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Analysis essays on the odyssey
Odysseus fate in the odyssey
Analysis essays on the odyssey
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Ever since the beginning of time men and women have told countless stories of adventure, discovery, and conquest. These stories often divulge the grand adventures of epic heroes. An epic hero is someone with abundant importance whose actions involve perilous journeys and marvelous warrior skills in war or battle (Abram). In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus, the king of the great island of Ithaca, is called to fight alongside the Greeks in the Trojan War. The Greeks defeated the Trojans with the help of clever Odysseus’ Trojan horse. Odysseus qualifies as an epic hero because, like all epic heroes, Odysseus undertakes a long, dangerous journey, demonstrates his extraordinary speaking skills by speaking to countless friends and enemies with confidence, and by encountering divine or supernatural forces and foes.
All epic heroes take on a very long and dangerous journey, including a trip to the Underworld (Allingham). Odysseus also undertakes an extensive and treacherous journey from Troy back to his home on the island of Ithaca. After defeating the Trojans and plundering Troy during the Trojan War, Odysseus and his men begin their journey back to Ithaca. While telling his story, Odysseus explains to Alcinous about his “years / of rough adventure, weathered under Zeus” (Homer 38-39). Although the journey is fated by Zeus, Odysseus is able to make it home after ten years. Throughout this long journey, Odysseus faces dangerous challenges. During his travels, Odysseus is given a bag of storm winds captured by Aeolus, King of Winds. While Odysseus is not paying attention, his men open the bag of winds, releasing them, hurling their ship completely off course. As a result of this, the journey back to Ithaca is much lengthier and certainly more ...
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...es human like qualities and emotions. He shows strength and determination, but he also demonstrates sadness and love. Demonstrating these qualities does not make him any less of an epic hero, but rather helps prove that he is also a human at heart.
Works Cited
Abram, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
Allingham, Phillip. “Notes on Heroic Poetry: The Primary and Secondary Epic.” The Victorian Web. The Victorian Web, 2005. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Frank, Bernhard. “Homer’s Odyssey.” The Explicator. 58.4 (2000): 179. Literature Resource Center. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. Prentice Hall Literature: Language and Literacy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2010. 1044-1114. Print.
Stillman, Peter. “How to Identify a Hero.” Introduction to Myth. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1985. Print.
Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988
Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988
Homer, The Odyssey, The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, ed. Maynard Mack, Expanded Edition, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1995), pp. 219-503.
Homer. The Odyssey: Fitzgerald Translation. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. Print.
Heubeck, Alfred, Stephanie West, and J.B. Hainsworth. A Commentary on Homer's Odyssey. New York: Oxford UP, 1988.
Homer. “The Odyssey”. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puncher. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 475. Print.
There are numerous heroes throughout “The Odyssey,” but none of them are as significant as Odysseus. “The Odyssey” is a narrative poem written by Homer (around 800 and 600 BCE) to show the numerous adventures and experiences Odysseus goes through. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus a prominent Greek epic hero is on a quest to return back to his home in Ithaca; to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Just like real life, not all heroes are picture-perfect; they all have imperfections. In this case, Odysseus is sometimes insolent, and discourteous; but he is still considered an epic hero because of the many heroic qualities he endures. Odysseus proves himself to be an outstanding hero in various ways such as showing loyalty, intelligence, bravery, strength, and courage which are all some of the most momentous qualities found in a hero. If a true hero can prove they are a true hero, makes them a true hero.
For a character to be an epic hero, he must possess four characteristics. These four characteristics include the following: (1) he must be high born, (2) the hero must have human weaknesses, (3) he must be brave,and 4) he must be clever. In The Odyssey, Homer’s character Odysseus was an epic hero because he possessed all four of the characteristics.
Heroes are found everywhere. They are seen in movies, on television, in books, and in reality. A hero can be anyone from a friend to a fictional character. To be considered a hero, one must make selfless sacrifices, develop and learn, overcome challenges and temptations, and ultimately present their known world with a gift of any kind. Homer’s 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 highly outweigh his few better ones. Several of his more prominent characteristics are exhibited on numerous accounts. Odysseus cannot possibly earn the title of being a hero because he harbors hubris, he displays a lack of faith, and his self-centeredness causes unfortunate events.
Odysseus was an epic hero depicted in the Homer's The Odyssey. He responded to the call to travel to Troy to help Agamemnon get Helen. He encountered great confrontation along the way. He fought the Cicones, the Lotus Eaters, the Cyclops, Polyphemus, the Laestrygonians, the witch goddess Circe, the lonely Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, the Sun, and Calypso. He and his men traveled great distances under severe circumstances. Odysseus answers a second call to return home to his family. He returns a more mature warrior and a wiser man. Because of this he is able to conquer the suitors and reclaim his palace and his family. As in all Greek literature, the epic hero Odysseus answers a call to action, suffers through great confrontation, and returns with a better understanding of life.
Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988
Picture this: a hero of great legends who travels to the underworld and back to get directions to his home from a blind prophet. It sounds like quite an impossible journey, but that is exactly what makes Odysseus all the more fascinating. The Odyssey, an epic poem orally transmitted by Homer, a Greek poet who wrote The Iliad, had to contain some variety of attributes that Greeks valued in a person. That one embodiment of what the Greeks found intriguing in a character is Odysseus. Odysseus is known as what is called an epic hero. An epic hero is a protagonist of a story that represents the most important attributes of a civilization. Odysseus, being based in ancient Greece, is the embodiment of intelligence, loyalty, and strength.
Homer. ?The Odyssey,? World Masterpieces: Expanded Edition. Maynard Mack ed. Ed. Coptic St.: Prentice, 1995.
Homer. The Illiad. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces: Expanded Edition?Volume I. ed. by Maynard Mack. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1995.
The Odyssey is filled with emotion and adventure. Homer’s ability to show and give the reader a visual of each and every scene gives the story its unbelievable significance. To all the people who read his work there is something to be captured within every sentence, each one different in its own, unique way. Through tales of courage and defeat, friendship and love this book tells of all the values within the life of a single, solitary man, and his journey to attain what is true and dear to him. And this journey is known to all of us as The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a test of human devotion and trust through the gods, the mortals, and the obstacles through which they venture. No matter where they go or what they do, humans are tested for certain characteristics everyday of their lives, whether they realize it or not; and The Odyssey is just one of those many miraculous tests.