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Analysis of the character of iliad and odyssey
Analysis of the character of iliad and odyssey
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Opposed to that of common thought, superman is not the only type of character that fits the heroic persona. Although “superheroes” typically come to mind when one thinks of a hero, there are many other ordinary people capable of extraordinary things. A hero is a person who takes the initiative to set out on a journey of internal growth. During this symbolic journey, one truly finds himself and betters the lives of other mentally and physically. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus takes the path of heroism, resulting in the reborn spirit of a selfless, modest hero. During the process, Odysseus is faced with many challenges that he must overcome in order to earn the noble title. Odysseus proves himself to be a well-deserving hero because he is intelligent with his decisions, he displays cleverness, and he rids himself of hubris. Odysseus is faced with many obstacles in which he must make smart decisions. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus is frequently faced with hard decisions that he must make to benefit himself and his crew. One of the most difficult decisions that Odysseus is forced to make is the choice between crossing the path of Skylla or Kharybdis. On one hand, if they go to the side of Skylla, then six of Odysseus’s men are bound to be captured and eaten by the monster. On the other hand, if they go to the side of Kharybdis, than it is a lottery between losing all the crew members to a deathly whirlpool, or everyone making it out alive. In this case scenario, Odysseus chooses to cross the path of Skylla because it would be a better decision for the crew to sacrifice only six members than to threaten the lives of all the crew members. As guaranteed, six crew members were captured and eaten by the creatures... ... middle of paper ... ... come, in weariness before your knees, your waters? Here is your servant; lord, have mercy on me.” (V, 467-473). Not only does Odysseus prove that he rids himself of hubris, but he also displays the transformation he endured during his hero’s journey, therefore proving his nobility and worthiness of being a hero. Odysseus confirms his role as a hero because he puts thought into all of his choices, he is quick-witted, and he frees himself of excessive self pride. From sacrificing six of his own men to surrendering his self pride to the gods, Odysseus accepts the noble title and proves himself deserving of being a hero. He took on a journey in which he grew into himself and rid himself of the one thing that held him back all along; his hubris. At the end of the journey, Odysseus went from being a selfish, cocky leader to being a selfless, modest hero.
A true hero will go through immeasurable lengths to benefit not him or herself, but the people around them. Heroes are neither selfish nor uncaring. They seek every opportunity they get to help those in need. One must have also gone through the entire hero’s journey to be deemed a hero. He must start off naïve and inept and through his challenges, transform into someone worth calling a hero. Most importantly, a hero is not perfect. He must listen to other’s ideas and utilize them. However, in The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus disrespects his crew men and the gods’ advice, lets hubris interfere with his men’s lives, and is unfaithful to his wife Penelope.
Courage and bravery are two things that Odysseus has a lot of. This is evident when he defies the god Poseidon, telling him that he is unstoppable. Odysseus then gets back on his ship on starts to sail on Poseidon's waters back to Ithaca. Pride is good to have, but in Odysseus’s case, it’s a little too much. On the other hand, he does things that make him a great hero. When Circeturned his crew into animals, he climbed straight up a mountain, risking his life just to save his crew. He will do anything to get back to Ithaca and see his wife and son, no matter how crazy it is. He even goes into the underworld to speak to a prophet about how to get back to Ithaca. Being brave and courageous is all about being willing and able to go to the extremes to help or possibly save people or even a place in need.
A hero accepts who he is as an individual, but strives to change himself for the better. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, the main character Odysseus is a valiant king who embarks on a life-changing voyage. While traveling from Troy back to his home in Ithaka, King Odysseus overcomes daunting obstacles, and in doing so discovers his place in the world. Odysseus is truly a heroic figure because he demonstrates courage, improves his character, and wins the support of the gods.
Odysseus attribute of being a hero was displayed through his wit and strength in overcoming the obstacles that were placed before him, but he wasn’t putting his companions safety first. He was solely fixed on going back to his family, even though his family was already safe in the city. He also cheated on his wife when he arrived on the island hosting Calypso, this weakens his heroic claim
Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, “The greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may not be going to prove one's self a fool; the truest heroism is to resist the doubt; and the profoundest wisdom, to know when it ought to be resisted, and when it be obeyed”. The book, The Odyssey, written by Homer, explains about a man named Odysseus and his ten year journey home from the Trojan War. During his journey, he encounters new challenges such as battling mythical creatures and surviving the situations the gods and goddesses create. However in the end, he must prove himself worthy to the people of Ithaca and to his family. Considering this, Homer represents Odysseus as an epic hero multiple times. The author uses the element, leadership to develop Odysseus for his noble deeds. The author also describes him as being glorified, or worshipped by others. Therefore, Odysseus truly is an epic hero because of the descriptions Homer uses to describe Odysseus’s strategic acts in times of need and the growing inspiration everyone has for him.
To most people, a hero is a strong, brave person with an amazing costume. Heroes usually have super-powers and are constantly saving people. But it takes much more traits than this to be classified as an archetypal hero. Some characteristics of an archetypal hero are super-natural help, leaving on a journey in which the hero proves himself, a fatal flaw, and they are sometimes honored after death. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus shows many traits of an archetypal hero. Odysseus faces many obstacles and life-threatening situations but he overcomes them all. Odysseus is an archetypal hero because he has super-natural help, a fatal flaw and he overcomes obstacles throughout his journey by proving himself in order to reach his goal, which is getting home to Ithaca and to take control over his kingdom.
