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December 11, 2018

English D Block

Incomplete Puzzle

Imagine living your life knowing half of what you know about your friends and family. This Formatted: Font: Not Bold

can cause people to make false assumptions, leaving people hurt who shouldn’t be. In Margaret

Atwood’s novel, The Penelopiad, the one learns a different side of the story of Ithaca while

Odysseus journeys home. The entire picture plot becomes complete, but is it too late? By reading

the book, one learns that individuals Penelope fails to speak to their her side of the story,

resulting in a negative scenario.; someone Odysseus and the maids receive as a punishment that

does not warrant their actions. The actions of individuals or groups of people may greatly affect

the lives of others. In The Penelopiad, The maids continuously haunt Odysseus to seek justice

for their death, but is he the one responsible? The maids will never achieve true justice because

the actions of the Suitors and Penelope greatly affect the lives of others, leaving the ones

responsibleOdysseus receives a punishment that he does not deserve. The maids will

continuously haunt him forever. The maids did not deserve to die; therefore, they must achieve

justice from the one responsible for their death. Unfortunately, the maids will never achieve true

justice because the people unpunishedwho deserve punishment are not receiving it.

The Suitors had manipulative behavior, whichnature ledleads to the poor behavior of the

maids, and eventually spiralsed into the sad death of the twelve girls. The maids’ mischievous

actions begin because of the followinged of ordersPenelope’s orders to seek a relationship with

to become closer with the Suitors, so they could hear all the gossip about Penelope. As the

maids grew closer to the Asgreedy men, they began toa result, “the Suitors helphelped

“themselves to the maids in the same way they helped themselves to the sheep and pigs and

goats and cows. They probably thought nothing of it” (Atwood, 116). “Several of the girls were
unfortunately raped, others were seduced, or were hard pressed and decided that it was better to

give in than to resist” (Atwood 115). The vile behavior of the Suitors, pressures the maids into

affairs, making the girls seem guilty in the eyes of others in the palace. W“Several of the girls

were unfortunately raped, others were seduced, or were hard pressed and decided that it was

better to give in than to resist” (Atwood, 115). The Suitors took advantage of the maids, and soon

enough, when Odysseus returned from his long journey, he spotted the maids’ mischievous

actions. In Odysseus’s perspective, it appeared the maids willingly gave into the Suitors’ twisted

game. Because the Suitors manipulated the maids into having disloyal actions, Odysseus saw

them as suchhen Odysseus returns home, it appears as the maids willingly give into the Suitors’

twisted game. Even though the girls died because of the Suitors’ poor and greedy actions, the

maids haunt Odysseus forever. The maids never achieve justice because they are punishing the

wrong induvial; they should be seeking punishment for the Suitors. The actions of the Suitors

greatly affect the maid’s lives, and ultimately, Odysseus’s. Although the suitors were forceful

and manipulative, the maids originally became involved with the suitors because Penelope

enacted an ill-considered plan. , and eventually, it lead to the death of the maids. The maids will

never achieve justice because they are punishing the wrong induvial; they should be torturing the

Suitors because of their manipulative behavior.

Penelope’s desperate nature causes her to go to great lengths to hear gossip about herself,

even if it means putting the people she trusts, the maids, in danger. With the failure to tell anyone

about her plan, she holds responsibility for the maid’s death. Penelope failed to tell anyone about

her plan with the maids; the actions of the maids seemed disloyal, therefore resulting in their

death. The initiation of Penelope’s plan started with ordering the twelve maids to “hang around

the Suitors and spy on them, using what-ever enticing arts they could invent” (Atwood, 115).
Penelope ordersed them to “pretend to be in love with these men. If they think you have taken

their side, they’ll confide in you and we’ll know their plans” (Atwood, 117). Eventually,

Penelope had “instructed them to say rude and disrespectful things about [her] and Telemachus,

and about Odysseus as well, in order to further the illusion” (Atwood 117). Penelope admits that

her “actions were ill-considered and caused harm. But [she] was running out of time, and

becoming desperate, and [she] had to use every ruse to stratagem at [her] command” (Atwood,

118). Penelope’s desperate nature caused her to go to any extent to hear the gossip about herself;

even if it meant putting her best friends in danger. Penelope encourages the maids to have affairs

with the Suitors; therefore, upon Odysseus’s return, the maids seemed disloyal. When Odysseus

returned, Penelope had supported the disobedient behavior of the maids; therefore, they appeared

as disloyal to Odysseus. Because she failed to share her plan, Eeveryone in the palace saw views

the maid’s rude and scheming actions with the Suitors as disloyal, unaware of Penelope’s plan.

Penelope failed to vocalize her plan; thus, her ill-considered actions resulted in the death of

twelve maids. The death of the maids may not have occurred if Penelope had told someone about

her plan. The maids will never achieve true justice because Odysseus should not be the one held

accountable for their death. Penelope failed to vocalize her plan; thus, her ill-considered actions

resulted in the death of twelve maids.

In the end, Penelope lives with the guilt that she is responsible for the fate

of the maids and the forever torment of Odysseus. She says, “He wants to be with me. He weeps

when he says it. But then some force tears us apart. It’s the maids. […] They make him nervous.

They make him restless. They cause him pain (Atwood 189). Whether Penelope realizes it or

not, she witnesses the person she aspires to be with, continuously run in fear and agony because

of her ill-considered actions. Penelope’s failure to articulate her plan many years ago, caused the
maids to endlessly seek justice from Odysseus. Because he only knows one side of the story and

did not know of Penelope’s plan, Odysseus hangs the maids. The maids will not achieve justice Commented [LF1]: Tense?

because they are not seeking justice from the one responsible, Penelope.

Like a puzzle, a story is not complete until the last piece fits. In life, individuals people

may make conclusions based off on a single story. One’s assumptions are Conclusions should

not be made until others are aware of the entire story from many different perspectives.

incomplete without the entire story. When someone we fails to express all their part sides of the

story, that person causes harm is caused. Similar to Penelope and the Suitors, to others. Thethe

impact of one’s actions can result in a negative situation. . In life, people need to be more

mindful of the others around them. Penelope and the Suitors both had actions that caused harm.

They were not mindful of their actions; therefore, they are responsible for the maid’s death. We

should not act in response to a single story until we know all the details, and until the last piece

fits.

The maids should not punish Odysseus because he was a bystander of the poor choices made by

Penelope and the Suitors. Like a puzzle, a story is not complete until the last piece fits.

Works Cited

Atwood, Margaret. The Penelopiad. Edinburgh: Canongate, 2006.