Few people are so lucky as to have a life changing revelation that allows them to self correct and obtain a deeper view of himself. However, this is exactly what happens to Odysseus, in The Odyssey. In The Odyssey by Robert Fitzgerald, Odysseus’s epiphany yields him a new perspective, allowing him to beat the odds and reach Ithaka. It is only by looking through a new lens that Odysseus is able to grasp his faults and overcome his arrogance driven recklessness.
Before his epiphany, Odysseus has tunnel vision, only focusing on the present, with little concern for the consequences of his actions, as shown by his behavior before his moment of clairvoyance. Early in his journey, Odysseus, ever the braggart, comes into contact with a Kyklops, whom
…show more content…
Teiresias explains his lesson to Odysseus: As Fitzgerald writes, “But anguish lies ahead; the god who thunders on the land prepares it, not to be shaken from your track, implacable, in rancor for the son whose eye you blinded. One narrow strait may take you through his blows: denial of yourself, restraint of shipmates” (Fitzgerald 188). It is here that Odysseus discovers the error of his ways, and sees the scene from a different standpoint. He finally learns that it was his stabbing of Polyphemos that has angered the gods, who in turn have kept him from his home. Odysseus must, then, extrapolate that his arrogance in shouting his name to Polyphemos has cursed him and crew, causing him to not see his family for twenty years, and ensuring much worse fate for his crew. If it wasn’t clear then, Teiresias lays it out for him, denial of yourself, [Odysseus] and restraint of his shipmates, who also let their overconfidence get the better of them, such as on Ismaros, is the only way to make it home and atone for his past actions. Teiresias’ words cause Odysseus to step back, and momentarily be freed from his righteousness and hubris, giving him the opportunity to understand his flaws from an uninhibited perspective. The pace of his life and adventures clouded his vision, and his emotion and ego further blinded him to his faults, but being presented with responsibility for his situation and a new perspective to analyze himself from opens his eyes to what he must do. This lesson is an enormous turning point for Odysseus, it is his revelation, and his chance to correct his
Homer shows that Odysseus has feelings too, though he went through his journey without heartache. When Odysseus reunites with his son, Telemachus, he begins to shed tears of sadness and joy because it has been forever since he has seen him. As well he shows anger towards the suitors and Penelope because the suitors disrespected his wife and his home by trashing the home, eating his food, and plotting to kill Telemachus who is heir to the throne. Odysseus was also mad at Penelope because she devised a test to see if Odysseus was the real Odysseus which made Odysseus furious because nobody except for a god could move his
As previously mentioned, Odysseus uses his intelligence escape the Kyklops. Later after that event, Odysseus and his shipmates ride out on the underbellies of the Kyklop’s rams, allowing them to go undetected by other island inhabitants. By the time they find themselves back on board their ship, the Kyklops has stumbled out onto shore. He begins to hurl giant boulders at the ship. Odysseus’s crewmates warn him not to tempt th creature yet again, however Odysseus’s pride overtakes him and he can resist.
Odysseus seems to have brought his misfortune onto himself as in the case of his encounter with the Cyclopes. He makes the foolhardy decision to tell Polyphemos his name and setting Poseidon ,and Fate in a certain sense, on a course for vengeance against the man who blinded his son - “Hear me, Poseidon who circle the earth, dark-haired. If truly I am your son, and you acknowledge yourself as my father, grant that Odysseus, sacker of cities, son of Laertes, who makes his home in Ithaka, may never reach that home; but if it is decided that he shall see his own people, and come home to his strong-founded house and to his own country, let him come late, in bad case, with the loss of all his companions, in someone else’s ship, and find troubles in his
While Odysseus and his crew are slowly moving away from Cyclopes Island, Odysseus tells Polyphemus that he is “Odysseus, Laertes’ son,” whose home “lies on Ithaca” (Homer 459 and 460). Because of his arrogant decision to tell Polyphemus the truth of his origins, he essentially dooms him and his crew. Polyphemus, who is Poseidon's son, asks of his father to punish Odysseus for his arrogance, whom grants his prayer. In cessation, Odysseus’ haughty decision to tell Polyphemus his whereabouts leads to his utter
Odysseus has grown from the man he was before, as now he finds comfort and safety in obeying the gods when in the past he did not consider their wishes. Odysseus has only returned due to Athena and he has recognized that and his compliance is founded in his appreciation and respect for her. Odysseus is now a hero due to the obedience he now has to the gods, founded in a sense of humility. Through Odysseus’ experiences on his journey, he learns the value of obedience and dangers of arrogance and ultimately, become a hero through the lessons learned.
