TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2010//
TI  - Josef Kavalier's Odyssey: Homeric Echoes in Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
JO  - International journal of the classical tradition
A1  - Levine, Daniel B.
SP  - 526
EP  - 555
VL  - 17
IS  - 4
N2  - This paper shows that the numerous parallels between Michael Chabon's Pulitzer-Prize winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2000) and the Odyssey portray the novel's hero as a Jewish Odysseus. It illustrates how Chabon's work contains episodes, structures and character typologies that correspond to numerous exemplars in the Odyssey, including the Telemachia (Od. 1-4), Kyklopeia (Od. 9), Nekuia (Od. 11), Anagnorismos (Od. 16), Toxou Thesis / Mnesterophonia (Od. 21-22), and the "Wrath of Poseidon." In addition, the novel's main female character shares similar characteristics with Penelope. A preoccupation with "escape" is central to the novel, reflecting one of the essential themes of the epic and the specialty of its hero. Chabon himself invites a study of this sort, having recently written that the Odyssey and its hero form the original paradigm for the "Adventure Story" -- especially where Jewish characters are concerned (2007.201-203).<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1073-0508
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12138-010-0217-0
ID  - ref1
ER  -