Homer’s The Odyssey is a story about a man named Odysseus and his journey and misfortune that occurs while trying to return home. Due to its origins in oral improvisation, The Odyssey is characterized by many paradoxes. However, these paradoxes can and do function within the context of the story. One paradox in The Odyssey is how Odysseus is constantly praised as an incredibly capable hero, yet he seems to always need a god to help him out of trouble.
Earlier in the epic, Odysseus frequently abuses his role as captain of his crew because of his curious nature. He makes several stops on their journey home in search of more opportunities to prove his skillfulness, even though he is already a king and has won a major war. One of these stops is at the Island of Polyphemus, home to the cyclops famed for eating all humans that enter his cave. Even though Odysseus is well aware of the danger ahead, his curiosity tempts him to
Polyphemus is an abnormal creature who plays a key role in the plot of the Odyssey. His death is the most interesting and unique in the entire epic. Odysseus finds himself trapped inside the Cyclops’s home with the rest of his crew and must think of an escape plan because each day more of his crew gets eaten. Polyphemus is smart because he knows that Odysseus won’t kill him in his sleep for they’d be stuck in the cave since a huge boulder is blocking the door. Although, no one expects Odysseus to get him drunk and then stab him in the eye; in order to get Polyphemus to open the door afterward, his crew and he hid under sheep.
The Odyssey is a story of a soldier returning from war and facing many obstacles along the way. The Odyssey has many things in common with actual soldiers returning from a war. Several million soldiers have had many different and difficult obstacles returning from war. The Odyssey has many difficult obstacles that are similar to that of a soldier of any time period.
He becomes over confident and his actions almost always lead to consequences. “‘Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose homes on Ithaca!’” (Homer 457-460). Odysseus’s ego shines through in this instance. He decides that he needs to have the last word and that everyone should know who blinded the great Polyphemus, so he reveals his name to the cyclops.
Odysseus and his men go out to get some food from the Cyclops Polyphemus but instead of taking it he waited and was captured along with some of this crew. Sadly Polyphemus eats two of him men every day. Odysseus cunningly tricks the cyclops by intoxicating him and then drives a smoldering wooden stake into his eye, blinding him. He and his remaining men are able to escape but not without feeling the wrath of the god Poseidon. ( He curses Odysseus to wander the sea for ten year, and by the end of those ten years he will have also lost all of his crew
In the section “In the One-Eyed Giant’s Cave” from Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is portrayed as a hero through his character traits and behaviors. When Odysseus and his men attack the city of Ismarus, the Cicones’ strong hold, Odysseus made sure to fairly distribute the spoils among his men. Odysseus’s behavior shows that he is a great leader, a characteristic of a hero. While Odysseus and his crew are in the Cyclops’ cave, Polyphemus, the cyclops, notices them. Polyphemus asks who they are with a monstrous tone, “‘Strangers!'
Odysseus does this because he is prideful and haughty and wants Polyphemus to know who Odysseus was and that Odysseus defeated him. However, by doing so, he alerts Polyphemus of their location, and the cyclops hurls a massive boulder at the men, causing, “a giant wave that washed the ship stern foremost back to shore” (III: 484-485). This shows that Odysseus’ pride and honor which causes him to boast to others about his victories and their losses, is very dangerous to him and his crew. Instead of taking the easy way out, Odysseus decides to show off to the cyclops, who nearly washed them back to shore and kills them because of Odysseus’ foolish arrogance. Figurative Language: 1.
For centuries people have been trying to figure out one main question. Is there more in reality than can be perceived by the senses? Prime Reality is asking if it is an open or closed system? Is matter eternal? Are there gods, one God, or nothing.
Having narrowly avoided disaster using his wit, Odysseus had gotten out of a pinch once again. Unfortunately, it is here where we are introduced to a new side of Odysseus, and while it is only this once that we truly see it, it proves to be more costly than most other unfortunate events that befall him. While his crew rows their ship away from the island, Odysseus begins hurling insults at Polyphemus and taunting him for losing (Book 9, Lines 530-536). These actions, prideful in nature end up proving quite costly. Initially, they seem to have again avoided disaster, as after the first insult, Polyphemus throws a massive rock at the ship, narrowly missing it.
Can dishonesty be valuable if it was used to achieve desirable outcomes? Is lying considered justified if it was involved in a dangerous situation? It is not always bad to lie. As children, we were continuously taught to be honest. We have grown to be implanted with the fact that lying is unacceptable but admissible.
Polyphemus began to eat Odysseus’ men and they were trying to escape and so they stabbed the cyclops in his eye and got away. As they were sailing away the cyclops was throwing boulders at their ship but could not aim because of his eye. Odysseus thinks he is a badass and calls out to the cyclops telling him his name and this is where his mistake was made. Boasting is typically seen as disrespectful to a lot of people, and in return Poseidon, god of the sea, seeks vengeance for is son by setting Odysseus and his men further off course from home. If Odysseus decided to not boast and just get away, then he would have probably been home eight years
In Book 9, Odysseus demonstrates that cleverness is one of his strengths, but also that arrogance, or hubris, is a major weakness for him. For example, Odysseus demonstrates his cleverness on the cyclops island of Polyphemus. When he arrives on the island and Polyphemus asks for his name, Odysseus says that his name is “Nobody,” which confuses Polyphemus. After Odysseus blinds him, he yells “Nobody’s killing me” (224). His cyclop friends are also confused and think he is ridiculous.
Truth of the Odyssey In the book The Odyssey, there is a hero, Odysseus. He was a great leader and was very strong. There are many truths in the book including the beliefs and geography. This makes the story more interesting because it makes the reader feel like they can experience this themselves.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus’s journey to his home of Ithaka was abundant with challenges. These challenges were often very dangerous, both to Odysseus’s life, and his mission of returning home. The most dangerous ones being the Lotus-eaters, the Cyclops Polyphemos, and the Sirens. Out of all these challenges, the most dangerous was facing the great Cyclops Polyphemos. Some people may think that the Lotus-eaters or the Sirens were more dangerous than Polyphemos, but they were not.
