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Essay on leader attributes
Qualities a good leader should possess
Essay on leader attributes
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Leaders attain power through a combination of political savvy, physical strengthen and rhetorical skill. Weak leaders use sheer duplicity to gain power since to be duplicate shows a lack of the characteristics need for a respectable leader to determine if a leader is a noble one depends on the characteristics and overall mental state of the candidate. A few characteristics of a worthy leader include focus, passion, divisiveness, physical and mental strength, and confidence. Odysseus has the essential character traits of a suitable leader. Some of his greatest distinguishing traits include his combination of cunning and divisiveness. In several situations that Odysseus faces it is essential for him to think immediately to survive. That ability to think on his feet is what helps him escape some of those deadly situations. For example, in book nine, Odysseus plains out multiple steps for his escape. First, he finds a wooden staff in the cave, he then processed to sharpen and harden the staff of wood in the fire. Second, as Polyohemus returns Odysseus proceeded to make him drink wine. A...
One of Odysseus’ traits is bravery. One example of Odysseus’ bravery is when he injures a Cyclops that is 5 times his size, “I drew it from the coals and my four fellows/ gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops/ as more than natural force nerved them, straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it/ deep in his crater eye. 329-332” This quote shows how brave Odysseus and his men are to face the Cyclops. Odysseus was intelligent to think about this idea, but he was brave for actually following through and doing it. Odysseus was also brave for fighting Penelope’s suitors even when he was outnumbered, “Now shrugging off his rags the wiliest fighter of the islands/ leapt and stood on the broad doorsill, his own bow in his hand/ he poured out at his feet a rain of arrows from the quiver/ and spoke to the c...
Being so cunning and intelligent allowed Odysseus to be such a tactical person when it came to battle. Odysseus' reason for being so good at battle is the fact that he was a fearless person and would stop a nothing.
One of Odysseus's many qualities is determination. He remains determined throughout the entire saga to get back to his family. During Odysseus's Odyssey he encounters many obstacles, beast, god, and nature. Odysseus must get through all of these hardships before he can make it back to his family and home. On his way back Odysseus is next to Charybdis and she swallows his boat. He must holds on to the branches of a fig tree to survive, "But I clung grimly, thinking my mast and keel would come back to the surface when she spouted. And ah! How long, with what desiree, I waited! Till, at the twilight hour...the long poles at last reared from the sea"(12.560-64). Odysseus shows his determination to get home, because it would be easy for him to just let go and drown, but no Odysseus hangs on so he can see his wife again. Once he is at home he finds suitors at his house. Odysseus kills one of them and the others beg for mercy, ??Not for the whole treasure of your fathers, all you enjoy, lands, flocks, or any gold put up by others, would I hold my hand??(22.65-67). Odysseus is determined to get revenge on all of the suitors and he will not be satisfied until they are all dead. Without his strong will and determination Odysseus would not have made it through his trials. Although determination is a must for a journey such as Odysseus?s cunning is also just as essential.
When people think of Odysseus, they think of a great, cunning, warrior. Who wouldn’t see him that way, he fought his way through Troy and embarked on a journey back home to see his son and wife again. On the surface Odysseus seems like a genius but in Homer’s, The Odyssey, Odysseus shows many instances where he outwits his foes but his foolishness heavily outweighs his smarts; he becomes boastful after a victory which leads to more hardships, he leaves precious cargo in the open for his brutish crew to mess with, and refuses help from the gods which nearly leads to his demise.
Odysseus is strong, loyal and brave. Odysseus is referred as being strong and hard working. He is the friend you'd want to call for help to finish all the tasks you need to finish. Odysseus is strong and hard-working, but above it, he is the hardest working for anyone else. Odysseus has never ordered his men to do something he won't or can't do. He manages to constantly challenge himself more than his men. Odysseus is a born leader based on all of his qualities. He isn't ruling his men around him because he wants power. Odysseus was born to become a great leader and have control and powered. He is not a lazy slacker who is bossing his servants around; instead, he is next to the building and cutting on whatever task needs to occur to complete his ship. Eurylochos could have complained about overworking and not having time to relax, but Eurylochos recognizes Odysseus work ethic and respects him for
Now that we have discussed a bit on his bravery, now we can talk about how Odysseus is cunning. The third line in book one calls Odysseus cunning, but how so? Well going back to what we talked about before about how he outsmarted Polyphemus and used his own strength against him. Also, with the use of magic, he was able to defeat Circe. When Circe turned his men into pigs, he convinced her to turn them back into men. (Book 10: lines 413-420) Odysseus is also very strategic. When he returns home to Ithaca, he remains virtually unseen and plans just the right time to attack and defeat all the
One of Odysseus’ best traits as a leader was his brilliant mind. Without his continuous wits, Odysseus would have never gotten his crew as far as he did. A great example of this creativity is when Odysseus and his men were trapped in the Cyclops’ (Polyphemus) cave. It was Odysseus who came up with blinding the drunken monster with a sharpened log and it was he who tricked the great Cyclops with his “Nohbdy” scheme: “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends/everyone calls me Nohbdy” (827-828), sang Odysseus to the intoxicated Cyclops. The dazzling intelligence of Odysseus also helped him and his men escape from the evil Polyphemus to safer grounds. He said,
As you might know, many of the characters in Homer’s tale of The Odyssey are known for their physical strength as their main tool used to strive for success. On the other hand, there is Odysseus, who uses something a little different to help him make his way home. His impressive oratory skills help him to escape some sticky situations. His spectacular ability to disguise himself within a crowd gives him advantages that others do not have. Each plan that he effortlessly conceives to find his way home was outstanding and shows his abundance of intelligence. Although many men use their physical strength as their main power to succeed in their travels in The Odyssey, Odysseus’s brains are his strongest
It is no wonder why many scholars refer to Odysseus as a powerful mythic hero. " Odysseus often hesitates before acting, because he uses his reason and gift to evaluate things. This patience is one of his most important additional attributes"(library.thinkquest.org/19300/data/Odyssey/odysseus.html). It saved him and his men many times.
