Odysseus’s Traits 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.
Culture changes over time, and although Odysseus exhibits some timeless characteristics of a hero such as bravery and determination, he misleads his crew, depends on divine help, and does not demonstrate mercy. These are qualities Ancient Greeks would have seen as admirable, but they would not be viewed in the same light today. To begin, Odysseus is unmerciful to anyone that has wronged him. He kills all of the suitors in the hall, “Spattered and caked in blood like a mountain lion,” (Fitzgerald 22. 450) he did not leave any survivors. After he does this, he orders Telemachus to kill all of the servants that have been
Odysseus’ Growth in The Odyssey How can a character go from being an unlikeable character to becoming a hero? In the epic poem, the main character, Odysseus, leaves his home in Ithaca to go to the Trojan War. After the war ends, he struggles on his return home to see his family. Odysseus goes on a series of missions with his men, fighting many mythical characters and foes to go back home. In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer uses indirect characterization to demonstrate how the character, Odysseus, transforms from a selfish and arrogant person to a selfless and admirable hero.
It also shows that he is very aggressive at times, and is willing to wipe out many men in an act of revenge. Odysseus’s plan of death can even reveal his quick temper and rash thinking. He immediately thinks of a plan that would kill every suitor instead of forgiving
Odysseus’s fate is being changed by this monster because of his overwhelming confidence, and if Odysseus acted differently, the results could have been worldly unalike. His fate is influenced directly by his attitude earlier on and created a chain reaction Homer intended on detailing. Homer is telling us through this lesson that being overconfident can change the largest things, and in Odysseus’s instance, his fate. Fate and the theme of death helped impact Odysseus, along with his recklessness and creates a lesson worth
During his journey he has angered the gods and had many encounters with beast, that resulting in the death of his men. The topics I will be covering in this essay are: Odysseus’ recklessness, the death of his men, and the slaughter of the suitors. The turning point of Odysseus’ journey is his recklessness and disrespect towards the gods. This is not a decision that should brand him as a “hero”. He knows that taunting the gods can get him and his men killed in seconds, but yet his ego couldn't take not boasting about his victories.
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.
The odyssey, an epic told by Homer in ancient greece, has many major themes following odysseus’s adventures. While Odysseus is sentenced to never return home after the Trojan War. He is overcoming challenges to return home to his wife penelope and his son Telemachus. Throughout the story major themes of loyalty, hospitality and vengeance are hidden within the plot. The story continues to show his heroic side with three major traits.
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.
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.
He acts extremely self centered, self righteous and all important. Odysseus does not show any respect for his men after everything they have been through. This is after the Cyclopes after they sailed away. He does not take any responsibility for what happened at the cyclopes land. Even though a mature person would have already taken responsibility for what happened.
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
While Odysseus did have good intentions of bringing his men home, he continuously made poor and selfish decisions, and he was constantly putting his men in danger more often than
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
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