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
that are possibly very dangerous to him and his men. It also alerts us to the fact that Odysseus is ignorant to the capabilities of other creatures and his pride has lead him to think that all creatures are the same. Because of this we can tell that his pride makes him blind to not be able to see that some creatures are possibly more powerful than you, and you are not a hero from great wit, for his pridely thinking was what got them stuck in there in the first place, but rather from stupid luck. And we further see the will of his stubborn pride when his crew begs him not to provoke the Cyclops a second time crying, “Don’t do it, man! . . . we were done for. . . he has the range” (493-497) and him showing us that they “didn’t persuade [his] hero’s heart”(498).
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
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’ recklessness and resourcefulness are predominant traits apparent in the Cyclops episode. When trapped in the Cyclops’ cave and after four men have already been devoured, Odysseus comes up with a cunning plan to escape. They cannot simply kill Polyphemus while he is sleeping and run away, due to the ‘huge boulder rolled across the mouth of the cave. Instead, he uses the resources available to him by getting Polyphemus drunk before sharpening the Cyclops’ staff, heating it in the fire, and stabbing it in his eye, blinding him. This is an extremely reckless undertaking, as it further enrages Polyphemus.
Odysseus's greed causes him to be a bad man. The next supporting point is when Odysseus angered the god, Poseidon and caused him to act violently against him and his crew. Odysseus ended up blinding Poseidon’s son, Polyphemus after he didn’t give Odysseus a housewarming gift. “Nobody— that’s my
Odysseus displays his desire for glory through his careless actions during his encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus. The desire for glory Odysseus displays is shown through the words he speaks to Polyphemus. He is a clever character but makes rash decisions that affect the outcome of his original goals and intentions. While Odysseus is trapped inside of the cave of the Cyclops, he begins to taunt Polyphemus. “I called back to the Cyclops, stinging taunts: So, Cyclops, no weak coward it was whose crew you bent to devour three in your vaulted cave—with your brute voice! Filthy crimes came down on your own head, you shameless cannibal” (Fagles, 226). Odysseus was insulting the Cyclops, and those insults caused the rage of the monster to boil over. The Cyclops was already angry with Odysseus blinding him, and was even more demoralized and angry when Odysseus began to taunt him. As Odysseus goes on with his insults and as his anger rises, he says, “Cyclops—if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed—say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, La...
Men are not perfect all the time and can make mistakes that they regret later on. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men make mistakes that have effects on them. To begin, one mistake Odysseus makes is when he was so proud of himself for defeating the cyclops. After he got his ship ready and thought that he won he kept on taunting Polyphemus, who was the son of the Poseidon. Odysseus was so amused about how they just defeated cyclops that he didn't know what he was saying which is the mistake he was doing. He reveals to Polyphemus that he was the Odysseus, raider of the cities, Laertes’ son, and the man from Ithaka. Polyphemus then tells his father, Poseidon, to cast a curse upon Odysseus and his journey back home. Since Odysseus was on a ship in the sea, Poseidon had a great way to make sure his journey wasn't as great since he was the god of the sea.
To start, within the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus displays hubris through many of his actions. The most prominent instance in which Odysseus shows hubris is while he and his men are trying to escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus. They drug the monster until it passes out, and then stab him with a timber in his single eye. Polyphemus, now blinded, removes the gigantic boulder blocking Odysseus’ escape, and waits for the men to move, so he can kill them. The men escape from the cave to their boat by tying themselves under flocks of rams, so they can easily slip by. Odysseus, now proud after beating the giant, starts to yell at Polyphemus, instead of making a silent escape. Odysseus’ men ask him to stop before Polyphemus would “get the range and lob a boulder” (436). But Odysseus shows hubris by saying that if they were to meet again, Odysseus would “take your life” and “hurl you down to hell!” (462; 463). Polyphemus, now extremely angry with Odysseus, prays to his father, Poseidon, to make Odysseus “never see his home” again, and after which, throws a mountain towards the sound of Odysseus’ voice. (470). Because of Odysseus’ hubris after blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon grants the prayer, and it takes Odysseus 20 years to return home, at the cost of the lives of all his men.
