Homer uses different kinds of literary devices in The Odyssey. An example of a simile in the story is "Then he dismembered them and made his meal, gaping and crunching like a mountain lion...". This quote explains how gruesome Polyphemus, the Cyclops, can be as he feasts on the humans that take shelter in his cave. Another example of a literary device is an epithet, which is used in the story along the lines of "When the young Dawn with fingertips of rose lit up the world...". This is describing the morning light as the sun rises and fills the area with life and color. Irony is also used when Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his name is 'Nohbdy' when it really is Odysseus. He uses the believing Cyclops to his advantage when Odysseus stabs Polyphemus's only eye, Polyphemus cries for help yelling, "Nohbdy, Nohbdy's tricked me, Nohbdy's ruined me!" When the Cyclops companions hear this, they shrug off his cries because they understand that nobody is bothering him.
The message to the Greeks that Homer was sending in this story is if you do something bad, bad events will happen to you. If you do something good, good events will happen to you. Polyphemus had treated human beings horribly and viewed them just as edible food to go with his whey from his ewes that he milks. For this action, he had lost his eye to Odysseus and had to live the rest of his life blind. Odysseus also is a victim of karma as he is too prideful on his adventures. He is faced with many hard events and loses many of his best men and companions.
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