Theme Of Cleverness In The Odyssey

Cleverness Paves the Way to Success

Once, a wise philosopher by the name of Euripides said, "the bold are helpless without

cleverness" and many have argued the truth behind this statement. What leads to success? In the

epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer changes the use of cleverness to reveal the theme of how

effective leaders use strategic thinking to plan how to overcome a conflict. Through overcoming

the inhospitable manner of the Cyclops, the attractiveness of the Sirens, and the viciousness of

the suitors, the leader, Odysseus, conveys the message of cleverness to Homer's audience, the

ancient Greeks, even though sometimes using brute force can solve a problem, as well. After

spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, a valiant

hero, named Odysseus, battles a long

journey home, where he constantly finds himself steered off course to get back to his family in

Ithaca.

Facing challenges that test his use of his mental and physical strength, Odysseus learns

when it is proper to use both.

With Odysseus' curiosity accidentally leading his men into a dangerous cave, they come

across the Cyclops, an uncivilized creature that challenges Odysseus and his men to use their

wits and find a way to escape his captivity. Enraged that the men had trespassed his home, the

Cyclops, named Polyphemus, acts in a wretched manner towards the men, creating an

uncomfortable, and later deadly, situation. However, Odysseus had realized if they killed the

Cyclops, no one would be able to move his "ponderous doorway slab aside", therefore keeping

them trapped inside to die (295). By coming up with a different plan, Odysseus saves his life and

the lives of many of his men. Since they are not able to kill the Cyclops, Odysseus creates a plan

to "thrust and grind" a spike into the eye of the Cyclops when he is asleep (325). Before the plan

was put into action, Odysseus "ran through tactics" to ensure everyone understood what to do

(417). Thinking through every obstacle, Odysseus infers that the plan will work, and hopes to

survive, since with the Cyclops blinded, he will be unaware of what Odysseus and his men

are

doing, but still be alive to move the rock blocking the doorway aside. In order to demonstrate

how Odysseus uses cleverness, in "The Cyclops" he shows how efficient role models use

strategic thinking to come up with a solution to the conflict of the horrid beast. Since formulating

a precise course of action will ensure that Odysseus is successful, he diminishes acting tactlessly.

To defeat the other character, Odysseus has to overcome his flaws of brute force, cruelty, and

rudeness and achieve his goal with the help from a mentor, the goddess Athena, who answers his

invocation. Odysseus' use of his mind can potentially change by being used for other

circumstances than surviving a wicked beast. The Cyclops demonstrates Odysseus' flaws, which

allow Odysseus to develop his mind and tackle his issues headlong, even when the appearance of

the force may distract him from his goal.

Distracting appearances pose as a threat to Odysseus in his next challenge of the Sirens,

that he must strategize against these angelic creatures that lure men to their death. The Sirens are

said to "sing his mind away" whenever a man comes into their vicinity, enticing them to come

closer (666). Understanding this risk, with the help of his mentor Circe, Odysseus activates a

plan that will lead his men to safety by inserting his "oarsmen's ears with beeswax" to block out

the Sirens' dangerous singing (670-671). Because Odysseus is compassionate for his men and is

determined to keep them safe from the wrath of the Sirens, he is proactive in accomplishing this

task. However to cope with the curiosity of hearing the Sirens, Odysseus orders his men to tie

him to the mast and even when he is "begging to be untied", they must refuse and continue on

(676). With the help from his mentor Circe, who answers his call of invocation, Odysseus learns

from his past mistakes that his curiosity can get out of control, but now understands how to fulfill

his need of knowing and still be alive to tell the tale. In the "Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis",

because of Homer's choice of changing how cleverness is applied to different situations, he

reveals the logical planning that is associated with defeating the radiant Sirens. From the

previous situation, Odysseus is currently trapped in an issue that he has to solve with his

reasoning, which is escaping the Cyclops. Now he uses his reasoning to prevent the issue from

occurring and plan for the future, which conveniently provides more independence since the plan

does not relay on uncontrollable factors for it to run smoothy. Since Odysseus is aware of the

presence of the problem, he is able to make certain his plan to defeat the Sirens will work and

minimize the amount of danger they will encounter before they take action, showing

development of Odysseus' ability to be prepared. Continuing on his quest, Odysseus defeats the

other character again but the Sirens depict his flaw of vulnerability to the eye, meaning people

generally believe whatever they see, but there is a much more in depth meaning to it, such as the

Sirens being gorgeous women on the outside, but sneaky enemies on the inside. The

deceitfulness of the Sirens that Odysseus came across have helped him become more skilled in

his state of being, which will help him accomplish the unthinkable of winning his kingdom back.

