Courage In The Odyssey

Saving Others, Selflessly The word “hero” usually brings to mind a knight slaying a dragon or a firefighter rescuing someone from a burning building. But does one have to save a life to be considered a hero? Oftentimes, we assume that heroism is limited to physical bravery. This term, however, implies the notion of helping and inspiring others: a teacher cultivating a love for learning or a paraplegic Olympian reaching out to youth with disabilities. Because heroes range from Olympians to teachers, not all are famous--in fact, many remain unrecognized.

This is when he starts experiencing a new type of courage, the type that goes unknown to a person because he is not worrying about having courage and facing his own fears, the only thing he is worried about is being there and fighting for his

Odysseus’s Tumultuous Journey Heroes in today’s literature often take on difficult challenges that put themselves in constant danger to better themselves. Joseph Campbell came out with a book in 1949 called “A Hero with a Thousand Faces” which he introduced the “Hero’s Journey” formula that Odysseus closely follows. The Odyssey is a Greek mythology following Odysseus, a Trojan War hero who faces many dangers trying to get back to his homeland of Ithaca. At his homeland of Ithaca suitors are eating out his home and trying to marry his wife while Telemachus sets out to find his father, but eventually comes back unsuccessful. Finally, Odysseus comes home and takes back his home and family.

Courage has gone through many changes. It has been altered throughout races, cultures, religions, sex, and time. However, the core values of courage has always remained parallel. It is difficult to explain in words the meaning of courage, like describing a color, but everyone knows what courage is, how it feels, and how to perform it. In Harper Lee’s

Heroism, tends to be difficult to define and remarkably ambiguous in literary works. In the Odyssey, however, Homer clearly defines a hero as a humble, determined, and loyal individual; thus, according to Homer, it is not enough to claim to be a hero, but it is also important to exhibit those qualities that Homer values as heroism. Odysseus, despite claiming heroism, upholds these traits inconsistently, as seen in his taunting of Polyphemus. In contrast, Telemachus, Odysseus’ overlooked son, dramatically grows up over the course of the epic and ultimately reveals his truly heroic qualities by the end of the poem. Thus, because Odysseus claims to be a hero, but fails to remain humble, determined, and loyal throughout the epic, he is not a hero.

“Courage doesn 't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying ‘I’ll try again tomorrow’” - Mary Anne Radmacher. Through this quote one can see the advantages of real courage. One can really understand the true meaning of courage by reading the books To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. The book by Harper Lee is written by a 9 year old’s perspective named Scout.

The Odyssey is a fantastic story full of interesting characters, conflicts, and theme. The Odyssey was written by Homer who was a blind poet. It was written in the 8th century B.C during a time of Greek god worship. With intricate characters, exciting conflicts, and an impressive theme the Odyssey is an amazing book for anyone.

Courage is not something easily won with guns or money. It takes motivation and determination to have courage. It’s something that compelles one to go forth even if forward is two steps

In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, courage is demonstrated throughout the novel by various characters. To begin, courage was shown when Elie’s father was too weak to continue working and was selected to be killed, so Elie ran after his father, determined not to lose him. Courageously he chased after his father, “... Several SS men rushed to find me, creating such a confusion that a number of people were able to switch over to the right-among them my father and I. Still, there were gunshots and some dead” (Wiesel 96).

T. S. Eliot, a publisher and playwright, has said, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” Courage has many ways of presenting itself to people. Whether it is through physical ways or moral ways depends on the situation. Most people see courage as physical, like a small dog saving a helpless kitten from a fire or a man jumping in front of a bullet for a loved one or complete stranger. There is also the moral side of courage.

It doesn’t actually display bravery, but rather a confused idea of courage that Tim incorprates throughout his novel. In summation, Tim O’Brien exercises what courage truly means throughout his novel The Things They Carried. He seems to come to a consensus that there truly is no singular meaning to courage as each and every person can interpret it differently. Tim O’Brien’s does an astonishing job exhibiting to the reader what courage truly is and the innumerable ways in which it can be

1st paragraph- Mahatma Gandhi once said: “Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up.” Pride is seen by many as a weakness but pride is what encourages many to prove themselves. Odysseus’ major flaw is believing he is greater than any other human, sometimes even the gods. Odysseus demonstrates this weakness when he encounters the Cyclops and enrages him by trespassing into the one-eyed beast's cave. When Odysseus finally escapes he yelled his name to the Cyclops, out of pride, when he could have used a decoy name. Zeus decides to teach Odysseus a lesson for hurting his son and provides many obstacles for Odysseus on his journey home. Odysseus’ common flaw of pride is relatable to a present day hero because

Have you ever felt tempted to cheat on your homework or on a test? Have you been prideful of what your status or accomplishments? In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the brave hero Odysseus encountered these obstacles of temptations and pride that people today still face. Therefore, temptation and pride were Odysseus’ greatest enemy throughout his journey back to Ithaca, as they distracted him on his voyage, prevented him from getting home, and displeased the gods.

The Odyssey, a story based on a great warrior who not just shows his mind but his faults. One fault being his pride. As of the day he went to fight the Trojan War, he was lost at sea for 20 years. Odysseus fought with smart and the hope of being able to defeat everyone in his path. One example of this is Odysseus built the trojan horse which helped him win the Trojan war. Odysseus is a man of pride and commitment, even though that commitment he has sometimes gets him in trouble. When Ceres the Greek Goddess who wants Odysseus to sleep with her, he then refused which led to her changing his men into animals. Odysseus has to break his commitment to Penelope and sleep with her.

The book Odyssey is one of the oldest books in literature. In the book it teaches lessons about loyalty, hospitality, and vengeous. For example, the myth of Argos, Odysseus trains Argos as a puppy to make him brave and strong. Then, Odysseus leaves for war and gets lost for twenty years until he finally comes home to find out his dog was not taken care of or treated kindly. They only reunite for a short while until Argos passes away. Artist Theodor Van Thulden and poet Alexander Pope explain this tale in more detail by showing the loyalty and heroism that Argos has and that the other people from Ithaca never cared to stay loyal to Odysseus like they should have. In the painting Argos Recognizes Odysseus, by Theodor Van Thulden uses the myth