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What classifies a person or character to be a hero
What classifies a person or character to be a hero
What makes someone a hero
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A hero is someone people want their kids to look up to. A hero is a role model. In order to become a hero you must have the necessary honorable character traits. Some of these traits would be humility, respectfulness, and loyalty. Though Odysseus is liked by many, he has many flaws which prove he is not a hero. A great trait of a hero is loyalty. Odysseus must not understand the concept of loyalty because he does not show in his actions this trait. One event which shows Odysseus loyalty is when he stays with Calypso for seven years. Odysseus did not remain faithful to his wife while he was away from home. Another occasion when Odysseus is not loyal to Penelope is when he stays for quite some time with Circe because she gives him many …show more content…
Odysseus does not know how to respect people. In Book Nine of The Odyssey, Homer writes, "My men were mutinous, fools, on stores of wine". Odysseus is talking to King Alcinous court calling his men fools and drunkards. This is not a great display of respect. When Odysseus finds out he will be the only person to survive the journey home from Teiresias, he doesn't tell his men. He doesn't even respect them enough to try and find another way home which could cause less deaths. Odysseus doesn't even respect his wife, Penelope. He stays with other women for years at a time and doesn't try to find his way home. He doesn't have the will power to do so, as a result he can't respect Penelope. All of this mean Odysseus is trying to make him self look better and "be a hero" by putting others down and doing things his own …show more content…
The role model for society should not be someone with a big head. Odysseus is quite the self centered. Odysseus comes home, and after killing the suitors, he receives a test of sorts from Penelope to prove he is Odysseus. She wants to move his bed, though he knows the bed is carved out of a tree. He then realizes this is their sign and boasts to his wife saying he is the only one who could have made it or removed it from it's place. Earlier in the story Odysseus tries to come together with the remaining crew. Though in doing so, he brags about his success. "Did I not keep my nerve, use my smartness to find a way out for us". He seems to think it was just by the sole operations of himself they escaped the Cyclops. Odysseus and his crew encountered a Cyclops on their journey home. They manage to escape the clutches of the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Once aboard their ship, almost out of harms way, Odysseus chooses to call back to anger Polyphemus. After his achievement, Polyphemus throws the rock and narrowly misses the ship. After the crew protests, Odysseus shouts back again. Polyphemus gets the final word by asking his father, Poseidon, god of the sea, to give them a long and terrible journey
In the story The Odyssey, Odysseus showed many traits. I believe the most important trait he showed was loyalty. He showed it in multiple situations. Odysseus showed loyalty when dealing with the sirens, the louts eaters, and the cyclops.
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, of Homer's Odyssey, is an appropriate hero and ruler of Ithaca. He does not act irrationally but contemplates his actions and their implications. Odysseus is an appropriate hero because he embodies the values of bravery, intelligence, astuteness, and competency. Odysseus is an appropriate ruler for Ithaca by virtue of his hereditary right to kingship as well as his diplomatic skills, familiarity with his male subjects, discipline, and his impartiality and compassion. However, he is a character that does make a foolish decision. There is a rare instance when his pride supersedes his intellectual ability.
In that regard, it was no wonder Odysseus’s is such an atrocious leader. A great example of Odysseus being disloyal is on Calypso’s Island. “…He lay with her each night, for she compelled him.” (892) This quote shows how Odysseus is disloyal to his grieving wife, and sleeps with a goddess daily. A leader cannot expect loyalty when the leader is notorious for being unloyal. “Now Circe, ‘loveliest of all immortals,’ persuades Odysseus to stay with her.” (903) This is another quote that shows Odysseus cheating on his wife, while his wife is at home is at home distraught over her missing husband. A great leader leads by example. By that philosophy, it should not be expected of Odysseus’s men to be loyal to him, when Odysseus cannot stay faithful to his own wife. Consequently, Odysseus is also extremely selfish, on top of being incredibly
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.
man who did not let any mortal man, god, or goddess stand in his way
In Homer’s The Odyssey, the character of Odysseus is renowned as a noble epic hero. However, is Odysseus’ reputation truly justified by his intellect and cunning? Is he truly one “who for all craft am noted among men, and my renown reaches to heaven” (80)? Or is he, as a mortal man, also susceptible to the temptation of pride and boastfulness? Nevertheless, while Odysseus shows instances of rashness and naivety during his journey, such as lingering in the cyclops’ cave and revealing his name to Polyphemus, he evidently matures as a character and epic hero throughout the journey, such as when he disguises himself when he returns to Ithaca and when he devises a plan to defeat the suitors. While the argument may be over whether Odysseus is a true
The question has been raised as to whether or not Odysseus, the hero of Homers The Odyssey, is an epic hero. An epic Hero portrays many classic properties, including being very strong and courageous. Odysseus is an epic hero, because he portrays many of these and other traits, such as having a goal that is foremost in his mind, and having descended into the underworld.
To begin, one feature that makes Odysseus and epic hero is his intelligence. In order for him to have survived through his journey, he has to have a massive amount of intellect. To have survived a Cyclops is an accomplishment of its own. His ability to think on his feet and to plan situations and ability to make a right decision in horrid environments has helped him survive throughout his disastrous journey. When he is trapped by the Cyclops, Polyphemus, he has to carve, smooth, and sharpen a gigantic spear-shaped-pole out of a large tree that he and his strongest men would then use it on the Cyclops to blind it. In order to follow through with his plan, Odysseus has to sedate him. He gives Polyphemus an extremely strong wine, in which Polyphemus asks him his name. Odysseus replies: “My name is Nohbdy; mother, father, friends, everyone call me Nohbdy”(9.274-9.275) When the Cyclops passes out, Odysseus and four of his strongest men stab Polyphemus in his eye with the sharpened pole that he and his men ...
One of Odysseus' heroic qualities was wisdom. He used his wisdom and experience of a leader through both battle and expeditions. When he would arrive at foreign lands, he would only send a few members of his crew for exploration. He did this to be able to explore the land without losing all of his crew members. Several times he lost crew members on expeditions, “[...] We followed your orders… My men gave out a shout to attract her attention. In a moment she came out, opened the polished doors, and invited us in. Not knowing better, my men followed her into the house in a body. But I stayed where I was, for I thought it might be a trap. And now the whole party have vanished. Not a single man showed up [...] (162). Maintaining people with him showed a sense of wisdom and experience that comes from a true hero, a true leader. Another example of his wisdom was his failure to inform his crew about Charybdis and Scylla. If he did tell them, his crew ...
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.
Odysseus tried his best in Books 19-20 to keep his identity a secret from Penelope, his wife, because his goal was to conquer the suitors with the help of his son, Telemachus. He wanted to face Penelope when he dealt with all of his problems in his house. Odysseus wanted to show Penelope when he was ready and he was also testing Penelope’s faithfulness in a way. He is a still hero because he is not sure if he can trust Penelope and he knows he needs to protect his home from the suitors
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.
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
What qualities does a hero have? Is it someone who inspires us, or someone who you simply admire? A hero to me is someone who is brave, a leader, intelligent, and strong. A hero has to be able to sacrifice himself for others. A hero is someone who doesn’t look down on others, but someone who encourages others to look up to them. Odysseus, man of many wiles, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, Son of Laertes and Anticlea has all the qualities of a hero, but also has some flaws. Odysseus seems to be more than the average person, therefore he is an average person with a mixture of good and bad qualities. Intelligence, and strength, are both great traits that describe Odysseus, and his weaknesses are his pride, sensuality, lack of leadership, and temptation.