Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Alcohol

"...it's the wine that leads me on, the wild wine that sets the wisest man to sing at the top of his lungs, laugh like a fool--it drives the man to dancing...it even tempts him to blurt out stories better never told." - Odyssey, Book 14, Lines 527-530

I found this quote extremely interesting because it speaks to everyone. When we are drunk, it can bring about feelings / thoughts that are deep inside our mind. For example, we may not want to do something, but we do it when we are drunk because we're in a state of mind when our thoughts and feelings are vulnerable. Alcohol prompts Odysseus to tell the whole story with every detail to his old swineherd (he is able to conceal the fact that he is Odysseus though), and it also appears in a few other instances throughout the poem. For example, it makes the Cyclops act like a fool and causes his demise. This quote relates to the fact that alcohol (although we all drink it) is a horrible influence on us, but it can also show people a different side of us in some cases as well.

1 comment:

  1. I also found this quote interesting as you are right, what is said when we are inebriated is often what we are subconciously thinking. I have heard time and time again, from different sources, that you are at you're most truthful with the influence of alcohol because you lose your inhibitions. Not to say you won't lie but you are more likely to spill your deepest, darkest secrets. An interesting, and scary, thought.

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