Essay On Lord Of The Flies And Odysseus Comparison

2.5 Character Comparison - Odysseus and Frodo Word Count: 1500

There are two heroes whose pieces of literature written oceans of time apart, that contain a very strong connection. These two respective heroes are Frodo Baggins of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (postclassical) and Odysseus of the Odyssey (classical). The Odyssey was written by Homer, a Greek man who lived around the 8th century BC, he grew up in a society which encouraged traits like courage, intelligence and team-work because of it’s tribal-like communities. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was written by J.R.R Tolkien who had just experienced a world war, trying to vent his feelings through the written word. Tolkien’s nationalistic society would have favoured similar traits considering the characteristics needed during warfare. The two authors, despite not living in the same region or in the same time period, still put on display these traits in their characters.

The first connection between Odysseus and Frodo Baggins is the trait of courage. When Odysseus and his men were in the safety of their ship after gouging out the cyclops eye and escaping from the

In book nine it says, “ ‘Cyclops, if any mortal human being asks about the injury that blinded you, tell them Odysseus destroyed your eye, a sacker of cities, Laertes’ son, a man from Ithaca.’ ” Even in the face of angered adversity, Odysseus still had the audacity to display his trait of courage. In the Lord of the Rings Frodo Baggins also displays the trait of courage when he declares that he will take on the pressure of the ring. In book one, chapter two, in the Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo says, “ ‘ I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot