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Introduction

There are over 6 billion people in this world. They are all different and therefore all choose to live their lives in different ways. There are some individuals who always thrive to achieve more. They always want to do more, hear more, see more, whereas some individuals have a few selective goals and once those are achieved become perfectly content with their lives and where they are. There are many other ways people believe they should live their lives and that's how they live them. The author, Constantine Cavafy develops a certain idea of how individuals should live their life in the poem "Ithaca". He believes that individuals should aim to accomplish the maximum amount of goals in their lives so that they will not have any regrets and can learn from the journey they take to accomplish these goals, because that is the most important part. They main points from this is that people should have many goals throughout their lives, they should be determined and not let things get in the way of accomplishing their goals and even more importantly, that they should learn from the journey. In the poem the author develops the idea that Individuals should have many aims throughout their lives and also enjoy their lives. ...read more.

Middle

Throughout Odysseus' journey he encountered many challenges but he was determined to return to Ithaca and to his wife so he managed to overcome the challenges due to the fact that he was aware of what he wanted and did not let anything get in his way. This lesson transcends into everyday life as well, therefore the author is expressing that if an individual is aware of their goals in life they should be determined to achieve them. They should, like Odysseus, not let challenges and problems in life interfere with their ultimate aim to achieve their goals. An individual should not just give up as soon as a difficulty arises, "Do not fear them", otherwise the individual will never get anywhere in life and later on will most likely feel some form of regret towards not attempting to get past the problem that arouse. The author clearly explains that if an attempt is made to overcome the problem, then it should not interfere with the goals due to the fact that this will lead to the individual ceasing to see them as a problem and see them more as another goal to complete, throughout the journey of life. "you will not meet them unless you carry them in your soul, unless your soul raise them up before you", shows that as long as a person is thinking positively and is determined that anything can be achieved. ...read more.

Conclusion

"And if you find her poor, Ithaca hasn't deceived you.", because Ithaca has already gifted you, by being your goal, with so many thing and experiences that there will be nothing that Ithaca can give you due to the fact you will already have all you wanted. The Author believes that for a person to have a truly accomplished life and have no regret they most have goals and aims, with their final aim being Ithaca. Individuals should aim to experience the most out of their lives, and should realize that small things compared to big things in life can be just important. Throughout the journey of life there will be challenges and problems that will get in the way of an individual achieving their goals, but they should not let them get in their way of their final aim but count them as another step to accomplish it. Even if all goals are not completed as planned it does not matter for the journey to Ithaca is the important part, due to the fact that once the individual reaches Ithaca they will have gained knowledge and experience They should also have no regret. This is the gift Ithaca gives you."So wise you have become, of such experience, that already you'll have understood what these Ithaca's mean" ?? ?? ?? ?? 08/02/10 Kelsey Sideris ~ 1 ~ ...read more.

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Other Poets section.