An example shining his courage is when him and his men had to go past Scylla when he knew any of them could die and he was also putting himself in danger. Another example is when he chose to be tied up for the passing of the Sirens. This was a courageous act because no other mortal man had been able to do that and make it out alive. One last example is When he came home to all of the suitors in his house. This is courageous because the suitors only cared about getting Penelope and if they cared so much about that why would they want Odysseus to come home to ruin their chances?
Also, to dramatize the situation and emphasize the morality of the crew, Homer says "[the crew] put their backs in the oars, escape grim death." This passage shows how, while Homer considers Odysseus heroic, Odysseus may not follow expectations because of his pride and willingness to endanger his men. In this passage, Odysseus continually taunts Polyphemus' against his crew's wishes, and thus risks their lives. However, throughout the reading, Odysseus' claims to have great affection for his crew and wishes to protect them; thus, Odysseus' actions in this scene highlight an inconsistency in Odysseus' character and heroic nature. Because of this inconsistency and Odysseus’ prideful and
Although King of Ithaca eventually reaches his home, one can argue the monomyth ends once he learns humility. The change in character is apparent when Odysseus arrives in Ithaca dressed as a beggar. Before his arrival to/in Ithaca, Athena, goddess of wisdom, dresses the king to resemble a beggar. She disguises him to protect him from the suitors, who will kill the hero on sight. To camouflage himself within the crowd, Odysseus must live a mendicant lifestyle, facing problems they commonly encounter.
He knows he and his men have to get off the island before they eat the lotus flower and have no care in the world. “I drove them all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing bench and called the rest.”(Homer 602) He wants to get home, so he has to get the men back that he sent out looking over the island. When he gets them he has to drag them back because they ate the lotus flower and want to stay with the other people that eat the flower too. He also did not want to leave without them. This shows that he cares for himself and his crew.
After he stabs the cyclops in the eye, this leads him to say that nobody hurt him. After this Odysseus makes his escape, and is almost caught as they leave, so Odysseus taunts them, telling them his name and story. This is the end of act one. In act two they tell us of the island of Aeolus which ends up giving them a worthless gift, and then the land of Laestrygones, that destroy all of their ships but one. They then end up at Aeaea, and split up into two groups, one to search the island, and the other to watch the ship.
I think that Odysseus has human flaws, such as his pride and his curiosity, but those flaws are overridden by the fact that he is clever, wise, brave, and overall, a strong leader. All of these qualities are shown in quotes throughout Books 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, and 17. Odysseus is shown to be clever primarily in Book 9. He has just arrived on the island of the Phaeacians, and is telling them stories about his encounters after the Trojan War. In book 9 he talks about his escape from the man-eating cyclops Polyphemus’s island.
He like all humans is going to die someday, it is inevitable he needs to sit back and enjoy the simple things life has to offer. He’s become so focused on his fear of death, he has lost sight of enjoying his life in the present. She attempts to persuade him to abandon his quest and go back home but she is unsuccessful. She gives him direction to Urshanabi’s house, a man who will take him to Utnapishtim. After a tough journey Gilgamesh makes it to Utnapishtim, who tells him the story of the flood and how although men will die humankind will continue as the Gods vowed never to destroy them again.
Odysseus raid in Cicones’ stronghold foreshadows what happens in the Cyclops cave, as Odysseus, “urged them to cut and run, set sail, /but would they listen? Not those mutinous fools”(Homer 9.51-52.) After they don’t leave they are attacked and lose their men and in the end of both of these events it ends with, “we sailed on, glad to escape our death yet sick at heart for the dear companions we had lost”(Homer 9.71-72, 9.629-630.) Even though these two events are heavily connected there is one difference and that is who is saying to go back to the ship. This portrays a clear sign that both of these are connected as Homer only repeats phrases that are connected with each other and with them following the same structure the events in Cicones foreshadow the cyclops’s cave.
He reviews this valuable lesson by not giving up his life jacket when they realize that they are three short. He waits until Dale Harding, Billy Bibbit and George Sorenson, the captain, finally volunteer to sacrifice themselves for their friends. The patients take these new characteristics with them; consequently, the boys who left for the fishing trip return to the ward as strong men. Once the patients are under Nurse Ratched’s control again, McMurphy puts himself at risk by attacking an orderly to protect the men’s dignity and respect George’s germaphobia.
A hero must endure test against their flaws, discover the heart of their journey, and finally, after all their suffering, they must redeem what they left behind. Odysseus is not the same man when he returns to Ithaca, compared to the one that left for war. This is due to his change characters because of tests against his flaws. When Odysseus and his men land on the island of cyclops, he is very arrogant and insists on seeing one the beast in person. He takes a crew of men into a cave on the island and promptly eats the cyclops food and supplies.