Admirable Qualities In The Odyssey

Heroes are meant to have admirable qualities, but Homers character Odysseus is not your average hero. Odysseus does not show the qualities of a role model that most heroes have. Odysseus stands out more than the other characters, because it is not normal for a hero to be sporting some of these negative qualities. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus shows bad qualities such as being curious, being stubborn, and being prideful.

Odysseus may be described as being curious for many reasons. One example of Odysseus being curious is when he went to the cyclops cave and wanted to see who the food belonged to. In book 9 on lines 130-133 "How sound that was! Yet I refused. I wished to see the caveman, what he had to offer-no pretty sight, it turned out, for my friends."(book 9 lines 13--133) This caused some of his men to die. Odysseus's curiosity struck again when he wants to hear the song of the sirens. Not being able to resist the temptation does not show admirable qualities of a hero. From these examples it is clear that Odysseus is curious.

The character can also be described as stubborn.

This is shown when Odysseus wants to be the only on to hear the sirens. In book 12 on lines 14-21 saying "None of the rest should hear that song. But if you wish to listen, let the men tie you in the lugger, hand and foot back to the mast, lashed to the mast so you may hear those harpies' thrilling voices; shout as you will, begging to be untied, your crew must only twist more line around you and keep their stroke up, till the singers fade." (book 12 lines 14-21) Showing he will do what he wants despite of what others say and wants to be the only one to hear the sirens. Another example is Odysseus wants to stay the check out the cyclops cave. Through this you can see Odysseus disregards other peoples thoughts and ideas in exchange for his sometimes flawed ideas and thoughts. As you can see Odysseus is

stubborn.
The final and most important description of Odysseus is that he's prideful. In one instance he wants to be the first man to hear the song of the sirens. It is apparent that he takes his pursuit of kleos too far. In another event, he puts his crew in danger and curses their journey home by yelling his name as they were escaping from the cyclops. This is shown in book 9 on lines 416-418 saying "Cyclops if ever mortal man inquire how were you put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye."(book 9 lines 416 to 418) From this it is clear to see that Odysseus is prideful.
In the epic the Odyssey, Odysseus can be described as being curious, stubborn, and prideful. One example of his curiousness is when he decides to stay and look at the cyclops cave instead of take the food and leave. The character can also be described as stubborn when he wants to be the only one to hear the sirens despite the warnings of his peers. Finally this character can be considered prideful when he yells his name at the cyclops cursing their journey home making them spend years more at sea. Odysseus is not a good role model despite being considered heroic.