A Truly Hospitable Environment
“Hospitality exists when you believe that the other person is on your side” (Danny Meyer). In other words, the guest of honor should reciprocate the hosts benevolent gestures during his or her stay at the host’s home. Moreover, adhering to a visitor’s request has been a tradition many authors have described in their works. Written by Homer in 650 B.C., “The Odyssey,” describes the obstacles Odysseys faces as he returns home from the Trojan War. Throughout his journey, he is faced with challenges that test his faith in humanity and his ability to deal with creatures that aim to kill him. Eventually, Odysseus returns to Ithaca, his home, to face his family after twenty years. On a lighter note, “A Hungry Tide” written by Amitav Gosh in 2004 talks about Piya’s journey to study dolphins in the Ganges river. Similar to Odysseus, she is dealt with a series of challenges that include trust in strangers and storms. Both Amitav Gosh’s “A Hungary Tide” and Homer’s “The Odyssey” express a common idea of hospitality; however, Gosh furthers Homer’s idea of hospitality through Kanai and Fokir. As a result, one can conclude that Gosh’s representation of pure hospitality is proven to be more authentic compared to Homers depiction.
Calypso, Odyssey’s sea nymph, expressed a lower quality of hospitality that Gosh furthered in his work “A Hungary Tide,” proving it to be a more hospitable environment. During Odysseus’s journey, a sea nymph captures him and provides him with ungentle shelter and discomfort; some say he was even considered as a sex slave: “By nights he would lie beside her, of necessity, in the hollow caverns, against his will, by one who was willing, but all the days he would sit upon the rocks, at the seaside, breaking his heart in tears and lamentation and sorrow as weeping tears he looked out over the barren water” (5.152–158). Despite Odysseus being miles away from his spouse, Penelope, he still doesn’t succumb to Calypso’s temptations: he even despises sleeping next to her, resulting in a state of solitude and depression. Even though she was overly possessive, Calypso did present traditional hospitality towards her guest, Odysseus by giving him food, a shelter, clothes, etc. This goes to show that hospitality has always played a key factor in human development, and has potential to evolve. On the other hand, Gosh’s “A Hungary Tide” displayed a major change of hospitality when Nilima, friend of Piya, offered her and Fokir a large space to live in. After an exhausting journey through India, Piya and Fokir are presented with a luxurious living space to spend the night: “”But there’s a guest house upstairs with three empty rooms. You’re very welcome to stay there. There’s no one in it but Kanai. And if he bothers you, just come down and let me know.”” (156, A Hungary Tide) Before these accommodations, Fokir and Piya were lost and were quickly welcomed into Nilima’s house and received ample space with fresh towels, a desk, and clean sheets. The enhanced hospitable environment furthered Calypso accommodations as it served to be more natural and authentic instead of forced by the host, displaying a change of hospitality over time, as Piya wasn’t forced to stay there, while Odyssey was trapped in Calypso’s lust. All in all, Homer’s hospitality through Calypso was furthered by Gosh’s representation of Nilima’s hospitality, by displaying a strong contrast between forcefully showing generosity and naturally accommodating to the guest.
Nausicaa, a girl that tests Odysseus’ temptation, expressed a different type quality of hospitality that Gosh furthered in his work “A Hungry Tide,” with Fokir, proving it to be a more hospitable environment. After Odysseus escapes from Calypso’s deadly seduction, he continues his journey, leading him to Nausicaa, the daughter of King Alcinous, who provides the greatest obstacle to Odysseys: trust. Other obstacles provided a noticeable flaw that pushed Odysseus to continue his journey; however, Nausicaa’s beauty, kindness, and support captivated Odysseus at his own will: “But now, since it is our land and our city that you have come to, you shall not lack for clothing nor anything else, of those gifts which should befall the unhappy suppliant on his arrival.” (6.191–193) During Odysseus’ stay, the daughter of King Alcinous presents him with not only physical support, but also emotional support: traits only possessed by a wife. Moreover, the enhanced hospitable environment from Calypso’s island displays qualities of an exceptional host. By ensuring that the guest is sustainable no matter what condition maximizes a hospitable environment; however, Amitav Gosh furthers his accommodations through Fokir. Not only does Fokir match Nausicaa’s natural hospitality, but also gives all the little resources that he has: “It was not just that he had thought to create a space for her; it was as if he had chosen to include her in some simple, practiced family ritual, found a way to let her know that despite the inescapable muteness of their exchanges, she was a person to him and not, as it were, a representative of a species, a faceless, tongue less foreigner” (60, A Hungary Tide). Despite the boat being cramped, Fokir manages to move around boxes and sacrifice his own space and comfort to give Piya warmth and privacy. Although embarrassed at first, Piya soon realizes that he values her as a person and treats her with ultimate respect, once again furthering Homer’s representation of hospitality. By adding the element of poverty, true hospitality is revealed as it still achieves its goal of making the guest feel comfortable. As a result, Gosh’s representation of pure hospitality is proven to be more authentic compared to Homers depiction as Piya not only expresses more comfort, but also appreciates how valuable his host, Fokir, makes her feel; a trait Homer fails to capture. In conclusion, despite Nausicaa proving to be a top-class host, Gosh takes hospitality one step further by presenting Fokir with similar traits; however, with significantly less resources, proving to be more authentic.
Above all, Gosh’s idea of hospitality furthered Homer’s idea, making a more hospitable environment for the guest. Despite both authors having different interpretations of hospitality, both prevail to be compelling works that depicted a typical model of society at that time. As a result, more works written around the same time period, present similar ideas of hospitality, including “The Legend of Theseus” and other historic works.
Works Cited
Homer, and Robert Fitzgerald. The Odyssey. New York: Vintage, 1990. Print.
Ghosh, Amitav. The Hungry Tide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Print.
