Hospitality is a major theme throughout The Odyssesy. While there are two sides to hospitality, the good host but also the good guest, it is a concept that runs much deeper than the host/ guest dialect. There are many examples of hospitality, shown in both positive and negative light, throughout the poem. The first example is from Odysseus's son, Telemachus. He is the king's son and coming of age, on a journey to find information about his father in order to feel a connection with him. He witnesses and begins to understand both the value and ambiguousness of hospitality. He is taken in by many people, but it also holds him back at times.
Another example of hospitality in the epic poem is the suitor's who spend 20 years residing in the home of Odysseus and Penelope. They are horrible house guests, making a mess of their abode. While they were chasing after someone who already had a spouse and loving relationship, the question still stands of whether their greater offense was that they were suiting someone else's wife or that they were atrocious house guests.
This is a question that still stands today. People have house guests all the time and occasionally they do not know how to act themselves in a respectful manner. For example, a friend of mine from Norway was in the United States for a few weeks while I was on a cruise this summer. My family graciously let her stay in our house even though I was out of town, and she never cleaned her mess. After showering, she would place her hair clumps from the drain not into the trash can but on the shower rod. It was disgusting and she simply did not understand how to act as a social and pleasant house guest. If people do not learn this as they grow up it is difficult for them to adapt it later in life. Hospitality is something that must be learned and practiced from a young age.
I really liked how you showed that hospitality is not only a task for the host. It is also very important to be a good house guest. I enjoyed how you used the real life comparison to your house guest. It reminds me of how he suitors weren't good house guests to Penelope. They ate all her food, and took advantage of her hospitality. I also liked how you noted that hospitality is different in different cultures. That can also affect one's actions and how they perceive and demonstrate their "good manners".
ReplyDeleteI agree, it is important not just to focus on being a good host, but also a respectable house guest. It is very interesting how you explained the way your friend acted while she was a guest in your house. Also there are different opinions of being a good guest, as you explained your friend acted totally different from how you would expect her to act as a guest. I guess sometimes we need to realize that people from different places have certain customs and ways of doing things. Things that seem to be rude to us, might not be so rude to others' cultures. Although i do agree, the way your friend acted was not the way a guest should be.
ReplyDelete