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Odysseus shows that he has PTSD through re-experiencing and hyper arousal of emotions. During Odysseus’ travel home he experiences hyper arousal of emotions when he slaughters the suitors for merely nothing, as well as not being able to control his emotions or actions. “ How could he? In that revelry amid his throng of friends who would imagine a single foe---though a strong foe indeed---could dare to bring deaths pain on him and darkness on his eyes?”(955.240). “ Odysseus’ arrow hit him under the chin and punched up to the feathers through his throat.” (955.245). There was no struggle that had ensued beforehand and even though Odysseus had killed the suitor he had prominently thought against it the arrow had released suddenly and the thought
ended in death. Odysseus’ time at war has made him overly aware and reactive to virtually anything, almost as if he had never left the battlefield, or is possibly unable to.
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.
One of Odysseus's many qualities is determination. He remains determined throughout the entire saga to get back to his family. During Odysseus's Odyssey he encounters many obstacles, beast, god, and nature. Odysseus must get through all of these hardships before he can make it back to his family and home. On his way back Odysseus is next to Charybdis and she swallows his boat. He must holds on to the branches of a fig tree to survive, "But I clung grimly, thinking my mast and keel would come back to the surface when she spouted. And ah! How long, with what desiree, I waited! Till, at the twilight hour...the long poles at last reared from the sea"(12.560-64). Odysseus shows his determination to get home, because it would be easy for him to just let go and drown, but no Odysseus hangs on so he can see his wife again. Once he is at home he finds suitors at his house. Odysseus kills one of them and the others beg for mercy, ??Not for the whole treasure of your fathers, all you enjoy, lands, flocks, or any gold put up by others, would I hold my hand??(22.65-67). Odysseus is determined to get revenge on all of the suitors and he will not be satisfied until they are all dead. Without his strong will and determination Odysseus would not have made it through his trials. Although determination is a must for a journey such as Odysseus?s cunning is also just as essential.
Some of these are brought out in different situations, both positive and negative, such as Menaleus's mention of his father, which caused a sudden out-burst of tears, and the proud and accomplished feeling he received from leaving Sparta.. Odysseus's situation was only slightly different. He, like Telemachos had his worries about family-life, and his kingdom at stake, but also had concerns about his wife, possibly triggered by the mention of Agamemnon's by Proteus, who was killed by the hands of his own wife.
Being the king of Troy, having depression would be terrible. Odysseus might try to commit suicide, because of PTSD and all the overwhelming responsibilities of being king again. In the article, The Odyssey and PTSD, it said, “He withstands the ruinous song of the Sirens, who long to lure him to his death” (Dominic, 3). The sirens are another metaphor, but they are for suicide when the soldiers just can’t handle the punishment of war anymore. In the story, Odysseus commands his crew to tie him to the ship’s mast so he can’t jump overboard. This is interesting because he already knew that they would run into the sirens and told his crew to put cotton in their ears, so they would not hear the sirens dangerous song. Depression could also make you very anger at times, sometimes even at small inconveniences. In Stress on Troops Adds to U.S. Hurdles in Iraq it stated, “built-up anger resulting from combat stress increased the likelihood that the troops would lash out on civilians” (Carey, 3). Odysseus needs to keep his people under control, and if he hits a civilian there would be riots. They would say Odysseus is not fit for king if he can’t control himself. All his anger would not allow him to make decisions clearly for his kingdom or his self. Along the way, Odysseus had to make crucial choices most of them ending up with some of his men dead. Dr. Morgan said, “you quickly get to a point where the only thing that’s
One of the most notable epic poems, The Odyssey is a story about a hero and his return home from the war in Troy. On his way, many challenges are presented into his path and as a result, the tone throughout the story will make drastic shifts. Despite the many contrasting trials, certain tones are recurring and will emerge in various scenes, regardless of how diverse the threat is. One of the prevailing tones in part one is desperation. When Odysseus and his men were trapped by the cyclopes, the crew was desperate to get out alive and to not be devoured. Later in the expedition the ship is nearing Ithaca, with the land in sight, and some of the crew members open Odysseus bag of winds, thus blowing the ship back out to sea. Everyone is desperately
One of the most important traits displayed by Odysseus is his courage. Throughout his journey he has courage when fighting off monster,Gods, and other mythical things. One example of this is near the end of the story when he is about to fight off the suitors. He decided to fight off all of the suitors with mostly just his son. For him to kill of all the suitors just to get his house back is very courageous.Right before he attacks them all, he strings his bow and takes aim at Antonis, then shoots an arrow through his throat ”Odysseus’ arrow hit him under the chin and punched up to the feathers through his throat. Backward and down he went, letting
Odysseus’ character is challenged in many ways throughout books 5 through 12. In some instances he holds strong, and in others he fails. His sense of adventure sometimes overwhelms him. The length of time Odysseus spends away from Ithaka also dilutes his desire to return, and possibly dilutes his desire to live. Under certain circumstances, any man can succumb to the evils to which he despises. A perfect example is Akhilleus in the Iliad. He started out an honorable man. With the death of his friend, he turns into a maniac who wants nothing but death for the enemy. Odysseus starts out wanting nothing but to return to his family and his homeland. Over the course of the many years away, this feeling dwindles and he is left with nothing but adventure to prolong his reason for living.
