“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up” (“Thomas A. Edison“). This quotation by Thomas Edison illustrates that giving up will not get one anywhere; along with giving up is the loser’s way out. Edison inspirational quote also reveals that mental strength is necessary to endurance and. The soldiers never gave up, and they persevered to win the war with Odysseus as their leader. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Trojan War hero Odysseus exhibits perseverance in the ten years of war and leads his men on the long journey home. Odysseus has to endure the frustrations of the war and the negligence that the gods show to him in his most desperate times. The pain he goes through exhibits his love for the special ones in his life, and it gives him the strength to make it home. Odysseus is challenged during the ten year war, but he will not give up, which proves how he is a true hero. The hero shows how he is a true hero through his actions and not his words. He continuously tricks his enemies with desirable traps that are hard to turn down,and he does not loe sites of his goals. Odysseus demonstrates arete through heroism, perseverance and, most of all, his intelligence.
Lastly Odysseus is not only courageous but intelligent. He is intelligent because when they had to go through Sirens Island he told his men to put wax on their ears so they don't hear the sirens. Another example of odysseus being intelligent is when he was on Calypso’s island he didn't tell her how much he missed his wife to not get her jealous which could stop her from helping him. another example of Odysseus being smart is when he got polyphemus drunk with wine and poked his eye to get out of the
A hero is a person who is recognized or idealized for his or her outstanding achievements and noble qualities. The deaths of his men are the result of Odysseus’ weaknesses. The possession of the character trait, arrogance, does not help him in escaping, but rather puts him closer to danger. Another trait that ends up killing a number of his men is his lack of leadership skills, or rather the lack of respect and trust from his men. In some parts of this epic poem, Odysseus also displays the characteristic, foolishness, in which that also results in the deaths of a number of his men. In the epic poetry, “The Odyssey,” by Homer, Odysseus exhibits his arrogance, foolishness, and his lack of leadership in which it leads to him going home by himself.
Odysseus’s traits help him achieve his goal of returning to his home. Odysseus and his men have a lot of willpower to continue traveling after some dangerous and life risking experiences with cannibals, lotus-eaters, cyclops and many more creatures that could of killed Odysseus and his whole crew. Odysseus's confidence and epic hero traits only increase as the story goes on, his confidence in his men increase as he starts noticing how strong and powerful his men can be, and also shows confidence in
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is an effective leader in chapter twelve. A leader who has too much pride is now showing too much humbleness for what’s important by following all the things he has told to do to save his crew and himself. He does what he is told to do to save his crew and keep them safe. “ But now, fearing death , all eyes fixed on Charybdis now Scylla snatched six men from our hollow ship, the toughest, strongest hands I had, and glancing backwards over the decks, searching or my crew I could see their hands and feet already hoisted, failing, high, higher, over my head, look wailing down at me, comrades riven in agony. Shrieking out my name for one last time” ( XII 265-270). This quote clearly makes us see that Odysseus has
Odysseus is heroic, courageous, outrageous, bold, fearless, manful, and valiant. Odysseus is heroic because he tricked the cyclops thinking that nobody was his name. Odysseus told his men to make a sharp spear and drop the spear in the cyclops eye so he can remove the giant rock and escape. Odysseus is fearless because him and his son killed the men that tried to take over his kingdom and marry his wife. Another thing is that Odysseus is bold because he made his son believe he was the father after the son did not believe him.
Odysseus shows leadership by taking charge and bringing his men back to the ship. He uses intelligence to know that he should not tell his men about Scylla and Charybdis. Lastly, Odysseus reveals bravery when he goes into the Underworld. As Napoleon I once said, “True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat.” This quote means that to be true hero one must be able to stand tall and fight through any obstacle they are faced
Odysseus is a leader that portrays both non-heroic and heroic traits throughout the story. These traits reflect his way of thinking and what actions he takes. These traits fluctuate from bravery to overconfidence. Nonetheless, the traits all contribute to the hero and as a result, they contribute to the story.
Because of Odysseus’s sharp intellect, cunningness, and with the help from the gods, he finishes the heroes’ journey.
“A hero does good for good, not for glory” (Unknown). This quote summarizes exactly what a hero is supposed to do. A true hero is selfless and caring, not prideful and unloyal. A hero does what he/she thinks is best and plans accordingly. In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, the character Odysseus has just won the ten-year long Trojan War with the help of many loyal Greek soldiers. Odysseus is the king of Ithaca and is trying desperately to get home to his country and family. Along the way, Odysseus and his men are faced with many struggles, most of which are extremely dangerous, but never lose their hope for home. Although he may seem great, Odysseus is conceited, extremely unfaithful, and lacks in leadership. Odysseus may be strong and brave, but he is not what a true hero is.
Odysseus was a man of great stature and strength; however, Odysseus was not only physically strong, but mentally strong as well (Olson). We can see Odysseus’ mental strength, or cunning, and bravery when he is in the den of Polyphemus and devises the plan to save him and his crew by calling himself nobody and stabbing out the cyclops’ eye. He also recognizes that he
He used his tact to sway delicate situations in his favor and flatter those who had him at their mercy. Using his resilience, he persevered on his journey until the very end, willing to suffer great cruelties simply to continue homeward. This resilience left him as the sole survivor of his crew after a series of tests put forth by the gods, and it allowed him to reunite with his family. Odysseus used his cunning to deceive enemies and friends alike, spinning an intricate web of lies and transforming himself at his will. These are the qualities that make Odysseus an epic hero, and they are the reason that Odysseus was able to live to see his family even after he watched his friends die off one by one. Odysseus fought tirelessly to protect his crew, his family, and himself, and used his four strongest qualities to do so successfully. With the evidence presented, it is clear to see that as a result of his use of tact, cunning, resilience, and loyalty, Odysseus is able to complete his journey
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. His first trait is being exceptionally skilled continued with cleverness and bravery. Despite Odysseus’s challenges he proves himself a hero because of the actions that show him as skilled, clever and brave.
Odysseus’ determination does not only help him throughout his journey, but also helps him be successful. While passing through Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus tells the men to “Get the oar shafts in your hand, and lay back hard on your benches; hit these braking seas” (Homer 836). Here, Homer explains that Odysseus’
The saying that opposites attract is widely used, but is there a point in a relationship were those opposites become too much to bear? In the Odyssey, the main characters who are married show just this. The time they spent away, the differences that they thought would keep them together actually drove them apart. It is through the same journeys that tore them apart that the true colors of each spouse come out. Although their journeys may seem similar, Penelope proves throughout the book to be more loyal to her spouse and a better self-advocate than Odysseus.