...story, because, if not for his mind, he would be dead and never to return home to Ithaca. Odysseus uses his mind to overcome the lack of strength by tying himself down to the mast as passing by the Sirens. He then uses cunning over the great strength of others by devising a plan to escape out of the Cyclops’ cave alive. Once Odysseus is finally home, he is able to use cunning over strength to kill all of the Suitors in his home so he and his family will be able to return to the happiness they had before he left for war.
Odysseus also possessed the neccessary qualities and skills needed for him to succeed. This is perhaps the key to understanding why he was classified as a hero in the first place. Throughout his whole adventure Odysseus drew on and used these qualities to ensure his success. Perhaps one of the essential skills that Odysseus possessed was the ability to use his surroundings to his advantage. A particular scenario in which Odysseus demonstrates this skill, present in both the book and the movie, takes place within the cyclops, Polyphemus's, cave. At that point in time, Odysseus who was faced with a rather perilous situation had very few options to choose from. "I [Odysseus] drew on all my wits...until a trick came...the Cyclops's rams...I tied them...together...then slung a man under each middle one..." Honestly, had it been me in the same situation, I probably would have risked trying to run around the cyclops because the idea...
Odysseus’ intellectual development in “The Odyssey” is a returning subject regularly as his journey unfolds. From the beginning of his journey, Odysseus shows higher intellectual capacity than everyone around him. He displays an adroit cunning numerous times in “The Odyssey” to ensure his, and his men’s, safety. For example, when Odysseus is being held captive on Calypsos’ island, he forces her to promise that she will not bring any harm to Odysseus if he is to construct a raft to carry him home over the ocean. “So I will not entrust myself to a raft unless I can count on your goodwill and you give me your solemn oath that you will not plot some other mischief against me” (Homer, 67). Odysseus ensures his further safety by guaranteeing no harm will come to him from potential enemies. Furthermore, Odysseus develops the ability to use his cunning in situations where the danger is already upon him. For instance, when faced with his crews imminent doom in Polyphemus’ cave, Odysseus is able to collect his wits and devise a plan that saves them all.. “Meanwhile I was cudgelling my brains for the best possible course, trying to hit on some way of saving my friends as well as myself” (Homer, 121). Odysseus’ ability to keep a clear mind in the face of danger as well as obtaining the ability to avoid coming danger show i...
Odysseus is very wise; he is able to get out of any situation he finds himself in and can also deceive anyone he finds the need to. Odysseus has the sort of cunning that one may expect to find in an action hero. However, Odysseus is able to do almost anything he wants with these skills of his. He is able to make up stories on the spot, such as when he told Athena that he was in fact not Odysseus but instead a weary traveler from Krete. Said he, “Far away in Krete I learned of Ithaka- in that broad island over the great ocean” (XIII, 327-328), and Athena knew it was Odysseus only because she was a goddess. Odysseus is very resourceful: he uses the things that are available to him. One instance of this trait is when he devises a plan to escape Polyphemos’s cave alive. Using the sheep as escape mechanisms is very clever. If he was not with his men in the cave, there would have been no way for them to get out. Also calling himself Nohbdy to trick Polyphemos into saying that no one hurt him is an ingenious idea. No one else would be able to execute his plan the way he did- with swiftness and bravery. O...
To begin with, Odysseus is an intelligent and clever man. He is a hero because he has the capacity to understand the situations and think through the struggles they are going to face. Odysseus is put against all the odds possible, and at times it seems like the gods are against him. Odysseus tricks the Cyclops, Polyphemus, in a very strategic way and handled the situation effectively. “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy (Homer 498). Odysseus’ cleverness is brought out because he conceived an idea that would be adequate enough to trick a Cyclops. Later when Polyphemus is stabbed, he screams, “Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked
Homer portrays Odysseus as a physically adept, intelligent, and good with quick thinking in high pressure situations. He has the characteristics of a homeric leader showing courage, nobility, and strength. He is a good speaker and has no troubles winning over an audience. But there comes moments that proves his humanity where he acts in foolish measures. Sometimes Odysseus’s glory seeking self let him looking foolish. For example, in book 9 written as a flashback, Odysseus and his men come upon a cave full of sheep and crates of cheese and milk on the island of the Cyclops. His men suggest to grab the crates and leave, but he decides to stay and feast on their upcomings. When the Cyclops Polyphemus returns to its cave, it seems hostile at