People learn lessons every day. They can either learn them the easy way, or they can learn them the hard way. Homer documented Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca in The Odyssey. In this journey, Odysseus learns several life lessons that applied to our lives.
At one time in our lives, Odysseus and I have learned how vital using self-control can be. When Odysseus wanted to listen to the Sirens after the goddess Circe told him he shouldn’t, that was a lack of self-control on his part. Consequently, in order to not stray toward the Siren’s beautiful island, he needed to be tied to the mast of his ship. His crew literally restrained him and held him down so he wouldn’t disentangle himself. Due to the beeswax in their ears, the crew was unaffected by the Siren’s lovely tune. Odysseus also had to use self-control when he ventured to Lord Helios’ island, where the best cows in the world resided. After specific instruction of not to travel that way, what happened? Of course, he sailed there. All of Odysseus’ men greedily feasted on the cows; however, Odysseus did not. He displayed an example of self-control. Zeus looked down upon the men who ate the cattle with pity, and struck their ship with a lightning bolt. The powerful blast exterminated every single man but Odysseus; therefore, making Polyphemus’ prayer against Odysseus to Poseidon come true. I have also learned to use self-control. When I am performing poorly in sports, I sometimes want to lash out and blame my mediocre performance on others, or just quit and walk out. But I know that if I keep my head up, things will come around; it’s just hard to realize it at the time. Last summer, I was playing terribly in a golf tournament. In fact, my performance was so humiliating I ...
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... had to trick my three-year-old cousin into eating. Occasionally he is very stubborn and refuses to eat, so I say something like, “Hey Zach! If you eat these grapes, guess what will happen?” That automatically gets his attention, so then I continue, “If you eat all of your grapes, you’ll become a superhero!” The next thing I know, I glance over at his plate, and it was empty, like a magic act had made the grapes disappear. It isn’t the most ideal way to have a toddler eat, but I’m satisfied as long as it works. Both Odysseus and I have definitely learned this lesson through example, along with the other two as well.
Odysseus and I have learned life lessons that are difficult to forget. It is much simpler and less infuriating to learn them the easy way, yet sadly that can’t always be the case. People make mistakes each day, but everyone gains a lesson from it.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus portrays an important trait to the story, perseverance. His perseverance really stands out as something that he has and always will have. On his long journey home, he never gives up and just stays where he is, no matter how tempting. He always manages to push through and keep getting closer to his goal of returning home. An example of when he does this is when he is faced with the challenge of getting past Skylla and Kharybdis. He knows that either path will kill at least some of his men and possibly him, but he knows he has to keep going. "And all this time,/ in travail, sobbing, gaining on the current,/ we rowed into the strait---Skylla to port/ and on our starboard beam Kharybdis, dire/ gorge of the salt sea tide." (Homer, 12. 301-305). In O Brother, Where Art Thou, Everett also showed his perseverance. While trying to get back to his wife, he also faces many obstacles that he must get through. There were many people and things keeping him from where he was going, but he pushed through and got there anyway. His greatest obstacle to get through was when he came upon the sirens. He went down to the river and the sirens got the men drunk enough to fall asleep. While asleep, Pete was turned in by the sirens, but the other men hadn't been turned in yet. They woke up and were forced to get out of there as fast as they could with a frog they thought was Pete. Delmar wanted to stay and try to change Pete back but Everett told him they needed to persevere and keep going, and they did. Another trait that both of these men show in their stories is their cleverness. Odysseus show...
Although some could possibly call Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s The Odyssey, a great leader, the fact that he fails to earn his men’s respect, endangers his men’s lives repeatedly and allows them to die due to his own selfishness states otherwise.
