Compare And Contrast The Odyssey And The Hobbit - 1472 Words

Compare and Contrast As I read through Homer’s The Odyssey, and J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit, I immediately noticed several similarities between the two. Of course not only were their things that they both shared in common, but also things that set them apart from each other. I mean what kind of authors would they be if they wrote the same exact story. I hope that by reading this essay you gain a better understanding of both books as well as what they have in common and what is different between them. By the end you should be able to identify the similarities and differences between both of their journeys as well as between most of the characters in this book. I’d first like to establish the theme between both of these amazing stories.†¦show more content†¦In The Hobbit the battle comes at the end of the book and in the Odyssey it is the battle of Troy that occurs in the beginning of the story that starts our adventure. I think the major theme is that thro ugh perseverance and hard work you can achieve great strides in completing your goal, and that it is only by relying on others as well as yourself that those goal(s) can be achieved. During these events we can understand some major plot similarities. Some shared plot points that I discovered while reading. For instance both adventures are started by another source. In the Odyssey Goddess Athena descends from the heavens after convincing her father, the Son of Cronus, Zeus to allow Odysseus to return home. Once she arrives in Ithaca, she sets Telemachus on his adventure to learn more information about his father whereabouts. This is like Gandalf the Gray arriving in the Shire to set Bilbo on his mission with Thorin to reclaim the mountain from Smaug. Another major part would be the obstacles that stand in their way. Mostly in the form of Monsters and other beings. The Odyssey features some creatures famous in greek mythology such as the Cyclops, Polyphemus, the beasts Scylla and Char ybdis, the Sirens, and the God Helios and Goddesses Circe and Calypso. The Hobbit features classic fantasy monsters like Giant Spiders, Goblins, Worgs, an Elvish King, and of course a fire breathing Smaug. Both characters gain gifts that