Odysseus Quest For Survival In Homer's The Odyssey

Homer's "The Odyssey"is an epic to the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, Odysseus, who spent ten years surviving horrific dangers to return to his beloved wife and his leaderless kingdom. In his adventures Odysseus had to apply brains and brawns to survive which raises the question: What skills are needed to become a survivor and hero like Odysseus? It all comes down to the mindset of a survivor. Odysseus used hope, sacrifice, and perseverance to return to Ithaca. These essential parts of his survival can be applied to anyone's survival.

In regard to survival, hope illustrates a feeling of desire and expectation for a certain thing, survival in this instance. Hyeonseo Lee, a North Korean refugee, had lost all hope after trying so

hard to get her family to freedom and had no willpower left to get them free (Lee). Hyeonseo's family had been caught and jailed for illegal border crossing in Laos on their way to South Korea. She didn't have enough money to bribe or pay the fine to free them. Hope can be characterized in survival as a driving force through belief of the better outcome, survival over death. Hope is important to survival because once you lose hope you are but a shell of your former self, a ghost that could've survived but lost. If you lose any hope for survival then there is a one-hundred percent chance of death. Hope is fickle in survival and that's why its so key because once you lose hope, you won't survive.

Hope additionally coincides with sacrifice and certaintly illustrates what needs to be done to ultimately reach survival.

You give up something of importance or value out of hope for survival. Aron Rolston, an American hiker and climber is a true example of a sacrifice for survival. Aron Rolston was trapped and almost certaintly was going to die he "...amputated his right hand then rappeled to freedom..." to survive (Benonist). Rolston had gotten trapped in a canyon when a boulder shifted and pinned his right hand against the rockface. Rolston had been fighting dehydration and hypothermia and knew he had to escape somehow to live. By taking the sacrifice of his right hand he escaped and survived. Sacrifice is so crutial to his and anyone's survival because more often than not, survival takes risk and chance; in other words you have to be prepared to give something up for the bigger picture. You have to give something to get something in life and survival is on different. Even if it means losing a limb or just a night of sleep sacrifice is critical aspect of

survival.

Regardless if sacrifice is required in specific survival situations, perserverance is noteably vital to survival.

In Aron Rolston's interview with Michael Benodist he states, "I feel like I'm climbing as well, if not better than ever." Aron showed perseverance to his goal of ont just surviving his climbing ordeal, but also moving on and sticking to climbing as his passion instead of his newfound taboo. This is just as significant in relation to survival because you need to pursue the goal of making it out alive constantly despite hardship or difficulty. Another example of perseverance is the everyday struggle of work and school that takes a survivor with perseverance to live and function everyday lives. When you show true perseverance to survive, a true devotion, nothing can stop you from

succeeding.

Survival depends on a mindset fixated on hope, sacrifice, and perseverance. While it seems like these principles can only be applied to survival it also works in regular life. Hope helps anyone get through challenging or rough days. Sometimes you need to sacrifice a couple hours of sleep or a portion of money to sustain your livelihood; and you need perseverance to keep on going even if there are complications or setbacks or just general annoyances. The list is endless for what these characteristics apply to. Just know, by using them you are on par with heroic survivors like Odysseus or Hyeonseo Lee or Aron Rolston, a true survivor.