This persuasion technique, established in the opening, continues throughout the tale. Odysseus states at one point his “fame reaches to heaven” (303). At another time, speaking of Aeaea whom he calls guileful, he says “could never persuade the heart within my breast” (305). As established earlier the ability to beguile reflects the aptitude of eloquence, therefore his resistance to it build his credibility for not only creating a persuasive message but for rejecting one as well. Odysseus also uses his relationship with another respected individual to build upon his foundation of ethos even more by stating all the gifts he was given by Maro, he expounds
In the Hero’s journey, The Odyssey, the main protagonist, Odysseus, changes in a way which helps him gain self-knowledge. Odysseus ' experiences transformed his personality from how he was in the beginning to the end, by leading him through a heroic journey, also known as a quest. The real reason for a quest never involves the stated reason, and this is no different with Odysseus. As the story developed, many of Odysseus’ sides were exposed through the challenges he faced. Out of the countless dangers and obstacles every step back home, him and his crew have only acquired minimal character changes. Even though they are minimal, they are those which take many decades to achieve.
One of Odysseus's biggest challenges was to resist temptation. The first temptation Odysseus and his men encountered was the sweet lotos plant, "They fell in, soon enough, with Lotos Eaters, who showed no will to do us harm, only offering the sweet Lotos to out friends..." (IX. 98-100). Eating the plant did not seem like a bad idea, but resisting was a much wiser option, ."..but those who ate this honeyed plant, the Lotos, never cared to report, nor return: they longed to stay forever, browsing on that native bloom, forgetful of their homeland" (IX. 101-104). If they had eaten the plant, they never would have gotten home. Another great temptation they had to withstand was the Seirênês. The Seirênês would tempt the men to them with their beauty and music, "Square in your ship's path are Seirênês, crying beauty to bewitch men coasting by..." (XII. 101-104). If men did not resist, they would fall into the Seirênês' clutches and die, "Woe to the innocent who hears that sound! He will not see his lady nor his children in joy, crowding about him, home from sea; the Seirênês will sing his mind away on their sweet meadow lolling..." (XII. 50-54). The biggest temptation that Odysseus had to defy was from the sea nymph, Kalypso, "I fed him, loved, him, sang that he should not die or grow old ever, in all the days to come" (V. 1420143). Kalypso wanted to have Odysseus as her husband, but all he could think of was home, "Meanwhile he lives and grieves upon that island in thralldom to the nymph; he cannot stir, cannot fare homeward..." (V. 15-17). Odysseus resisted, and was not completely unfaithful to his wife. If he had not resisted temptation, he would have been on the island of the Lotos Eaters, dead, or without a wife.
Temptations that Odysseus faced reflects experiences that happened in my own life. Every Time a person enters my home, I make them feel welcomed and not uncomfortable. This connects with the Odyssey because hospitality is a good policy I go by. “It is our luck to come here; here we stand beholden for your help, or any gifts you give as custom is to honor strangers.” (Homer 9.170-72) Basically, you should have good behavior to your peers. After this, obstacles are what you can overcome.
Whether directly or indirectly, the use of cunning to disguise and deceive and to overcome displays of strength, aids in Odysseus' return home. In book one, Athena inspires Telemachus under the guise of a mortal man, in an example of indirect aid to Odysseus. Telemachus lacks the maturity to fend off the suitors that are plaguing his household and trying to wed his mother. This is seen in this quote from line 133 of book one:
In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus’ heroic deeds are recounted through a narrative, written by Homer, that describes his arduous journey of his return from the Trojan war to his homeland of Ithaca. Loyalty, patience, and determination, are necessary traits to survive the perilous, painstaking journey that Odysseus embarks upon to return to his native land. Loyalty is exhibited when Odysseus goes to rescue his crewmen on Kirke’s Island despite the probability of jeopardizing his own life. Odysseus presents patience throughout the entirety of his journey, but most specifically when his crew opens the bag of wind, which causes much regression on the embark homeward. Determination is displayed when Odysseus is on Calypso’s island.
