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Comparison between Achilles and Odyssey
Character analysis of Odyssey
Odysseus weaknesses
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Recommended: Comparison between Achilles and Odyssey
Odysseus was known as a brawny, brilliant and heroic figure, but those who knew him better knew that he is more than a hero. They knews that he could get curious at times and put everyone in danger. Also, Odysseus is willing to sacrifice almost anything to get what he wants. Along these twenty years trying to get home, he encountered a lot of monsters and gods that helped or made his journey challenging. Throughout these trials Odysseus strengths and weaknesses were exposed on his journey to get him on several different occasions.
One of the first monsters Odysseus and his men encounters is a Cyclops. They stopped on the island of Cyclops they were scavenging for food for their journey. While on the island Odysseus got curious about the caves and wanted to get a closer look. So Odysseus and a few of his men ran away from the boat to explore the caves. In the caves they came across a Cyclops named Polyphemus; son of Poseidon who trapped them in the cave. The Cyclops got hungry and ate a few men. Odysseus then comes up with a plan to blind Polyphemus with an
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After the Sirens, Circe suggests that they either cross Charybdis or Scylla. If they went across Scylla six men would die but if they were to come across Charybdis they would all die. This was a difficult decision for Odysseus since he didn’t want anymore men dying but finally decided to let Scylla eat six men without telling his men. When they come into view, Odysseus and his men see a dangerous whirlpool along with an eerie cave. As instructed, Odysseus sails towards the cave. His men are terrified, but they sail on. Then, Scylla strikes with her six-heads devouring six of Odysseus's men as all six dangle from its mouth cursing Odysseus. Luckily, the remaining men are safe. This shows that Odysseus still can make the smart decision even in nerve racking situations and can go against his strong will or fight the
The first bad decision that Odysseus made was poking Polyphemus’ eye out. Even though it was necessary to escape, poking the sea god’s son’s eye out is never a good idea. To make matters worse, Odysseus bragged about his accomplishment later to the cyclops. The only reason why it took Odysseus ten extra years to get home was because Poseidon was angry at him for severely injuring his son. Also, if Odysseus would not have revealed his name to the cyclops, Polyphemus would never have known who poked his eye out. In return, Polyphemus would never had told his father, Poseidon, that Odysseus injured him and that he should give him a hard time on his journey home. So, if Odysse...
Odysseus is an epic hero but at the same time he is also human. For example, he is cunning and heroic but he gives into temptation and is overly curious which gets him into trouble. Odysseus remained emotionally to Penelope so he needs a partner that is also faithful. Odysseus gives into the temptation of revenge when he rids of the suitors that were in his home.
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.
In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus must face many obstacles on his journey. He is only able to conquer them because of his wonderful qualities. He meets, a Cyclopes, Sirens, a six-headed monster, a regurgitating whirlpool, and a group of greedy, lovesick men. Some Odysseus's more important qualities are, determination, cunning, and protecting.
Throughout the whole book he is having his men go and do crazy things that make them risk, and some even lose, their lives. After Odysseus offends Poseidon by harming the cyclops he started taunting the cyclops. One of his men scream, “God Sake Captain! Why bait the beast again? Let him alone!” (493-494). This is showing that he was “baiting the beast” again and putting his men in even more danger after he just saved his life and all of theirs. Odysseus also puts his men in danger by not telling them about Scylla. He doesn’t tell his men that six of them are going to die. Odysseus says, “Voices came down on me in distinguish, calling my name for the last time,” ((820-821). This is showing that Odysseus just put his men in even more danger plus he isn’t fighting for his men. Odysseus was such a bad leader to his
After ignoring the Greek value respect for the body, Cyclops is tricked and blinded by Odysseus. Odysseus describes the monster when trapped in his cave: "in one stride he clutched at
In conclusion, Odysseus conveys the qualities of a true hero, He shows fortitude, bravery and he portrays qualities of management. Odysseus shows these qualities throughout the journey in which he faced many challenging people and places. However, Odysseus overcomes each and every one by having only one set goal: to get home. As long as he reached that goal, nothing could stop him. Like a true hero, Odysseus never lost these traits, no matter how bad of a mess he was in.
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...
“Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given,” (1.32-34) is a simple quote reminding us the entities in charge of all characters in the poem The Odyssey – the gods. Hubris, or excessive human pride, is most detested by the gods and likewise is most punishable by them. The Odyssey is a story about Odysseus and Telemachus, two heroes who throughout their adventures meet new people and face death many times. Telemachus goes to find his father after he learns from Athena that he is still alive. The two meet, and Odysseus attempts to go back to Ithaca after he was lost at sea, and on his way there becomes one of the most heroic characters in literature as we know it. Like all heroic characters, Odysseus began to display hubris as he learned how true of a hero he was. James Wyatt Cook, a historian and an expert on The Odyssey, wrote about how hubris can affect the characters that display it. He says, “Because Homer’s Odyssey is essentially comic, that episode [opened wind bag destroys ship] is only one of a series of setbacks Odysseus experiences before reaching his home in Ithaca and recovering his former kingdom and his family. Such, however, is not the case for those who display hubris with tragic outcomes.” (Cook 1) Initially, Odysseus learns about Aias who died as a cause of the excessive pride he portrays. Proteus warns Odysseus when he says, “…and Aias would have escaped doom, though Athena hated him, had he not gone widely mad and tossed outa word of defiance; for he said that in despite of the gods he escaped the great gulf of the sea, and Poseidon heard him…...
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 outweigh his few better ones. Several of his more prominent characteristics are exhibited on numerous accounts.
When Odysseus and his men realized they were trapped inside the cave, Odysseus was smart enough to realize that they would be trapped forever by the Cyclops boulder if they killed him. Not only is Odysseus smart enough to create a plan of escape by getting the Cyclops drunk but also stays calm and collected to trick the Cyclops into drinking the wine without arousing suspicion. As a result, they stab the Cyclops, blinding him. To hide his identity as king of Ithaca and to trick the neighboring Cyclops he gives a false name by saying, “My name is Nohbody: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls...
...s, a prophet, and Circe, a Nymph, that he would be the only one to survive the voyage home. First, Scylla takes and eats six of Odysseus’ men and after they stop on Helios’ Island, the men eat Helios’ cattle. He tries in every way he knows to keep his men alive, but they did not abstain themselves from eating the cattle, so they perish.
Homer portrays Odysseus as a physically adept, intelligent, and good with quick thinking in high pressure situations. He has the characteristics of a homeric leader showing courage, nobility, and strength. He is a good speaker and has no troubles winning over an audience. But there comes moments that proves his humanity where he acts in foolish measures. Sometimes Odysseus’s glory seeking self let him looking foolish. For example, in book 9 written as a flashback, Odysseus and his men come upon a cave full of sheep and crates of cheese and milk on the island of the Cyclops. His men suggest to grab the crates and leave, but he decides to stay and feast on their upcomings. When the Cyclops Polyphemus returns to its cave, it seems hostile at
...-evaluation and corrected himself by turning his life around so that he could be fully aware of what it means to be a hero. Even though he has different traits from different heroic people he still succeeded in proving himself, like all heroes do. Now he truly understands his place in the world, his purpose, and what he must do in the future as the main hero of his household. Journeys like Odysseus’s would influence people to think about a hero in a complete opposite way than stories about pure-hearted knights in shining armor because it shows a person’s mistakes and how he handles or copes with them while maturing overtime. Even though different traits can describe who is or who is not a hero Odysseus is beyond doubt a well-developed hero.
The first heroic characteristic of Odysseus is his cleverness. In The Odyssey, one of the instances where Odysseus displays cleverness is in his encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Polyphemus captures Odysseus and his men in the island Cyclopes, which was filled with other giants. Although it is expected among the Greeks to display hospitality to strangers, Polyphemus ends up eating some of Odysseus men. In order to escape the giant, Odysseus comes up with a clever plan. He offers Polyphemus wine in order to get the giant drunk. When the giant falls asleep, Odysseus stabs Polyphemus’ singular eye, blinding the giant. The giant naturally wakes up, and starts to try and recapture Odysseus and his men. Knowing that the giant’s shouting would most likely attract the attention of the other giants in the island, Odysseus replies to Polyphemus when the giant asks him his name that his name was “Noman.” But when Polyphemus shouts for help, none of the other giants come to his aid, since he is shouting “My friends, N...