Perception In Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

There are many different perceptions in this world, one might think that someone dying in war is awful, and another might think that it is beautiful because someone is dying for a cause. For that man or woman to die he has to be thinking about the communal good and what will happen to himself for doing that. Because if he does not die that others may die, in a world like this everything has a cost. This also happens in Odysseus’ world we have a cost for something but they have a bigger cost because they have to lose an army by a god for someone else to be able to get back to their home.

Perception in Odysseus can be seen in the scene of Odysseus at the Cyclops’ island and all that happens there. On one side of the story Odysseus has “won”

and left the Cyclops’ island he is happy, celebrating with his friends, and is having fun. On the contrary, the cyclops is sad, blind, and all alone with no one to help him with simple tasks while being blind. In almost all Greek god stories, the gods mess with the humans and their lives. The gods think that it is all fun and games, but the human’s lives are being destroyed. In all good vs evil stories, villains get a bad wrap for everything they do but all they want to do is better themselves for a good purpose. This can be seen as the cyclops is eating all of the Odysseys army, this is because he wants to eat because all he has on his island are sheep and he loves them too much to eat them. There are plenty of more ways you can see different perceptions that can be seen through The Odyssey, such as Zeus destroying Odysseus’ army. Zeus wanted to make appeals with Halios so that he would not be hated by him, so in his eyes the plan was a great idea. But, Odysseus thought that it was horrible because all he wanted to do was to get home to his wife, and children, so this was a disaster being a one man crew. Athena is the bystander of the story all she wants to do is to help Odysseus that she so deeply likes, so after the storm that wiped out all of Odysseus’ men she wanted to help by guiding, and encouraging Odysseus all the way home. This can be easily be seen as a bully scene from a movie or real life. Zeus is the bully hurting the victim, Odysseus, for something he wants, love from Hailos. Then there is the bystander or friend that always is there for the victim, Athena, she is always there when Odysseus needs her. THe only thing different in this photo is that there is no teacher or adult to stop the bully, so the only one to help the victim keep going on through their day is the friend, and with Athena’s powers she can do anything and everything to help Odysseus keep going on, so that he may save his wife from strangers that are trying to be the new husband in the picture. All of these people/things have their own values and perceptions, and at times when those values don’t click people misunderstand each other and think that everything they do is horrible or too selfish. With different perceptions people have to do actions to get what they want and it always comes with a cost that could hurt others.

Odysseus thinks that stabbing the Cyclops’ eye is going to be good for himself.

This is where he is wrong. He wants to leave the island and get back home, but really if the Cyclops has help from the gods that feel sad for him being blind he could be able to go to Odysseus’ home and destroy it all. So then when Odysseus is back all he will have is a destroyed hometown and a blind Cyclops to deal with. This is where individual good vs communal good, people in that type of situation especially with gods, and monsters involved you can’t just think about yourself you have to think about others. Yes, Odysseus was not selfish for leaving so that he could see his wife, but he was selfish of not thinking what could happen with a world of gods and a son of a major god, Poseidon. In this type of setting, you can not think about yourself you have to think about the entire world around you because with one word from the gods they can easily destroy cities themselves, or seduce others to destroy the cities for them, with a reward. Odysseus thinks that he can rule over the world and through his selfishness his actions will cause no harm as said, “The poem in effect redefines justice in terms that privilege the individual over the community, since Odysseus’ vengeance brings on neither exile nor death at the hands of his victims’ families”(10 Schein). In this case, Odysseus is very lucky because he is loved by the goddess Athena but for others this at times is the exact opposite, through their actions all they get is punished that leads to death. In addition, Odysseus has to stab the Cyclops eye, Zeus had to kill all of Odysseus’ men, and Penelope had to get a new husband. Without destroying the eye Odysseus and his men would have been trapped in the Cyclops’ cave. Zeus would have been hated by Helios, and as a leader you need to have as many people you can to like you. Also, Penelope had to find a new husband because that is her only way to have a social stance, without a man

she wouldn’t be known by anyone and without a social stance in the community all she could do is stay at home and do chores and care for the kids. All those achievements, leaving a cave, being loved by others, and having a social stance, they all have a cost and those costs were what others had to lose. The Cyclops had to lose an eye, Odysseus men had to die, and Odysseus had to lose a little bit of integrity and trust in his wife. There is always a reason for everything, not only in humans but also with the gods in greek mythology.

There is always a reason for something that happens in life, especially with the gods in mythology. The gods try to make fun apart others but at times when the humans really need their help they try to help as much as possible as we see when Odysseus calls on to Apollo so he can win his wife back, “ ‘So much for that. Your clean-cut game is over. Now watch me hit a target that no man has hit before, if I can make this shot. Help me, Apollo.’” (1256). The gods can either help others as seen with Odysseus or they can punish them as we can see when Zeus send a storm on Odysseus and his men for killing Helio’s cattle, “To appease Helios, Zeus sends down a thunderbolt to sink Odysseus’ ship” (1236). The gods always have a reason for their doings such as Poseidon, “Poseidon delayed Odysseus out of anger. Odysseus blinded his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus” (1 Chamberlin). But all they do is not bad. Athena is one of the goddesses that helps Odysseus by guiding him home and encouraging and guiding Telemachus on his journey to learn the greatness of his father, this is because she thought that Odysseus was the mortal reflection of her. If all of these events did not happen then the world as they knew it would be in chaos. All of these gods and goddesses either helped or hurt the people on Earth so that others may be settled with their feuds and that those feuds don’t cause wars and the don’t destroy the world. Everything in this world has a cost, “To the unbridled commercialist, everything has its price”(505 Darrell Dobbs). This price may be easy such as a small material or it could be a huge price like a life or many lives. So even when the gods hurt the humans they are trying to settle immortal feuds so that they can stop chaos on Earth, then when all at is at rest they can mess with the humans and have fun with no harm.

In The Odyssey, we can easily see that there is unclear messages all throughout this. From all the gods helping, punishing, encouraging, or messing with the mortals that are in or near Greece to Odysseus fighting many different enemies, that have their own perception on the situation, so that he may go home to his wife and children and live a happy rest of his life. Perceptions can cause all kinds of misunderstandings, this is because with perceptions it is how one person feels about the situation at hand one might think that the horrible situation is a great one, or another may see it as a disaster. Individuals are always being selfish in on the spot situations such as you wanting to run a red light to beat traffic. If you try to beat traffic this could cause an injury or even worse a death because you wanted to run that red light. Communal good is what you always have to think about, how is this helping others rather than hurting them. Running that red light could cause such bereavement to that family that has a now injured or passed family member that they may sue you. Just because you were selfish you could kill someone then be sued for all that you have. When you are in certain situations you have to think “Is this really worth the risk or consequence it might receive?”, if not then don’t do it trust your conscience most of the times your conscience will show light so that your life may be better. You may think that God is throwing everything he possibly can at you but He does it for a reason. Just like everything in this world and the gods in this poem everything has a reason for happening. God wants to challenge you so that you can see what you are actually able to do. All of these outcomes will help the Earth. September 11, 2001 was a horrible tragedy of losing thousands of good men and women from a terrorist attack. Through this many families learned to appreciate their family members and friends more. This tragedy also showed us that life is a miracle and that we shall lift it to the fullest and not take it for granted because God can take it any second he wants. Everything in life happens for a reason the worst tragedies can be turned into a lesson for everyone to learn from, and great events allow us to celebrate the success that we have had through the years of our life.