Question
There, as the whirlpool drank the tide, a billow
tossed me, and I sprang for the great fig tree,
catching on like a bat under a bough.
Nowhere had I to stand, no way of climbing,
the root and bole being far below, and far
above my head the branches and their leaves,
massed, overshadowing Charybdis pool.
But I clung grimly, thinking my mast and keel
would come back to the surface when she spouted.
And ah! how long, with what desire, I waited!
till, at the twilight hour, when one who hears
and judges pleas in the marketplace all day
between contentious men, goes home to supper,
the long poles at last reared from the sea.
–The Odyssey,
Homer
What is the conflict in this passage?
What theme is best shown by the conflict?
tossed me, and I sprang for the great fig tree,
catching on like a bat under a bough.
Nowhere had I to stand, no way of climbing,
the root and bole being far below, and far
above my head the branches and their leaves,
massed, overshadowing Charybdis pool.
But I clung grimly, thinking my mast and keel
would come back to the surface when she spouted.
And ah! how long, with what desire, I waited!
till, at the twilight hour, when one who hears
and judges pleas in the marketplace all day
between contentious men, goes home to supper,
the long poles at last reared from the sea.
–The Odyssey,
Homer
What is the conflict in this passage?
What theme is best shown by the conflict?
Answers
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
The conflict is external — man vs. nature. Odysseus is fighting the sea/Charybdis (the whirlpool) to stay alive after his ship is swallowed.
The theme this conflict best illustrates is human perseverance and survival in the face of overwhelming natural forces (hope and endurance). Odysseus’s grim clinging and long waiting show his determination and patience until the poles of the ship reappear.
The theme this conflict best illustrates is human perseverance and survival in the face of overwhelming natural forces (hope and endurance). Odysseus’s grim clinging and long waiting show his determination and patience until the poles of the ship reappear.