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Critical essays major themes in the odyssey
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Odysseus portrays himself as anything but a hero throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus goes through his life believing he is the best. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and he believes nothing and no one can harm him, not even the gods. Odysseus feels he is always the leader and no one can tell him otherwise. Odysseus should not be considered a hero because he portrays himself as a selfish man that failed his crew, and is controlled by his hubris. Odysseus portrays his selfishness right as the book begins and this shows how truly incompetent of an individual he is. One form of selfishness Odysseys shows is adultery. He is unfaithful to Penelope many times throughout the book. He reveals this trait specifically when he is with Kalypso on Ogygia and with Kirke on Aiaia. Odysseus shows his selfishness when he steps foot on Kalypso’s island because he chooses to stay with her for seven years. He did not care about the crew’s feelings on the matter, since all’s he cared about was himself. By the time the seven years were up, the crew members finally realized they had to make Odysseus leave. These actions also make a liar out of Odysseus because he said he wanted to return home more than anything, yet he did not even make the slightest attempt to leave. On Aiaia, Odysseus was forced to sleep with Kirke to save his men from staying swine, but he still committed adultery. No matter what the reason, adultery is a choice that can be controlled. An additional negative quality Odysseus obtains is being self absorbed. This trait is seen when Odysseus traveled to the Land of the Dead. He shows his selfish qualities in this example because he travels there initially for his own benefit. Odysseus also has attendances to t... ... middle of paper ... ...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. Odysseus’ journey was without a doubt a long and grueling one. Odysseus may have saved Ithaka, but his actions throughout his journey lead me to believe otherwise. Odysseus is an unappreciative, self-centered, lazy, and selfish man that does not deserve the title as hero. He acts this way solely because of his hubris, and he maintains his pride throughout the story. Odysseus’ hubris is the reason why it takes him so long to return home.
... 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 has all the qualities made to be a true hero. Not only did Odysseus fight on behalf of the Greeks in Troy (Trojan War), but everything he went through he learned a valuable lesson at the end; Odysseus endured so much during his journey going back to Ithaca but he never gave up on any of his principles. He also had good escape strategies, and he risked his life to save others. Imagine you being on the same journey Odysseus went through, do you honestly believe you would have survived? He made some minor mistakes along the way but nobody’s perfect. That’s why Odysseus is a hero because, he’s strong, and intelligent and was able to get out of sticky situations.
Through temptation and torture, Odysseus never forgets that he must put others’ needs before his own desires. Like a hero, Odysseus has to sacrifice the options that benefit him in order to benefit his others. Specifically, Odysseus accepted the fact that he laid with Kirke in order to free his men from her spell. Though it went against all of his ethics and unfaithful to Penelope, Odysseus’s main objective was to return home with all of his crew alive. He illustrates his true loyalty to Penelope when he declines Kalypso’s offer of immortality. Odysseus immediately responded and refused Kalypso’s offer: “My lady goddess…come (Book V, 223-233).” Many individuals would not decline immortality, but he did not ponder over the thought of living for eternity. Odysseus made this decision based on his ethics and because of true love. Odysseus also makes ethical decisions to save people’s lives. For instance, ...
With the Odyssey, Odysseus learned a big lesson in humility. The greatest example of this is in the last five books or so within the story. He has to dress, act, and live like a beggar in order to regain everything he had lost. While he was a beggar, the suitors treated him horribly. Antinous, leader of the suitors, was the worst of them all. He was the first to mistreat Odysseus and planned to kill Telemachus. He was also the one that would abuse him physically and verbally for some time to come. Also, if that weren’t enough, he planned a boxing match for Odysseus to be in to watch him get beat up. All this was happening and the other suitors were most likely following their leader in whatever he was doing. Odysseus had to control himself the whole time this was happening. If he had lost his temper, the suitors would have killed him, his son, and most likely taken over the kingdom. That didn’t happen though. Odysseus learned self-control and humility. He may not be perfect at it, but going through all the humility made him a better man. Along the same topic, he was a king going through this humility. It would be one thing for a peasant to go through it, but a king? This made it even harder for Odysseus. He had rank above all the suitors and could rightly kick them out of his kingdom. Instead he waits for the right time and kills them all. The “pre-journey” Odysseus would of thought of himself invincible and probably would have died trying to get his kingdom back.
