Alpamys Batyr and Odysseus: Fidelity or Death?
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Date
2020
Authors
Myrzabekova, Kundyz
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities
Abstract
This capstone project aims to find the main similar themes raised in the stories “Alpamys” and “Odysseus” and will try to find why these topics, particularly the issues of fidelity were discussed and what is the role of it in each story. The reason for the comparison of these two stories is in the similarity of the topics raised in the text. Both, the story of “Alpamys” and the story of Odysseus present the issues of loyalty and homecoming. Before starting comparison, it was crucial to determine the origin of each story and to identify if they influenced each other. The finds showed that the story of “Odysseus” appeared much before the “Alpamys”, in the 8th century in an isolated island, while “Alpamys” takes its origin from the story of “Bamsi Beyrek” that emerged after 10th century on the Altay mountains. Since both stories have different places and dates of origin, the possibility of their contact and impact on each other is excluded. The analysis of the story shows that fidelity that main heroes kept toward their spouses, toward their friends and land assisted them to survive and return to home, despite the struggles and obstacles they faced on their way. Since Penelope stayed loyal to Odysseus until the end, she avoided marriage to one of the suitors, as well as Gulbarshyn that kept her fidelity to Alpamys. And Odysseus and Alpamys could return home because they were Fidel to their land and to their families since otherwise, Odysseus would live in captivation by Calypso, while Alpamys under captivation of Taycha-Khan.