovelorn, who is a parallel of Hector. These parallels explain why Joyce uses the number eleven in Hades. But enough about numbers. Lees discuss parallels in the novel. Joyce has a habit of linking each chapter in some way or another. By this, mean themes and concepts from previous chapters parallel chapters further on in the novel. For example, Sirens focused on the element of sound, whereas Cyclops contrasts and concentrates on sight. Similarly, Hades is a parallel to Protests with its life and deat h themes.At the beginning of episode three, the themes of life and earth appear spryly. Stephen encounters a midwife carrying a bag he thinks the bag holds a miniskirt with a trailing nevermore, hushed in ruddy wool. (3. 36) Midwives are seen as a symbol of birth, because they assist women giving birth. However, the chapters theme quickly switches when Stephen realizes the gratify is deceased. The ruddy wool solidifies this mood change in chapter four, we learn that Blooms son, named Rudy, had passed away around ten years ago. Rudy had been buried in a ruddy red wool sweater.With Stephen thinking of his dead mother, and his seeing a dead dog n the beach, the concept of death is present throughout the episode. By contrast, Hades begins with an immediate mention of death. Bloom, Martin Cunningham, Simon Deals and Jack Power are heading to Payday Diagrams funeral. Just like when we get a glimpse of death in the life chapter Protests, we get a glimpse of life in the death chapter Had es. As Bloom climbs into the carriage to get to the cemetery, he wipes off bits of crumbs on his suit. These crumbs are a reference to the potted meat (17. 124-5) we see on Mollys bed the crumbs are a metaphor for copulating, and thus birth and fife. The main difference between Protests and Hades is that, in episode six, the theme of death is far more elaborated. From the coffin-tight carriage the men travel in, to the cattle being shipped off to the slaughterhouse, to the mention of Blooms fathers suicide, to the rats crawling out from the graves, Joyce has created a real-life depiction of Hell. What is scary about this episode is the fact that, given the God of Deaths reputation in Greek and Roman literature, if Bloom really is descending into Hades, he may not make it out.Greek mythology describes Hades as the God f the Dead. According to legends, the lord of the Underworld kept a close eye on the dead souls, ensuring they do not flee the Underworld. One of Homers plays, The Odys sey, recounts Odysseus managing to escape from Hades. Odysseus was lucky, since not many heroes have succeeded in escaping the Underworld. The very fact that anyone had been able to break out of the Underworld is a miracle. With this in mind, we are left to wonder if Bloom can make it out of the cemetery alive. The descent into Hell is seen as a dangerous, but also heroic act, especially in Greek and Roman literature.