“There is heroism in crime as well as in virtue. Vice and infamy have their altars and their religion.” William Halzlitt, a British writer, once said this on the subject of heroism. His personal view, reflected in this quote, was that the evil and the righteous can be heroes. Everyone has a different view on heroism. Some may view Odysseus from the Odyssey, a fighter and soldier, as a hero, and others may view Mahatma Gandhi, humanitarian and pacifist, as a hero. Although Odysseus from the Odyssey and Mahatma Gandhi, a prominent figure in the fight for India’s independence, are both known to be heroes because they are brave, they are different because Odysseus used deceit to reach his home while Gandhi used his morals and honor to fight against bigotry.
Odysseus and Gandhi are both heroes
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because they are brave. Odysseus completed difficult task and went on dangerous adventures to unknown lands. According to the Odyssey by Homer, “Meanwhile I crouched with my drawn sword to keep the surging phantoms from the bloody pit till I should know the presence of Tiresias” (Homer Book 11 pg. 1126). Odysseus faces the ghosts alone as he waits for Tiresias, and he never backs down, even when he sees the spirits of people he knew. Just as Odysseus courageously held off the phantoms, Gandhi stood up to oppression and refused to be persecuted. Mahatma Gandhi Biography by the biography.com editors explains the persecution Gandhi faced in Africa. In 1893, a white man told Gandhi to move to the back of the train. When Gandhi did not move, he was taken off the train at the next station. Gandhi endured discrimination without flinching, just as Odysseus fought against monsters without fleeing. Odysseus and Gandhi are different because they achieved their goals using different methods.
Odysseus deceived his enemies to help himself be reunited with his family. In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus lies to the cyclops about where his ship is and what his name is. When the cyclops cries out, he is mocked by his fellow cyclopes because of Odysseus misled him into thinking his name was ‘nobody.’ He cried out that ‘nobody’ was hurting him, so no one came to help him. Odysseus relies on trickery to defeat the monsters, and he does it to benefit himself. Using the opposite approach, Gandhi led peaceful protests against British rule. Biography of Mahatma Gandhi by Tejvan Pettinger states, Gandhi successfully instigated a series of non-violent protest. This included national strikes for one or two days. The British sought to ban opposition, but the nature of non-violent protest and strikes made it difficult to counter.” Gandhi calmly rebelled against prejudice and inequity to fight for the Indian people, and that honorable manner made people see him as a hero. Odysseus used deception while Gandhi used integrity, and their opposite dispositions differentiates them from each
other. Both Odysseus and Gandhi are heroes for they possess the trait of courage, but they differ because Odysseus misleads his foes while Gandhi acts on principle. Even though they have differences, society knows them to be the same because they are heroes. Odysseus and Gandhi have some similar traits and other traits that are completely different. Each society has had their own definition of a hero, and the current society can’t refute all of their ideas because some are shared. The overlapping traits are what society uses as the basis of what a hero is, and some of those basic characteristics come from ancient societies. Every heroic trait in history has been passed down through generations, some changing and others not, so heroes from the past who share traits with heroes in the present are still considered heroes today.
There are many different types of heroism that exist among the heroes of past and present. Heroism usually is thought of as battling and triumphing over an obstacle, or conquest of a fair-maiden’s love. But notice what this passage from the Mahabharata says about “The True Hero.”
The Hero’s Journey is never an easy one. This particular journey, as detailed in Homer’s The Odyssey, is one of struggle, loss, heartache, pain, growth and triumph. It is comprised of many steps that Odysseus has to overcome and battle through in order to achieve his final goal of reaching his home and his loved ones. From the Call to Adventure to the Freedom or Gift of living, Odysseus conquered them all. The story begins in the middle of the story, as many of the oral Greek traditions did, with the Journey of Telemachus to find his father. Although Telemachus has not yet met his father, it is almost as if they are journeying together, where the end of both of their journeys results in being reunited. Telemachus journeys from being a boy to becoming a man, while out in the sea Odysseus is battling Poseidon to return to the home that wife that he loves and the home he has left behind.
In “ The Odyssey ” by homer Odysseus goes on a journey to get home after twenty years the trojan war. The “ Hero’s Journey “ by Joseph Campbell represents the journey the hero's take on their journey as a hole in the story. The main parts of most stories include twelve parts to the hero's journey and some additional points.. The three parts of the hero's journey supernatural aid, test and supreme ordeal , and reward and journey home. These are some of the most important parts of the odyssey.
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The epic poem called The Odyssey, which was written by the poet Homer, is one of the many classical stories from Ancient Greek culture. It tells the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his journey back home from the war with Troy, which had occurred in Homer’s other epic Greek poem, The Illiad. Odysseus faces many trials and quests in his journey home and to take back his kingdom from the suitors, such as meeting the witch Circe, blinding a Cyclops named Polyphemus, dealing with Poseidon, and staying with the goddess Calypso. The poem has many themes that are relevant to it. One such theme is the factor of redemption. Redemption is usually a typical subject in any kind of religion, like the Greek religion and Christian religion. The story of Odysseus has an underlying message of him receiving redemption from the Greek gods. The Odyssey is a tale of redemption because it deals with Odysseus being forgiven by the gods after having to go through many trials and wrongs to rightfully claim back his wife and the throne of Ithaca.