...s throne. Odysseus, even today, is considered a modern day hero; the adventures he experienced on his way to Ithaca were portrayed in unlike any other literature piece. However, like most heroes, Odysseus’ flaw was his hubristic attitude towards the gods, particularly in the beginning of Homer’s Odyssey. Some actions, especially against Poseidon, caused his trip to be delayed, but he eventually made it home, and will forever be with Penelope, like it was meant to be since the beginning, for the gods spared his life despite his acts of hubris.
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.
Odysseus: a hero in every way. He is a real man, skilled in the sports, handy with a sword and spear, and a master of war strategy. Most of the challenges and adventures in his return voyage from Troy show us this even if we had no idea of his great heroic stature and accomplishments in the Trojan war. I found in my reading of the Odyssey that most of the trials the gods place upon him are readily faced with heroic means. These challenges are not
...nd deceit, he respected and honored the gods, and he respected his crew as well. Odysseus proved himself a great man by becoming humble but still retaining the amazing qualities that he already had. Overall, Odysseus was a great man capable of many things. He would put his own life on the line to save someone else’s. Putting one’s life on the line to save someone else’s the ultimate sacrifice. It is one that not many people are willing to make. People in this world are selfish and do not want to give of themselves for others. Though Odysseus starts out this way, he certainly did not end up this way. By the end of the epic poem, Odysseus is the picture perfect person. Everyone hopes to achieve this status; by some it has already been done. As a result, the world becomes a better place, and with progressions such as these, it is becoming better every second.
In Book nine of the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus explains to us the events that happened at the land of the Cyclops. While finally escaping from the Polyphemus's cave after several days Odysseus manages to blind Polyphemus and escape to their ship with some of his flock of sheep. We learn in this passage that Odysseus is a hero with a monstrous amount of hubris that often leads to trouble. This is especially demonstrated when Odysseus calls out to Polyphemus to show off screaming, "You savage! But you got yours in the end. . . Zeus made you pay for it"(477-479). And this furthered Polyphemus anger toward Odysseus leading to a gigantic peak being thrown their way and pushing them back to land. This shows that Odysseus's pride causes major setbacks
Overall, Odysseus is a hero because Odysseus is a clever and intelligent man, he is a courageous soldier and leader, and he is loyal to his crew. He never gives up even though it seems like nothing will go right. Odysseus fights against difficult odds and takes unimaginable risks, but stays loyal to his crew one hundred percent of the way. Odysseus is not only a model hero, but he is an epic
Odysseus is not a hero based on the standards of merciful, selfless, and gentle. His actions against Polyphemus, the Suitors, and his men truly show that he is in fact the opposite of a hero. The actions he takes to return home safely and to get back his throne are very cruel and show signs that he lacks the nobility of being called a hero, or a king, or a warrior. He has shown that he powerful, destructive, and ruthless and these are qualities that a hero must not have. Odysseus, the mighty King of Ithaca is not a hero because he is not selfless, gentle, or merciful.
Odysseus finishes his journey but cannot be classified as a hero, because he has not successfully completed the hero’s journey. Odysseus starts off on a journey and ends the journey receiving his ultimate goal, but not without his many struggles. This is an aspect we today are most familiar with. In order to gain what we set our hearts to find, a struggle is assured. Although Odysseus did not become a hero and complete the hero’s journey, he achieved his objective and disposed of his obstacles using courage and intelligence, the key traits to his success.
In the odyssey, Odysseus is the main protagonist, the hero. But is odysseus really a hero? No, odysseus is not going on a quest to save the kingdom, he's just trying to get home to kill the suitors at the expense of the gods his crew and all the kingdoms he lands at. All his achievements were him deceiving others to help him, or it was Athena acting on his side to make him win.
Looking back, people will come to believe that Odysseus shows various traits of guidance and leadership which makes him an epic hero so far. On his twenty-year journey, he conquers many barriers no other man could. Being a hero doesn’t have to mean having superpowers and an audience but simply showing the characteristics that Odysseus expresses. Coming to a conclusion, he has grown as a hero throughout the story as a guarding and shrewd man even through times of
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