Odysseus is a hero because he acts courageously while facing the many challenges he encounters. Odysseus’s shows great bravery when he engages in physical challenges. Odysseus daringly fights against the suitors, while significantly outnumbered: “For I must tell you this is no affair / of ten or even twice ten men, but scores, throngs of them” (XVI, 291 – 293). Even though Odysseus is facing hundreds of men, his bravery keeps him confident that he can win the battle. Odysseus must use his physical strength when Poseidon punishes him with turbulent waves: “Odysseus’s knees grew slack, his heart / sickened, and he said within himself / Rag of man that I am, is this the end of me?” (V, 307 – 309). Odysseus is exhausted from the torrential sea, yet refuses to give up because of enormous courage and his unwillingness to surrender. Odysseus must also cope with emotional challenges throughout his journey. His emotions are tested when he ventures to the underworld, Hades, and must confront his greatest fear, death: “From every side they came and sought the pit / with rustling cries; and I grew sick with fear. / But presently I gave command to my officers” (XI, 45 -47). Although Odysseus is deeply fearful when he comes face to face with the dead, his mental f...
In Book X of The Odyssey, Odysseus is still telling the Phaeacians about his long journey. There he is picking up the part where he stayed on the island where, “Aeolus hosted [him] one entire month” (Fagles 231). While leaving this island, Aeolus gifted Odysseus with a sack of wind, to make his way back home. While on the ship for nine days and nights, one the tenth night, Odysseus became sleepy, so he slept. While sleeping, his crew mates became aware of the sack that Aeolus gave him thinking it was a treasure, Odysseus was holding out on them. So with all the crewmates curiosity, “they loosed the sack and all the winds burst out” (Fagles 232). Odysseus suddenly woke up, while the winds blew the ship back to Aeolus’s island. Aeolus justifies that the immortals hate Odysseus because of this bad misfortune.
The Character Odysseus in Odyssey "Odyssey" is an epic story that has been a significant piece of literature since it was first composed and will remain so for ages to come. One of the reasons it has been so is because of the hero, Odysseus. Odysseus was one of the first Greek mythic heroes renowned for his brain as well as his muscles. Indeed he is a man with an inquiring mind, and he is also a man with outstanding prowess and bravery" (123helpme.com/assets/3603.html). "We also must not forget that he is a top-notch athlete which only adds more to this seemingly insuperable character.
... (XI, 225-227). Odysseus’ self-centeredness caused emotional and physical harm to those he cares about, preventing his ability to become a hero.
What do gods, soldiers, and a one-eyed man all have in common? They are all in the Odyssey by Homer. In the Odyssey, Homer uses Odysseus’s journey to show how one’s journey can define them as a person. This essay will show, whomever may read this, how Odysseus is loyal, witty, and violent.
Secondly, Odysseus has great self-control, which allows him to deeply contemplate his decisions. Moments before Odysseus falls asleep, he spots a “covey of women laughing as they [slip] out…to the suitors’ beds” (Homer 375). Seeing this, Odysseus is angered and wants to kill every one of the suitors right then and there. But Odysseus retains his self-control and does not strike yet. At that moment, if he did strike, he would have lost because he would not have been prepared. He retains all his anger for the final battle with the suitors. In that battle, Odysseus is fully prepared and ready to fight, resulting in all the suitors’ deaths. Next, when Antinoos throws a footstool at Odysseus, “Odysseus only [shakes] his head, containing thoughts of bloody work” (Homer 326).
There where several parts of The Odyssey that lead me to choosing my topic, but there were two specific pieces that were the most influential. The first was in Book 9 when Odysseus seemed to have completely lost control, “Again I began to taunt the Cyclops-- men around me trying to check me, calm me,” (Homer, 226-227). This was really the first major pert that showed me something had changed about Odysseus due to the war. Many PTSD victims can get caught up in the moment of things not even remotely related to their trauma yet they still lose control and do things they wouldn’t have done originally. The next part that showed me PTSD in The Odyssey and lead me to choosing my topic was when Odysseus and his son reunite at last after 20 years and Odysseus did something he didn’t tend to do before he
Odysseus from Homer’s The Odyssey is a man with many strengths, but not without faults. One of Odysseus’ biggest faults is his pride or hubris. Throughout the story, Odysseus’ pride gets him into a lot of trouble, but pride isn’t always a bad thing… Without pride, everyone would just be completely self conscious and paranoid. Odysseus’ pride in particular in The Odyssey seems to act in a way closer to the bad side. It appears to get him into a lot of trouble, but is that really pride? Odysseus’s pride could also be looked at more as a helpful quality, because helps him accomplish what needs to be done.