The idea of homecoming is heavily present throughout Zachary Mason's book, The Lost Books of the Odyssey, which is a modern take of the Odyssey. We learn of Odysseus’s return to his homeland following the Trojan war depicts him as a suffering war veteran, which elicits a theme of homecoming. This theme of homecoming makes me think of the happy homecoming that our soldiers come back to after their time at war. Unfortunately, like Odysseus, our soldiers do not always come home to happiness and a world full of positivity, but rather oftentimes are faced with responsibility, stress, and even PTSD. As of 2020, about 17% of military veterans return after war with PTSD, and veterans who are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom display an 11 to 20 percent chance to develop PTSD in a given year. When faced with PTSD, easy tasks often seem unmanageable and unattainable. Random occurrences can trigger panic attacks and/or contribute to PTSD attacks and flashbacks. These flashbacks can be detrimental to individuals, especially when not knowing what all contributes to them and brings on the attacks. Similarly, in Mason’s telling of the Odyssey, after the return to his homeland of Ithaca following the Trojan War he depicts Odysseus as a suffering war veteran in Chapter 40 which prompts the reader to consider how the Ancient Greek concept interacts with the journey that these modern veterans deal with in terms of coping with their mental health after their time at war. You can read more about PTSD in veterans here: https://diotima-doctafemina.org/reviews/literature-review/the-lost-books-of-the-odyssey-by-z-mason/#:~:text=Mason%20retains%20all%20of%20Homer's,might%20have%20been%20otherwise%20possible. https://www.ptsd.va.gov/ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/ptsd-in-military-veterans.htm
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AuthorHi! My name is Alyssa and I am a fourth year Psychology major! When I'm not busy with work and school I enjoy cooking new recipes, and binging Schitt's Creek on Netflix. Archives |