Odyssey's Heroic Journey

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Recommended: Analysis of Odyssey

One faces enormous challenges throughout life. In the famous saying, “Life isn’t about how many times an individual falls, but rather how he picks himself up,” its obvious obstacles make up his character. This applies to Odyssey who follows a hero’s journey. Several times he fails and goes through rough patches. But, in the end he is able to return to his home above all. Odysseus works through challenges to become a hero earning this status by his perseverance, humility, and cleverness.

First off, Odysseus’s determination leads to a strong sense of survival which allows him to complete a treacherous journey. Do not repeat! There are several complications which put Odysseus’s life on the line. In the ancient world, the god’s controlled everything and getting on their wrong side could result in major problems. At one point, Odysseus angers Poseidon’s son, making a grudge against the two. Poseidon promises his son he will do try his hardest to either kill Odysseus, or return him to Ithaka as an unknown man. It takes all of Odysseus’s will-power to respect the gods and prevent an untimely death. The pinnacle of Odysseus’s problem is his trip to Hades. Here, he literally faces death and must face several memories of people who he has affected in some way, shape, or form. Odysseus even has to struggle for things that should be granted to him free of harm. When he returns home, he expects to reclaim his wife, but first needs to fight off all her suitors. Secondly, Odysseus has problems controlling his men, and their insubordinate actions lead to serious ramifications. The best example of this is when they eat the divine cattle of Helios. He turns to the gods to fix his crews downfalls. Lastly, Odysseus survives by pe...

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...o find her next husband. During the battle with the suitors, he compiles all his knowledge from his complete journey to make one of his smartest moves. He puts total faith in the gods to carry him out alive. This truly keeps him protected. Another puzzle Odysseus must decipher is when he must make the call on difficult interactions.

All together, the compilation of all of Odysseus’s adventures, and the completion of his journey, allocate for his title of hero. Odysseus encounters many battles that, through determination, he is able to overcome. Not only that, he also makes up for his extreme hubris by becoming a very humble being. Besides his perseverance, Odysseus is able to make it past individual encounters through his astuteness. In the end, Odysseus truly proved that his ability to pick himself up greatly outweighs the times he has fallen.

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