After returning back to Ithaca finally, Odysseus realizes that his wife and throne are at

risk of the suitors and he must create a way to win them back. Consequently, with the help of a

cowheard and swineherd, Odysseus decides to kill the suitors and bargains with them, proposing

if the suitors are killed "by my [Odysseus'] hand" then he will provide marriage, cattle, and

housing to each of them (1147). After the agreement is made, Odysseus' first plan of action is to

kill the ringleader of the suitors, Antinous, who is the cruelest of the suitors, and ridicules

Odysseus when he is disguised as a beggar. To get revenge, Odysseus shoots an arrow at

Antinous and "punched up to the feathers" in his throat, ultimately killing him (1235).

Strategizing his best move, Odysseus finds it most effective to kill the leader of the suitors,

causing the rest of the suitors to be in a chaos, making it easier for Odysseus to kill the rest of the

them, proclaiming that he doubts "one man [will]... skin by" or make it out alive (1287). In

"Death at the Palace", since Homer changes the way Odysseus uses his problem solving sills, so

that he is able to achieve the goal of taking back what was his from the suitors. Throughout the

epic, Homer displays all different ways of thinking from survival strategies, to avoidance of

future conflicts, to goal setting and negotiation. Odysseus had used his mind to create a specific

step by step procedure to make certain that he will achieve his goal of killing off all the suitors.

By deliberately changes the use of cleverness, Homer displays to his readers of the ancient

Greeks how operative set ups can overcome any challenge. Although back home in Ithaca,

Odysseus is still on his quest and must overcome one of the last conflicts, which is to defeat the

other character, shown through the suitors, that represents selfishness and greediness, before he

can restore balance back in his life. With the help from a mentor, Odysseus calls for invocation

from Apollo, when he first faces the suitors. Although there is no direct help, Apollo is assumed

to have sent help to Odysseus to achieve his goals. Throughout this journey, Odysseus had

developed his way of thinking to accomplish what others would have never thought of.

Because of the unwelcoming atmosphere of the Cyclops, the charm of the Sirens, and the

savageness of the suitors, Homer changes how cleverness is used to reveal how skillful guiders

overcome obstacles in the epic poem, The Odyssey, however brute force can be used instead.

When Odysseus and his men are blown to the Ismaros island, they automatically start killing all

the natives, the Cicones, who oppose their conquest with their intentions being to keep only

those who were at peace with Odysseus' power. Approaching fast, the Scylla is attempted to be

harmed by Odysseus with spears. Although brute force had temporarily fixed the issue, more

serious consequences come along after. Since Odysseus and his men killed and enslaved many of

the natives, the remaining Cicones unite and counterattack, causing Odysseus and his men to flee

the island. When Odysseus had first arrived, he used unneeded violence to solve a problem that

could be settled through a peaceful conversation. Even though threatened by the spears, the

Scylla ended up killing six of Odysseus' crew. Grabbing weapons was Odysseus' initial reaction

to this monster and acts on impulse to use brutality. Even though using brute force can appear to

be more straightforward and less time consuming than having to strategize out an entire plan,

violence is not always the most reasonable. Likewise, how Homer changes cleverness can also

be seen in The Diary of Anne Frank. While spending time in the annex hiding from the Nazi,

Anne describes how her and her family change their use of cleverness from survival, to planning

for the future, to goal setting, which is the same pattern that Homer write about. A reoccurring

theme of critical contemplating is prevalent throughout the most influential works of literature.