People are heroes in different ways for different reasons. American soldiers are heroes because they fight boldly for their country. Corrie Ten Boom is also a hero because she took risks and saved hundreds of Jews. Abraham Lincoln is another example of a hero because he fought for what he thought was right and helped free all slaves. Similarly, Odysseus, the main character in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, possesses all of these characteristics and many more, making him a true epic hero.
The Odyssey demonstrates the formula for the hero’s journey created by Homer because it shows the hero, Odysseus, having all these stages occur to him. The Odyssey demonstrates the hero's ordeal. Shows the hero's road back. It also goes into detail about the about the hero’s resurrection. Without Homer creating the hero’s journey story structure, books and movies today would be much different.
“When we read stories of heroes, we identify with them. We take the journey with them. We see how the obstacles almost overcome them. We see how they grow as human beings or gain qualities or show great qualities of strength and courage and with them, we grow in some small way” (Sam Raimi). In movies, TV shows, novels, plays, epics, and other famous works we often see a common thread. A hero, a journey, a villain, obstacles, and finally a happy ending, ringing any bells? A heroic journey is a format and common style of writing that many authors use to tell a story. Heroic journeys have been around for centuries and will probably exist until the end of time. Although there are many various types of heroic journeys, one can probably come up with
In the Iliad there are many characters that could be considered heroic. But the two main characters that stand out as heroes to me are swift-footed Achilles and flashing-helmet Hector. Numerous times throughout the epic they display qualities and traits that are unsurpassed by anyone on their side. Many times throughout the epic Achilles and Hector are tested for their strength, and will to win in battle, which for both warriors always ends up positive because they always win their battles. Although both fighters are among the elite status in the armies, they each show human and god-like qualities that help them be as a fierce and feared as possible.
Walking into her boss’ office, my mom thought about what was to come. Is this really the best for my family? Will the pay difference be worth it? My mom strolled into her boss’s office, looked into his eyes, and quit. Sick of being yelled at and treated like an outsider, she moved from a private practice to Legal Aid where she could further impact the community. Even though this event may seem perfectly normal to most people, it nevertheless requires courage. While many people have different definitions of the word courage, dictionary.com believes it “is to do something difficult.” Even though the word does in fact have to do with overcoming a difficult situation, this definition is too broad. Many people believe that jumping off a cliff requires
Barbara De Angelis once said “we don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” When a person lives a life of difficulty and hardship someone is more likely to develop skills that a leisured life person won’t. Who is more likely to succeed by themselves? Is it the people who have been independent through tough times and found how to use their resources to solve their problems; Or a person who runs a drama free life where they always have help. In every hardship someone faces, they gain some courage each time, which helps overcome the next one. “The Odyssey,” by Homer is a poem about a man, Odysseus, who gains the courage to overcome many obstacles thrown at him while also
What is an epic hero? An epic hero can be described as a brave and noble character in a story, and can be easily identified if they follow the “Hero’s Journey”, an archetype that was built by the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. One character who follows the hero’s journey is Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling is a fantasy series about a young boy who learns early on in the story that he is a wizard and that he must overcome Lord Voldemort (the main antagonist in the story) in order to save the wizarding world from despair and destruction. Other characters that aide him in the journey are his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. J.K. Rowling did a fantastic job of making Harry Potter
Ever since I was kid I always dreamed of being a sports commentator, I saw they can go all around the country and call sports games for a living, what better job. To reach my goals is shall not give up and work hard to make it where I want to go in life. Odysseus’s decade long journey had many obstacles to get home but he overcame them to get back home to his family and his kingdom he left for the Trojan war. Odysseus had many problems on his journey, but he overcame them and so will I.
Fate is the idea of events developing outside of a person's control, usually by a supernatural power. In Greek mythology, usually, fate was decided by the Greek Gods, which meant that the decisions were out of the people's hands and it was imminent. Whether they liked it or not, their lives were out of their control. Since this was true, could you say that fate controls our lives? The idea of fate is that our lives are out of our control which means we already have a set of events destined to happen to us no matter what. In both the Iliad and the Odyssey, we can see fate play a role in the form of prophecies. Many times in many stories, especially those about ancient Greek mythology, there will be a prophecy which is the driving force and reasoning
In The Odyssey, Odysseus tells of his crazy adventures on his way home, and at his last stop before he arrived home, he had lost his ship and the many men alongside of him. He ended up telling his adventures to a man who offered him a ship, if Odysseus could give him some interesting stories to talk about. When reading these three adventures of the many he has had, you could relate, "The Lotus-Eaters", "The Sirens", and "The Cyclops", to life lessons you may or have already learned in modern day.