Odysseus has displayed a few times that he cannot properly command his own crew. An example of this is shown in the very beginning of the book: ”But not by will nor valor could he save them, for their own recklessness destroyed them all” (Homer 1. 10-11). This sentence showcases Odysseus failing to control his crew members, which highlights his ineffective leadership skills. The fact that their own recklessness had destroyed them all really emphasizes how Odysseus did nothing to stop his crew from being reckless, and for that he had failed as well. Another example of this is shown here: ”in his deep heart at sea, while he fought only to save his life” (Homer 1. 8-9). When Odysseus was at sea with his crewmates he was trying to fight just for
I believe Odysseus is not a hero because he let many people die. He also didn't save his men from the Cyclops “He couldn't save his people.” I personally think that he didn’t try to save them at all. Odysseus did not save his people in time. According to Homer, “ While he fought only to save his life, to bring his shipmates home.
Odysseus didn’t have enough respect for his crew. Odysseus’ men were taking him across the ocean so that he could get home and weren’t getting compensated for it. Odysseus showed bad leadership when he left his men alone so he could sleep and while he was sleeping they opened a bag of wind and they were blown in the opposite direction of where they were headed. Odysseus showed very little care when six of his men were killed by Scylla, he almost ignored it and just continued his
Nixon Waterman once remarked, “Say ‘I will!’ and then stick to it- That’s the only way to do it”. This quote inspires people like these two characters to be determined and work for the goal they want to achieve. Using this they both go through successful journeys and fight through their enemies.
What makes a hero? The novel Things Fall Apart follows the story of a man named Okonkwo, who grew up with a father who was kind, and generous, but was a so dependent on other people and did not pay back any of his debts as well. It was because of Okonkwo’s father that he became the man that he was, Okonkwo felt that since his father was kind and generous he had to be the exact opposite, so he became a hard working young man, but also became violent and aggressive, he lived in fear that he would be buried with shame as his father was, even though he had taken on many titles. Odysseus was quite the opposite though, from the story The Odyssey, was extremely different, he was clever, and kind. Odysseus was ripped away from his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope, and spent twenty years trying to find
Dwight Eisenhower once said, "The supreme quality of leadership is integrity." Odysseus displayed a lack of integrity and poor leadership by not fully communicating all the facts of the situation
Although Odysseus occasionally does something for the short-term benefit of his crew, he does not deserve their loyalty because he does not sincerely care about them, trust them, or listen to them. Even when Odysseus is in the middle of nowhere in a boat with his comrades and crew members for twenty years, he still manages to not care about them and think of his own life as more valuable than any of theirs. An example of this is when Odysseus sends his men into danger instead of being a leader and going first: “All I spied was a plume of smoke, drifting off the land. / So I sent some crew ahead to learn who lived there -- / men like us perhaps, who live on bread?”
Throughout the story, Odysseus demonstrates his courage that ultimately allows him to survive. One of these moments was during his journey back to Ithaca, where he faces a race of man eating giants called the Cyclops. Odysseus originally stops his ship there to relish a feast while on his journey back to Ithaca, but while doing so, out of curiosity explores the island. Soon, he finds a deserted house and decides to wait of the owner. The owner was unknowingly one the Cyclops, named Polyphemus.
When Odysseus commands his men to go back to sea to voyage, he is a good leader because he is telling his men what to do. He is being a leader by protecting his men from the Ciccone 's army by leaving before reinforcements come. For example, when Odysseus and his men are heading to the sirens Odysseus states “you are to tie me up, tight as a splint” (Homer 1005). Odysseus is an admirable leader when he orders his men to tie him up and do not untie him because he is sacrificing himself for the good of his men. He is a leader when he does this because he lets his men not suffer the sirens while he has to.
Ultimately Odysseus can be a good leader but behind the scenes, he's not. He may of saved his men multiple times, but also got them killed them due to his neglect. He might be intelligent but really he tolerably manipulated his crew by saying things such as “don’t you want to go back to your home again?”. In closing, throughout the whole story, Odysseus progresses himself and designates many Greek
However, in the Odyssey, Odysseus makes choices that both his crew and the reader find questionable. Although Odysseus has some positive attributes he is a bad leader for the following reasons he keeps secrets from his crew, he falls asleep at inappropriate times and is arrogant to a fault. Odysseus’s
Being a leader is a complex role that is easy to mess up. Time and time again he endangers his crew up until their demise. Constantly Odysseus is shown to be brash and controlled via his emotions in moments of danger. Even after he begins to lose more and more men he continues to be insanely unremorseful. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is overall an overrated leader with his biggest flaw being his horrible judgment
(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
During these trials, many burdens were put on Odysseus’ crew, which led to all of his crew eventually all being killed before returning to Ithaca. The 2nd instance where Odysseus made a wrong choice that affected his crew is when he didn’t even really trust his crew. So he stayed up for days straight and
During these situations, Odysseus gains leadership and tactical skills from fighting in the war in Troy, which costs him 10 years of his life and another 10 years of sailing out on the sea from Poseidon 's curse. Odysseus is therefore a heroic and efficient leader because he plans his moves ahead of time and is vigilant at all times to ensure his safety. Yet, though Odysseus possesses these heroic leadership qualities, his arrogance sometimes leads to his downfall and inability to lead. While Odysseus is a little arrogant, he can also be a great leader because he is able to trust his second in command, Eurylochus, and give him more power while he is away. When Odysseus is away from Circe’s island, Odysseus has a change of heart and suddenly wants to go back to Circe’s island to retrieve his crew.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus repeatedly shows that he is polytropos, for as Zeus says “There is no mortal half so wise”(3). Using his wits, Odysseus gets him and his men out of several sticky situations in the Odyssey, proving his leadership through his actions that save the lives of his crew member. On the other hand Odysseus’ streak of constantly outsmarting challenges, goes to his head, and unfortunately causes Odysseus to develop a hubris. His pride at times makes him arrogant, believing that he always knows best, which leads to the untimely demise of his crew. While Odysseus proves to be good leader by saving his crew from trouble with his wits, he is ultimately a bad leader because he refuses to listen to advice.