Examples Of Odysseus Foolishness

His mission is to return home, yet by his own fault instead of being a quick journey, it takes around ten years. Odysseus’ first mistake is not immediately making for him, but deciding to go off pillaging. He later trespasses xenia, breaking into Polyphemus’ home and making himself at home, which leads to the deaths of several of his men, then angers Poseidon by blinding the Cyclops, the god’s son. He even would have gotten away with it after tricking the Cyclops if he had not the extreme hubris that led him to announce that he was the one to blind him: “Cyclops—if any man…should ask you who blinded you…say Odysseus” (9.558-560). He prolongs his journey further by staying with Circe and Calypso and making very little effort to leave. These are but a few examples of Odysseus’s many, many self-inflicted problems through which he manages to force his journey home to be ever

Homer writes about stubborn characters who are challenging for Odysseus because he is losing their trust everyday that him and his crew were not back home to their families. Although he is known for being a cunning and intelligent character, he is not the most mentally stable person. Odysseus has had his hypocritical moments which have caused plenty to question his leadership skills.

First of all, Odysseus can be exceedingly prideful. As a matter of fact, the majority of the unfortunate events in “The Odyssey” can be traced back to this hamartia. For example, if Odysseus hadn’t blinded Polyphemus, he wouldn’t have been cursed by Poseidon. According to Mahatma Gandhi, “An eye for

Ever since the dawn of humanity, one of the most prominent problems of heroes has been their arrogance. Characters whose downfall was set in motion by hubris include Victor from Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Satan from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and King Oedipus in the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex. Even Odysseus, thought of by some as the greatest soldier of all time, struggles with his ego and arrogant manner in both Homer’s epic depiction and Andrei Konchalovsky’s movie portrayal of Odysseus. However, Odysseus proves to be much more conceited in the film than in the original epic tale.

Throughout Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, exhibits multiple signs of cunning behavior, which therefore drives the plot and aids in characterization. One instance where Odysseus exemplifies his role as a cunning character is when he tricks Polyphemus in an effort to escape the Cyclops’ cave. He develops a plan in which he and his men blind Polyphemus and use the Cyclops’ sheep as a form of escape. This plan is comprised of a series of steps, including the development of a weapon, intoxicating Polyphemus, gouging out his eye, hiding on his sheep, and ultimately, escaping his cave. In an effort to keep his identity a secret, Odysseus tells Polyphemus that his name is “Nobody.” By doing so, when Polyphemus is stabbed, he is unable to inform his startled neighbors about what is happening to or who is harming him, and can only tell them, “Nobody’s killing me now by fraud and not by force!” (Homer 224.

In the epic story the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is returning from the Trojan war, and on his way home he finds many obstacles ahead of him. Odysseus is the ruler of Ithaca and he is trying to return home to his land. Many creatures try and stop him from achieving his goal of returning home, but he and his crew have to push through and get home. Odysseus portrays bravery and courage leading his crew through these tough challenges. Odysseus heroically leads his crew and himself through dangerous obstacles, but also foolishly endangers them during the journey home.

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. Odysseus’ impulse overtakes his actions, and rather than waiting for the right time to do something, he cannot contain himself and must get it out. In the beginning of the Odyssey, Odysseus cannot control his impulses, which leads

The main character Odysseus in the Odyssey written by Homer is generally thought to be a great hero; however, he shows more traits of a quite flawed character on closer inspection. Around the beginning of Odysseus’ journey home after the war, Odysseus decides to take a detour to the home of a cyclops deciding to not listen to his men’s suggestions to leave while they still could; consequently, it does not end well: “Ah, how sound that was, Yet I refused. I wished to see the caveman, what he had to offer no pretty sight it turned out, for my friend” (9.130-132). This thought by Odysseus shows that he realized his decision to go to the mysterious island wasn’t the most rational one and that his men’s pleas to leave were the better option, but he decides to be stubborn and place his curiosity before his men’s safety resulting in a non-heroic

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

Imagine being apart from your family for over ten years, fighting for your life in a war, and in the many battles and problems you will face on your way home from war. Would you be able to fight a cyclops, pass a dangerous whirlpool and have to face the fact that your crew betrayed you? In the novel The Odyssey written by Homer, Odysseus must do all of these things and more. He has been away from his wife, son and many other family members for over ten years now, fighting for his life on his journey home after fighting in the Trojan war. But, after angering Poseidon by blinding his one eyed cyclops son, Odysseus must go through brutal situations to get home thanks to the fuming god. The theme, the search for justice, is very prevalent in this text because of the fight between Odysseus and the suitors, the reunion of Odysseus and his wife Penelope and when Odysseus visits his father Laertes and Athena must restore peace because of the fight that breaks out there.

One would think that Odysseus would not run into a conflict like he had already endured, but as stated in lines 458-459 Odysseus didn’t learn. Homer writes, “if mortal man inquire tell him Odysseus raider of cities took your eye.” Odysseus first told the cyclops his name was “nohbody” which masked his

Homer’s The Odyssey follows Odysseus and his journey home from the Trojan War. Although he anticipates a short journey, Odysseus is cursed by Poseidon to suffer ten additional years at sea. On the way home, Odysseus and his crew stop at the Cyclops’s island and encounter Polyphemus, Poseidon’s son, who kills crew members by tempting them with food, and then crushing them. Odysseus tricks the Cyclops by using the pseudonym of Nobody and stabs him in the eye; however he reveals his true name at the last second, thus giving Poseidon someone to blame. The remaining crew then stumbles upon the island of the Circe, where they are taken in by the sorceress’s beautiful women and abundant food. As the men feast, Circe takes advantage of their inattention

The ancient Greeks had a set of rules called the eight Greek evil thoughts. These were simple morals to keep everyone on the same page and avoid a lot of problems. In the episode of “The Cyclops,” Odysseus and men were trying to steal some food from the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Polyphemus eats two of his men and imprisons the rest. Odysseus comes up with a plan to escape by blinding the Cyclops after he moves the rock blocking the exit. During this episode, Odysseus shows the evil thoughts Philargyria (greed) and Kenodoxia (boasting). Greed can be a dangerous thing but it is a natural feeling for most. It causes people to feel as if they need something that they do not deserve. Instead of just taking the food and leaving, Odysseys forced his troops

Throughout the Odyssey, the main character Odysseus goes on an epic adventure with his focus being to get home to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. He faces many obstacles dealing with characters such as the Cyclopes, Poseidon, Aeolus, Athena, Helios, Calypso, Zeus, Hermes, Scylla, and Circe. Odysseus’s men are some of the most valuable people to him throughout the Odyssey. He always puts himself in front of danger for them to protect them even though they all died from an unexpected turn of events soon before he returns home. When Odysseus comes home he greets his twenty year old son and straightens things out on his homeland, Ithaca. The only reason Odysseus makes it through twenty years of life

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. In addition, he is also wise when he decides to not kill Polyphemus in his sleep. Odysseus knows that if he kills Polyphemus, he and his men will be trapped forever in the cave because of the giant boulder blocking the entrance. Only Polyphemus can move the boulder.