Pride In The Odyssey

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Sun Tzu said, “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to won.” This quote relates to Odysseus in The Odyssey as he faced many challenges that made him both a victorious and a defeated warrior. He won many battles with courage and wisdom yet he let pride get into his head. With his wits and arrogance, it made him both an epic hero and an ordinary man. Throughout his challenges in the story, he defeated Polyphemus, seduced by other women, and conquered his kingdom once again. In the story, Odysseus and his men were trapped on Polyphemus’ island. On the land of the Cyclopes, he decided to explore the island with his best fighters, who begged him to go back to the ship but he did not want to because he “wished to see the cave man, what he had to offer--” (Homer 565). Odysseus, in this case, acted like a fool because his curiosity was bigger than his sense of danger. They defeated the Cyclops and escaped like an epic hero but he let arrogance get into his head. The pride led to Polyphemus cursing Odysseus to “never see his home… Should destiny intend that he shall see his roof again among his family in his father land, far be that day, …show more content…

With the help of Athena, she “informs him of the situation at home” and “disguises Odysseus as a beggar…” (Homer 595-596). The suitors have been in Odysseus house for many years because they want to marry Penelope. Penelope is not interested for a remarriage because she is still faithful to Odysseus and wants to be with him. When Odysseus said it was truly him, Penelope tested him to see if he knew “their sign and secret” of how their bed was made (Homer 615). She knew that it was truly him when he said how the bed was made. Even after twenty years of not being with each other, their love was as strong as ever. Not only did Odysseus save his wife, Telemachus rekindled with his father once

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