Odysseus struggles with self discipline many times during the odyssey. One example of this is when fleeing cyclops island after barley escaping from right underneath the cyclops. " O Cyclops! Would you feast on my companions? Puny, am I, in a Caveman's hands? How do you like the beating that we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!"(Lines 383-389). This is
In Homer’s Odyssey Odysseus shows his yearning for adventure and that challenging himself brings him happiness through his actions not his thoughts. Even in the clutches of a raging cyclopes Odysseus’ accepts the challenge at hand and persevere through the loss of some of his men. “My name is Nohbdy,” he tells Polyphemus who is drunk from the liquor Odysseus had given him before. The giant “reeled and tumbled backward,”. He son fell asleep and the next stages of his plan fell into place. When the sharpened log was hot enough for his liking he and a few other men “bored that great eye socket,”(380). Instead of letting his men die while he cracked under the pressure Odysseus remained calm and allowed himself to think. Having achieved his goal of defeating the mighty cyclopes he rejoiced in his valiancy. Odysseus exuded happiness when most of his men got out alive. Odysseus’ habits of getting his men into seemingly inescapable predicaments continues on the island of Cersei. At the gate of the witch’s island his need for adventure takes the best of his judgement. Against the advice of Eurylochus Odysseus “rushes to save his men from the enchantress,” (387). Odysseus’ need for thrill and excitement draws him onto the island. He knows that he will suffer the same fate but makes a decision in the heat of the moment that could've made him unable to return home, but he wasn’t thinking of home, he purely wanted to get his men back. Throughout his journey Odysseus perfectly represents the bond between a man’s adventures and the challenges they bring to
Odysseus is a wise and strategic man who becomes a better person because of the lessons he learns on his journey. Odysseus learns to have hope and he learns not to have so much pride in himself. He also learns that people cannot change their fate, and that years of grieving can create a hard heart.It is hard for people to enjoy their goals in life if they do not think about the journey they took to get to where they are in life. After all, people learn a lot on the journeys they venture through and become stronger people from them.
On our journeys we all must resist, or give into, temptations that may hinder our ascent to our goal. All people give into temptation at least once in their lives. One time that Odysseus gave into temptation was when he listened to the Sirens’ songs. We don’t always collapse into temptation, like when Odysseus wanted so badly to kill the suitors but forced himself to wait for the right time. Another time Odysseus defied temptation was when he refused to reveal himself to the people but ceased expose himself until he felt it was the right time. Temptation is not the only thing to obstruct our expedition.
Socrates, a Greek philosopher stated, "Look death in the face with joyful hope, and consider this a lasting truth: the righteous man has nothing to fear, neither in life, nor in death, and the Gods will not forsake him” (Socrates). This explains the basis for Greek beliefs that can be carried over to values and qualities of them. As in this, Homer, the author of The Odyssey, portrays many Greek values that make up a righteous man or as, Homer’s character Odysseus, an epic hero. The Odyssey is the story of King Odysseus' return from the Trojan War to his kingdom of Ithaca. Stories, like The Odyssey, are told with the intent of delivering a message that was important to their culture. Through characters and situations, The Odyssey promotes and emphasizes many important ancient Greek values such as hospitality, pride, and fate.
...ith the help of sorrowful experiences. Odysseus had to face the sight of watching his dog, Argos, die. This made Odysseus take things into perspective, and appreciate things more. Also, Odysseus lost some of his hubris when he found out what had been happening to his wife. She has been taken advantage of my the suitors, and almost got remarried. This also made Odysseus realize how good he had it before his whole journey occurred.
The challenges that Homer give the protagonist is all a test of character. Odysseus continues to pass the obstacles with flying colors, but his arrogance is the one flaw that is in dire need of correction. Some of the many challenges Odysseus overcomes on his voyage home is defeating the Cicones, surviving the Island of the Lotus Eaters, outsmarting the Giant Cyclops, saving his men from Circe, Traveling to Hades, passing between Scylla and Charybdis, escaping Calypsos’ Island and many more. Odysseus survives these obstacles and uses his smarts to escape near disaster. Often times he was the only one to survive these things and his crew often lost their lives due to their own stupidity. “‘We left the island and resumed our journey in a state of gloom; and the heart was taken out of my men by the wearisome rowing. But was our own stupidity that had deprived us of the wind.’”(P127 L75-79) Odysseus shows how he is an extraordinary man by being much smarter than his crew and the men that follow him. As a part of this stripping of Odysseus, Homer shows that Odysseus is a collective symbol of Everyman. On the one hand Odysseus is a great warrior, who is extremely intelligent, noble, and a great man. Although he has many god- like qualities he is still human. He shows that he is human and like every man, because of the fact that he still has major flaws. The