When they get back to the boat and Odysseus yells out to the Cyclopes his name. Which means a harder journey for Odysseus and his men because Polyphemus is Poseidon's son. In this book Odysseus shows his pride when he yells from the boat and almist gets him and his men killed. In the movie Odysseus pride is most shown when he blames her situation solely on his men.
In the beginning of the book Odysseus is impulsive and arrogant. After Odysseus blinds and defeats the Cyclops, he cannot contain himself. Out of pure impulsiveness and the inability to be humble, Odysseus yells out to the Cyclops, “If any man on the face of the earth should ask you/ who blinded you, shamed you do so–say Odysseus,/raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,/Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer 9.556-562). Odysseus is so impulsive he has to scream out his name to the gods and the Cyclops.
(Book 10, page 159, PDF). Odysseus had left almost always meant to die with only saving a few which may have caused a sense of controversy and confusion. Also Odysseus hadn’t thought of a way to save all of his men, which eventually impacted his journey and his entire crew. Though Odysseus did have several acts of heroic deeds, the amount of failure in a majority of those other acts overpowered them
There are many lessons Odysseus and is men learn on their journey home in the Odyssey. Unfortunately, only Odysseus makes it home and the rest of men are dead because of their foolish actions. In the Thrinacia and The Cattle of the Sun episode of the Odyssey Odysseus’s men once again disobey him and cost them their lives. The men and Odysseus learn valuable lessons throughout their epic journey, but in the episode the most important lessons they learn are; temptation can lead to death, being obedient can save your life, and trust your instincts. If Odysseus’s men would have been more obedient to their leader Odysseus perhaps all of them would have made it back home alive.
In the book called The Odyssey by Homer, it mainly follows the story of a king of a village called Ithaca, hundreds of years ago-This man, is named Odysseus. Odysseus goes through many adventures after the victory of the Trojan War. However, this is where Odysseus, is not being as strong as a great war hero and a king as he should be. Although Odysseus was seen as a very strong person, physically and mentally, he lacks the appreciation and the care of his crew throughout the trials and didn’t think through many of his actions thoroughly and how they would affect not only his crew but people around him.
Naturally, he has much to be proud of: his sexy and loyal wife, his bravery, and his victorious battles from the Trojan War and beyond. However, his arrogance creates a weakness in his character that negatively impacts himself and the people around him. The evolution in Odysseus’s personality turns him from an arrogant flaunter to a humble man, and demonstrates that the strifes he encounters during his journey home is not simply new experiences, but also his beginning of a profound revelation. Starting from the middle of the mountain, Odysseus’s new transformation will allow him to soar to the top with eagle
TS1 (Thesis): In The Odyssey, Homer depicts Odysseus’ real foe as the theme of temptation with displays of hubris and lustrous goddesses, which portrays the importance of being vigilant to not submit to temptation. ST1: Homer depicts that Odysseus is determined to get home, but Odysseus succumbs to temptation when he leads his crew into the cyclops lair, eats the cyclops’ food, and demands for a gift, resulting in a protracted journey home. 1: Homer displays Odysseus as recklessly brave when he requests, “we’re at your knees, in hopes of… a guest-gift”(9.300) from the cyclops. 2: It is apparent that Odysseus has given into the temptation to be arrogant when he declares for the cyclops to give them, “a guest-gift,” after Odysseus and his men have broken into the cyclops lair, showing even further Odysseus’ isn’t vigilant to
Just as Achilles is confronted in the Iliad with the problem of balancing his honor with his pride, Odysseus repeatedly faces situations in which self-restraint and humility must check bravado and glory-seeking. In his early adventures, he fails these tests, as when he taunts Polyphemus, inflaming Poseidon. As the epic progresses, Odysseus becomes increasingly capable of judging when it is wise to reveal himself and when it is appropriate to rejoice in his
Odysseus realized the pattern of his situation after he woke up and additionally, the last opportunity he received to sleep, he could not. This proves how he recognizes his mistakes because the pattern that he found was going to an island, asking for help, then ending up at another land. Another pattern with Odysseus is that whenever he sleeps, he takes a few steps back on his journey back to Ithaca. Odysseus learned from his own mistakes, but
Odysseus suffered the consequence of being away from his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope for 20 years. Odysseus was told by Athena and other gods, what to do during his journey. All of them told Odysseus that he couldn’t tell his men because they’d suffer a consequence. Odysseus listened to Athena and the gods because he only thought about himself and didn 't think about what his crew would say or do. When Odysseus and his crew passed by the mainland where the Cyclops lived, they were only going to stay for two days, but then out of curiosity, Odysseus wanted to see what kind of beast the Cyclops was which made them almost die.