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Character traits of odysseus
Odysseus wonderful character traits
Character traits of odysseus
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In Homer’s The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, is stranded at sea after the Trojan War. He must overcome many obstacles in order to reach his home, Ithaca. Throughout the book, we see the many admirable qualities that Odysseus possesses that makes him such an influential literary character: among them being cleverness and loyalty. However, every hero also has his weaknesses, and Odysseus’s main weakness is his pride. We can learn how to live our life from a hero’s good traits and bad traits Odysseus is known for not just using his strength; he uses his intelligence as well throughout his journey. He is clever enough to know how to use his enemy’s strength to his advantage. For example, when he is trapped in the Cyclops Polyphemus’s cave by a giant boulder, he knows that the boulder is too heavy for him and his men to move. If he kills Polyphemus, he has no way of getting out of the cave. Instead, Odysseus blinds the Cyclops and waits for him to move the boulder so he can escape. Another example of his wit is that Odysseus plans and thinks through what he is going to do before he acts. When he washes up on Scheria and sees that the princess Nausicaa is his only hope of rescue, he thinks through how he should approach her: “Should he throw his arms round her knees, and crave mercy of the lovely girl? or should he stand where he was, and ask her politely to give him some clothes and to show him the way to the city? When he thought over the matter, it seemed best to stand where he was and to speak politely and quietly, in case he might give offence to the girl by embracing her knees”(Homer 76). Odysseus realizes the best way to approach a stranger is not to throw himself all over them and approach them rashly, but to compl... ... middle of paper ... ...e son of Laertes, whose address is in Ithaca!” (110). Consequently, Polyphemus asks Poseidon that “may [Odysseus] never reach his home! But if it is his due portion to see his friends and come again to his tall house and his native land, may be come there late and in misery, in another man’s ship, may be lose all his companions, and may be find another tribulation at home!” (111). Odysseus also tries to build up his reputation throughout the book, such as when he passes the Sirens. He plugs the crew’s ears with wax, but ties himself up so he can be the only man to hear the siren’s song and survive. In conclusion, Odysseus was an incredible hero, not only for his brawn, but also his brains and his loyalty. Odysseus has been such an significant character in literature because readers can admire him for his many good qualities, and learn a lesson from his faults.
In conclusion, Odysseus conveys the qualities of a true hero, He shows fortitude, bravery and he portrays qualities of management. Odysseus shows these qualities throughout the journey in which he faced many challenging people and places. However, Odysseus overcomes each and every one by having only one set goal: to get home. As long as he reached that goal, nothing could stop him. Like a true hero, Odysseus never lost these traits, no matter how bad of a mess he was in.
The question has been raised as to whether or not Odysseus, the hero of Homers The Odyssey, is an epic hero. An epic Hero portrays many classic properties, including being very strong and courageous. Odysseus is an epic hero, because he portrays many of these and other traits, such as having a goal that is foremost in his mind, and having descended into the underworld.
In conclusion, Odysseus deserves the title of a hero because he shows bravery, displays a change in character, and has the Gods supporting him throughout his journey home. Odysseus has the courage to overcome physical, emotional, and intellectual challenges. While Odysseus he is on the hero’s journey, he vastly improves his character. He changes from arrogant to humble, and learns leadership qualities, and most importantly, his place in the world. Odysseus has the revelation that the gods are above him, and are in control. Because he realizes the supremacy of the gods, his reward is assistance from the gods themselves. Odysseus is not a perfect man, and is flawed, just like every other human. However, heroes are not gods.
Odysseus possesses sharp intellect which ultimately helps him move forward in his journey to become a hero. As a hero he has a cunning ability to think on his feet when he is put in difficult situations. He shows this to the reader when him and his crew are on the Land of Kyklopes. The Greeks find themselves trapped in the cave of Poseidon’s son. As they are plotting their escape the Polyphenos asks Odysseus his name. Thinking fast, Odysseus tells him “’ my name is Nohbdy: mother, father and friends, /everyone calls me Nohbdy”’ (IX, 397-398). With this clever response Odysseus is able to fool the monster and conduct the safe escape of his crew. Odysseus further proves his quick wit when he is faced with the challenge of convincing his wife that it is truly him who has arrived home after all these years. He quickly thought of what would make her beli...
Odysseus is a hero because when his men got to the area where the sirens are he tells them to put wax in there ears so that they don't get attracted by their voices. Yet knowing that Circe told him to put wax in his mens ears, he could have forgotten all about that and him and all his men could have died. He also saved his men at the cave of the cyclops by helping them escape by hanging under the sheep's while they go out he also came up with the idea of stabbing the stick in the cyclops eye blinding him which gave the men of odysseus more cover to escape
Odysseus was very famous for his adventures and events in the Trojan War. He was one of the greatest Greek heroes who fought in the Trojan war. After the war,Odysseus struggled ten years to get home. He ruled Ithaca an island of kingdom. Odysseus had a wife named Penelope both had son named Telemachus. Odysseus was favored by goddess Athena for cunning and intellect. He is also known as Ulysses which is roman for the form of his name. Odysseus was a very genius man and he was also very loved for the things he did for his city and people. He was the most trusted.
The main character of the Odyssey, Odysseus the King of Ithaca is given a complex personality to an extent where it is hard to identify whether he is a true hero or not. True heroism is only achieved when a person achieves certain qualities that portray heroism. Odysseus is not a hero based on the standards of merciful, selfless, and gentle because of his actions of sacrificing his men, killing the suitors and being ruthless throughout the Odyssey. Along with many others qualities these three are helpful and necessary in a hero. A hero must be willing to do service for others and put the needs of others safety and protection before his own. Odysseus does not even come close to matching these qualities because he is a person, who only serves of himself, and he sacrifices his allies to achieve his goals and often he takes action ruthlessly.