Odysseus, during his long journey, exhibited many heroic qualities including bravery, strength, and determination. He was determined to return to his family after hs journey, and he bravely fought to stay alive during the cyclope situation, as well as other situations, and showed strength by being able to battle the cyclopes in self-defense. However, Odysseus was also obnoxiously arrogant about his victory and was actually very selfish throughout his entire story; he almost did not leave his town to help with the war because he did not want to leave to protect his family. Although Odysseus exemplified heroic qualities, this does not make him a true hero.
The definition of a hero is unique for every individual; however there are several regulations that majority of individuals can agree on. A hero must exhibit traits such as humility, kindness, and courage. Once the candidate expresses hubris, displays cruelty, or retreats from a formidable challenge, he cannot be considered a hero. Lastly, a hero candidate must overcome challenges that defy the odds. He must deliver a gift to society that benefits society as a whole; such gifts can be freedom, liberty, or hope. Odysseus in The Odyssey, by Homer, fulfilled these requirements and rightfully earned the title of a hero. Odysseus is well deserving of the title hero because he has put the needs of others before his own, shown signs of courage in the face of adversity, and displays humility by ridding himself of his hubris.
Odysseus is a mortal man that is perfectly depicted as a realistic hero. Not everyone can make the right decision every time, which just gives his character some depth. Eventually everyone will mess up and they will just have to learn from it and move on. This is how Odysseus is triumphal in the
Heroes are found everywhere. They are seen in movies, on television, in books, and in reality. A hero can be anyone from a friend to a fictional character. To be considered a hero, one must make selfless sacrifices, develop and learn, overcome challenges and temptations, and ultimately present their known world with a gift of any kind. Homer’s The Odyssey paints a picture of the supposed savior Odysseus. The irony of Odysseus’ situation is that he really is not the marvelous hero that many who read The Odyssey see him to be. When imagining a great hero, the words of cruel, unfaithful, selfish, or careless never come to mind, but the son of Laertes sets examples for each attribute. Odysseus makes many poor decisions that cause his dislikable traits to highly outweigh his few better ones. Several of his more prominent characteristics are exhibited on numerous accounts. Odysseus cannot possibly earn the title of being a hero because he harbors hubris, he displays a lack of faith, and his self-centeredness causes unfortunate events.
The main character of the Odyssey, Odysseus the King of Ithaca is given a complex personality to an extent where it is hard to identify whether he is a true hero or not. True heroism is only achieved when a person achieves certain qualities that portray heroism. Odysseus is not a hero based on the standards of merciful, selfless, and gentle because of his actions of sacrificing his men, killing the suitors and being ruthless throughout the Odyssey. Along with many others qualities these three are helpful and necessary in a hero. A hero must be willing to do service for others and put the needs of others safety and protection before his own. Odysseus does not even come close to matching these qualities because he is a person, who only serves of himself, and he sacrifices his allies to achieve his goals and often he takes action ruthlessly.
What is the true definition of a hero? Is it someone who survives a series of difficult tasks on a journey which he did not want to go on in the first place? How about someone who endangers the lives of his crew because he is too self-absorbed to think of anyone other than himself, is that a hero? The correct answer is “no”, however despite this, modern literary scholars still believe that the character of Odysseus from Homer’s famous The Odyssey is in fact one of the greatest heroes that ever existed from Greek mythology. Although modern literary scholars of the Odyssey claim that Odysseus is a hero, further exploration of the character determines that Odysseus is ultimately, not a hero. This is because Odysseus only
A person will typically think a hero as one who is equipped with great strength or ability. But a hero is more than just being brave or strong. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus goes through many challenges and is faced with his biggest weakness: his hubris or excessive pride. Though, Odysseus earns the title of a hero because he exhibits courage, utilizes cunning, and overcomes his hubris.
The idea of a true hero is varied from person to person, because each viewpoint has a different idea of the personality that makes one a hero. There have been many fiction and non-fiction heroes that show different character traits, which influence people’s definitions of a hero. However, each person’s unique thought about a hero still focuses about one central idea: a hero must prove himself in order to earn his heroic status. This is the cornerstone of all the opinions about heroes because heroes have to show their heroism in order to become who they are in the end. At the beginning they are inexperienced, ordinary people who go on their adventures, and face their fears and weaknesses, but they develop greatly throughout these journeys. After comprehending what true heroism is and following it only then will they become heroes even though each of them has different traits. In the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus gains the title of hero during his journey back to Ithaka, from Troy, by proving to be one. It is through his characteristics and experiences that he becomes the well developed man at the end of the book. In truth, because of his confidence, loyalty, and difficult struggles, Odysseus becomes a genuine hero to the people he defended.
Not every person in the universe contains unshaken courage, or compassion, or diligence—but a hero does. He possesses the whole hearted allegiance and sacrifice that any average-day man could never acquire, along with the selfless devotion and fortitude that comes along. Those who encompass these reputable traits are to be deemed heroes, yet those who lack these should not. Likewise, in the epic poem The Odyssey written by Homer, the Greek leader Odysseus fails to meet the standards of a hero by not being able to comprise of the proper qualities. Odysseus’s traits of lacking leadership, hubris, and disloyalty solidifies him in not deserving the title of a hero.