The Odyssey as Booker’s Seven Basic Plots Analysis: The Quest Plot

Plot Type :

The Call

None in the book, references to the Trojan War

This Booker Plot goes in chronological order, not in the order Homer tells the story. That’s just the way it works; also, Booker practically built "The Quest" plot around the Odyssey, since Homer established some of the traditions of stories like this one. "The Call" is Odysseus’s yearning to go home from Troy once the city has been destroyed and the war is over. Along with the other Ithakans, our hero begins his journey home.

The Journey

Books V-XIII

While sailing, Odysseus faces obstacles like monsters (the Cyclops Polyphemos, Skylla and Charybdis) and temptations (the Lotus Eaters, the witch Circe, the Sirens, and Kalypso). Along the way, he receives advice from gods (Athene, Hermes), beautiful women (Circe, Kalypso), and wise old seers (Teiresias).

Arrival and Frustration

Books XIV-XVI

The Phaiakians bring Odysseus safely home to Ithaka, but Odysseus realizes that he must walk in disguise, find allies amidst the traitors, and plot against the suitors.

The Final Ordeals

Books XVII-XXII

In this stage, the hero undergoes a "series of tests" to prove he is worth his goal/prize/wife, etc. In this case, Odysseus has to prove first his patience (he can’t beat the living pulp out of men like Antinoös, as that would give away his disguise), then his physical prowess (by winning Penelope’s contest), his knowledge (with regards to the unmovable bed), and finally his diplomacy (by diffusing the angry-parents situation and restoring peace to Ithaka).

The Goal

Book XXIV

By defeating the suitors, Odysseus reclaims his faithful bride Penelope, his father in Laertes, his house, and is accepted by the Ithakan people as King.