I like the way you depict life as being "whether bright or dark"--nice image! Your analysis is very good, and I agree with you that I think we have more control than Odysseus admits!

Odysseus's vision about human condition

In line 149-161, Odysseus thinks that the humans' destinies are depending on the gods. When they are in the good moods, they may give you some good moments for you to enjoy. However, there is nothing you can do when they take it back and replace with suffering. Everything in humans' lives are not controlled by theirselves. Odysseus has this kind of conclusion about life because he has already done everything he could to come home, but because of blinding Poseidon's son's eye, he has to spend ten more years as the pay back for that. Ten-year-suffering. That is not something that normal people can imagine. How many ten-years do humans have in their lives? A god can just take it from him that easily. For Odysseus, this strengths between him and the god are not equal. In my point of view, i am a little bit disagree with him.Sure we can't avoid from natural disasters or genetic diseases, but we can try our best to fight with it. Try to survive. when bad things happen, the only thing we should do is making it gets better. That is what we do. we can't just give up due to the fact it is not caused by our own. the direction of lives are pointed by ourselves. whether it is bright or dark, it is our decisions.

Tina--what a terrifying description! I can picture this world you describe. Good writing. Haunting. I am afraid it is going to give me nightmares!

the kingdom of death!..

death, it is really a scary word. Nobody wants to die, nobody wants to leave their families, nobody wants to give up all the things that they have been working for that easily. In my opinion, not everybody should go to the kingdom of death. It varies for different people depends what they have done when they are alive.

The kingdom of death should be a place provided for the people have done bad things.it is located far beneath the surface of earth. The environment here is foggy and smelly. No one can see anything farther than 10 meters. There are a lot of trees, people are living in the caves under the tree. they are not allowed to go out except during evenings. they don't eat, but it is not because they are not hungry, they have to hide their desires of food in order to get out of the kingdom of death. everybody here needs to be here for at least 100 years as a pay back for what they have done wrong. however, they have the right to drink, but it is not water, it is the combination of pees and shits which are coming from the animals up in the mortal world. Those people need water as much as the mortals, but there is nothing they can do about it. if they don't drink it, they don't even have the chance to leave this place to be a mortal again. during the day time, due to the fact that they cant get out of the caves, they are divided into 3 groups and put into 3 different pools-greediness,deception and betrayal. the more evil they are, the more they will hurt from the pool. there will be scars all over their bodies, but it will disappear when the night comes, at the time the pool wont hurt them, that is the time they can leave the kingdom of death. actually, the goal of inventing this place is not fully for punishment, it is also for enlightments. when they leave, they should have already learned "forgiveness". i think what the "forgiveness " is, is just when you step on a flower, you totally destroy it, but it still leave the amazing smell on your foot. that is forgiveness. when they can realize that, they are good to go.