Excessive pride caused Odysseus to reveal his identity to Polyphemus, which led to many problems. Odysseus and his crew had just managed to escape from the Cyclops, Polyphemus, after driving a stake into his eye. But then, Odysseus told the blinded Cyclops his identity by shouting, “Cyclops – if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so- say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca” (9, 558-562). Hubris allegedly causes great success, but in reality, hubris leads to many mistakes instead. Odysseus carelessly telling Polyphemus all of his personal information through his enormous pride angered Poseidon, Polyphemus’ father, who ended up killing Odysseus’ entire crew and delaying Odysseus for 10 long years. If Odysseus would have suppressed his pride, his crew might have been able to return to Ithaca. But Odysseus’ hubris prevented everyone’s safe arrival back home, and resulted in a lot of suffering for many people. So pride led to many problems for Odyssey and his crew....
After stabbing Polyphemus in his eye and blinding him, Odysseus provoked and harassed the Cyclops, which angered him immensely. “ Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son whose home’s on Ithaca';, shouted Odysseus to the crippled Polyphemus, which was not very smart. If Odysseus had not told the Cyclops this incriminating information, he would have had a much safer journey. Polyphemus begged his father Poseidon, god of earthquake, to curse Odysseus. The Cyclops cried out to his father to prevent Odysseus from returning home, and pleaded with him to let Odysseus lose his companions.
In the poem, The Odyssey, by Homer and translated by Allen Mandelbaum, the character Odysseus shows characteristics of the theme cunning. He demonstrates cunning throughout the poem because everywhere Odysseus goes he overcomes a great trail to get back home. In order to get back home, Odysseus needs the cunning, strength, and charm he has to avoid and excel forward through challenging problems.
To begin, one feature that makes Odysseus and epic hero is his intelligence. In order for him to have survived through his journey, he has to have a massive amount of intellect. To have survived a Cyclops is an accomplishment of its own. His ability to think on his feet and to plan situations and ability to make a right decision in horrid environments has helped him survive throughout his disastrous journey. When he is trapped by the Cyclops, Polyphemus, he has to carve, smooth, and sharpen a gigantic spear-shaped-pole out of a large tree that he and his strongest men would then use it on the Cyclops to blind it. In order to follow through with his plan, Odysseus has to sedate him. He gives Polyphemus an extremely strong wine, in which Polyphemus asks him his name. Odysseus replies: “My name is Nohbdy; mother, father, friends, everyone call me Nohbdy”(9.274-9.275) When the Cyclops passes out, Odysseus and four of his strongest men stab Polyphemus in his eye with the sharpened pole that he and his men ...
“Cyclops— if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Fagles lns. 558-562). This is the taunt that Odysseus gives Polyphemus after gouging out his eye, a final dig at the wounded giant as he and his crew narrowly escape the island - and they very well may be the most important lines in the entire book, for they are the ones that cause Polyphemus to curse Odysseus and to delay his return. This pattern - of an unwise act of pride coming to misfortune down the road - is seen many times in the story of The Odyssey. The role of pride in The Odyssey is the force that drives the
In The Odyssey, Homer tells the epic poem of Odysseus’ great journey. After being victorious in the Trojan War, the Greek hero ventures home from Troy to Ithaca. Many events take place that derails his journey home, causing his trip to extend by twenty years. During that span of time, Odysseus faces numerous challenges that make him value important virtues more. Homer compares Odysseus’ journey home to the metaphorical journey through life.
As one of the seven deadly sins depicted in the bible pride is defined as an excessive admiration of self. In book 9 of the Odyssey, The Cyclops, Odysseus and his men encounter Poseidon’s cyclops son Polyphemus. Odysseus manages to offend Polyphemus, causing the monster to devour two of Odysseus’s men and trap the remaining men inside his cave. At night Odysseus and his comrades fashion a stake and plan to attack the cyclops and escape before they are killed. The men blind Polyphemus by stabbing the stake through his eye, and they escape the cave by using the cyclops’s sheep to disguise themselves. The whole encounter could have went much smoother than what played out of Odysseus hadn’t let his biggest flaw get the best of him; his pride.
He believes he is untouchable and above thanking the gods, because of this he ends up a victim of poseidon.