Selfishness In The Odyssey

The Role of Selfishness in The Odyssey and The Picture of Dorian Gray

For hundreds of years, psychologists have attempted to understand why toddlers selfishly refuse to share. Recently, many experts in the field agree that toddlers are incapable of sharing because of their lack of integral brain development. From birth through early childhood, a child can only recognize his own wants and needs. Around the time a child begins kindergarten, he starts to development his understanding of abstract concepts, such as empathy, and sympathy. However, some believe that humans never rid themselves of that original selfishness. In essence, humans are born selfish and hopefully become compassionate later on. The idea of a natural tendency towards selfishness

is explored through many works of literature, two of which being Homer’s The Odyssey and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Odysseus and Dorian are motivated by self-gratification, which reveals that both authors disapprove of submitting to man’s inherent selfishness.
Odysseus inadvertently kills his crew das a result of his selfish actions.

Before letting him leave the island, Circe tells Odysseus that he must face Scylla, a sea monster, and Charybdis, a whirlpool. Circe says, “Better by far to lose six men and keep you ship” (274). Odysseus is told beforehand that no ship could pass unscathed, but he chooses to not to tell his crew. He knowingly sacrifices his crewmembers’ lives and has no qualms about it, which shows his inner selfishness. He makes sure to protect his own life, but he sees his crew as disposable. Homer characterizes Odysseus this way in order to convey his views about humanity: humans are instinctively selfish. Odysseus also carelessley kills his remaining crew when he taunts the Cyclops. After hearing Odysseus’s name, Polyphemus prays to Poseidon and asks that Odysseus “never reaches home” but if he is destined to return, make sure he returns “a broken man—all shipmates lost, alone in a strangers ship” (228). If Odysseus had never told Polyphemus his name, he and his crew might have made it home more quickly and safely. Instead, his hubris causes an inescapable curse. Odysseus cannot bear the thought of forfeiting his fame, which leads to even more hardship on his quest to return home. Homer uses Odysseus to demonstrate the danger of egotistical

actions.
Just as Odysseus unintentionally kills his crew, Dorian devastates Sibyl and causes her suicide. After the performance, Dorian expresses his disgust to Sibyl and claims she “killed [his] love” and “disappointed” him (131,133). Dorian makes her believe that she will never be happy again: the love of her life is gone, her acting career is a sham, and she has no hope for her future. To Dorian, Sibyl is a little doll on his stage that entertains his mind all day long. He does not love Sibyl. Wilde allows his reader to believe that Dorian is madly in love with Sibyl, but Wilde knows that Dorian simply follows any whim he fancies. Dorian refuses to acknowledge that his actions could have consequences and he lacks the ability to empathize. Like Odysseus with his crew, Dorian objectifies Sibyl in order to justify his cruel actions. He dismisses the fact that Sibyl has family who cares for her, much like Odysseus dismisses the idea that his crew does not want to return home as much as he does. After her death, Dorian is delighted to realize how dramatic his life is: “If I had read this all in a book, Harry, I think I would have wept over it” (148). To Dorian, Sibyl is a worthless piece of living art. Instead of feeling sadness or remorse for her death, Dorian sees Sibyl as a dramatic act in the ongoing play of his life. Everything about this morbid situation is a result of Dorian considering his own feelings first. With this statement, Wilde emphasizes Dorian’s lack of empathy and selfish perspective on life. Both Dorian and Odysseus lead selfish lives, which is evident in how they view others. They are the leads and everyone else is a supporting actor. In their minds, the needs and desires of the lead actor reign supreme over the thoughts and needs of anyone else. In turn, this makes almost all of their actions rooted in self-interest.
Odysseus also intentionally murders the suitors and maids, which highlights his tendency to yield to self-gratification. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca, he confronts the suitors: “No, not even then would I stay my hand from slaughter till all you suitors had paid for your crimes!” (441).