Looking back, people will come to believe that Odysseus shows various traits of guidance and leadership which makes him an epic hero so far. On his twenty-year journey, he conquers many barriers no other man could. Being a hero doesn’t have to mean having superpowers and an audience but simply showing the characteristics that Odysseus expresses. Coming to a conclusion, he has grown as a hero throughout the story as a guarding and shrewd man even through times of
The idea of a true hero is varied from person to person, because each viewpoint has a different idea of the personality that makes one a hero. There have been many fiction and non-fiction heroes that show different character traits, which influence people’s definitions of a hero. However, each person’s unique thought about a hero still focuses about one central idea: a hero must prove himself in order to earn his heroic status. This is the cornerstone of all the opinions about heroes because heroes have to show their heroism in order to become who they are in the end. At the beginning they are inexperienced, ordinary people who go on their adventures, and face their fears and weaknesses, but they develop greatly throughout these journeys. After comprehending what true heroism is and following it only then will they become heroes even though each of them has different traits. In the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus gains the title of hero during his journey back to Ithaka, from Troy, by proving to be one. It is through his characteristics and experiences that he becomes the well developed man at the end of the book. In truth, because of his confidence, loyalty, and difficult struggles, Odysseus becomes a genuine hero to the people he defended.
Odysseus is hailed as one of Greece's greatest heroes for his strength. However, is it merely his brawn that he is hailed for, or is there something else? Although many often dismiss things such as intellect, courage, loyalty and determination, all of which are traits that Odysseus possesses, as being strength. Being strong in these aspects can be equally, if not more, beneficial than simply physical strength, as Odysseus has proven by overcoming sea monsters, traveling through the underworld, and so much more on his journey back to his homeland of Ithaca. Homer’s Odyssey demonstrates that strength can be much more than purely physical strength by creating characters that display mental, emotional, and other forms of strength throughout the entirety of the poem.
Odysseus is a hero because he used his cunning personality to save his men when they cannot save themselves. In The Odyssey, Odysseus said to Circe “Circe, if you want me to eat and drink, you must free my man and bring them to me that I may see them with my own eyes.”. This quote shows that Odysseus is a true hero because he is forcing a goddess to free his men so that she can get him to eat. Also in The Odyssey, Odysseus had also taken on the brave task of rushing Circe after she had tried to poison him in book X. This example shows that Odysseus is a hero because he had the courage to save his men by going against the goddess. It also shows that he was not afraid of the harm that he could face going against Circe as Odysseus did.
What are the differences between heros and villains? A hero is someone who is willing to fight to the death to help someone else. A villain is soeone who will do bad at any cost, whether someone gets hurt or not. The epic poem, The Odyssey, has both heros and villains. The Odyssey is about a king named Odysseus who is fighting his way home to get back to his wife, and son, while fighting monsters and obsticals. The main character, Odysseus, could be considered botha hero and a villain because, he fights hard to get home while being brave, and determaned, but he kills along the way at no cost which makes him a villain. Therefore, Odysseus is mostly a monster because he could have let all of the people go and not kill them.
The challenges that Homer give the protagonist is all a test of character. Odysseus continues to pass the obstacles with flying colors, but his arrogance is the one flaw that is in dire need of correction. Some of the many challenges Odysseus overcomes on his voyage home is defeating the Cicones, surviving the Island of the Lotus Eaters, outsmarting the Giant Cyclops, saving his men from Circe, Traveling to Hades, passing between Scylla and Charybdis, escaping Calypsos’ Island and many more. Odysseus survives these obstacles and uses his smarts to escape near disaster. Often times he was the only one to survive these things and his crew often lost their lives due to their own stupidity. “‘We left the island and resumed our journey in a state of gloom; and the heart was taken out of my men by the wearisome rowing. But was our own stupidity that had deprived us of the wind.’”(P127 L75-79) Odysseus shows how he is an extraordinary man by being much smarter than his crew and the men that follow him. As a part of this stripping of Odysseus, Homer shows that Odysseus is a collective symbol of Everyman. On the one hand Odysseus is a great warrior, who is extremely intelligent, noble, and a great man. Although he has many god- like qualities he is still human. He shows that he is human and like every man, because of the fact that he still has major flaws. The
Throughout the course of his journey, Odysseus is haunted by the thought of his enemy, Poseidon, who has far more power than Odysseus and strives to keep him from returning to Ithaca. Poseidon still holds a grudge against Odysseus for blinding Polyphemus at his cave. Soon before Odysseus reaches Phaeacia’s shores with hope of rescue, Poseidon notices that “he’s [Odysseus] fated to escape his noose of pain” if he makes it to Phaeacia, and threatens to “give that man [Odysseus] his swamping full of trouble” to prevent him from reaching his destination (Homer 5:318-320). While Odysseus is among the most powerful mortals, he is not comparable to Poseidon. This is why, in a situation like this, it is an important skill to know your strengths, and act intelligently.
In conclusion, Odysseus displays the good and heroic characteristics of cleverness, bravery and strength throughout his actions in response to the challenges he faced in The Odyssey. Like any great heroes in literature, Odysseus does have some character flaws, such as pride and violence. But his good characteristics makes him a hero to root for and agree with, despite any flaws that he has.