Theme Of Self-Restraint In The Odyssey

The theme for Homer's The Odyssey Book 9 would be to stay in the real world and not to fall for bliss, or emotional wealth. The reason for this is that Odysseus and his men land on the island and get sucked right into it and fall under the Lotus Eaters spell. “But gave them lotus plants to eat, whose fruit, sweet as honey, made any man who tried it lose his desire ever to journey home” (Homer, Lines 121-123). They all fall under this bliss and had to physically be forced off of the island. The theme is different in Tennyson’s poem

Odyssey Paragraph Odysseus, in the book The Odyssey by Homer, and I both showed self restraint in multiple different ways. One way Odysseus demonstrates self control is after he stabs the cyclops eye and the book quotes “Arms thrown wide for any silly man who bolted” (907). This showed moderation by him not rushing by the cyclopes and instead waiting for a better time. Another way Odysseus showed Caution was when he and his men went on the island with the lotus and Odysseus said “clear the beach no one taste the lotus” (898).

In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus exemplifies sophrosyne through his self-control and restraint. After the Trojan War, Odysseus is on his journey home, when he and his crewmates make their way to the land of the Cyclopes. Once on land the luxurious resources in the cavern lure them, and they enter without consent. In shock, as two of his men are in the hands of the one-eyed Cyclops, Odysseus stands speechless at the sight of the “ruthless brute”, Polyphemus. His first thought is to bring the Cyclops harm, however “a fresh thought held [him] back” how could this crew lift such an immense boulder the Cyclops had left in front of the entrance (Fagles 9. 336-339)?

When Odysseus discover food and drink, but he also encounters a problem. In the Kyklopes cave and each not escape. As the Kyklopes goes to sleep, Odysseus and his men grab a sharp wooden stick and jabs the Kyklopes in his eyes.

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

After he successfully exits the cave by blinding the cyclopes, he and his surviving men board the ship. As a result of his pride, he calls out to the monster, "If anyone asks who put out your eye, tell them it was Odysseus of Ithaca!”(Hinds 109). Considering the fact Polyphemus is the son of Poseidon, the cyclops calls out to him and therefore starts the troublesome voyage for Odysseus back home. When he returns to Ithaca he learns to control his hubris by replacing it with patience. Athena, the goddess of war and strategy, disguises Odysseus as a beggar because it is wisest to arrive in Ithaca without anyone being able to recognize him.

London’s stories have many views into naturalism, but they also have insights into realism. The unnamed man in “To Build a Fire” believes he has control of his situation until mistakes are made and he realizes the odds and fate are against him. Realizing this, the man becomes scared and tries literally running for his life so no avail, so he slowly freezes to death after slipping into a deep slumber. The man, Mason, in

“Just so that eyeball hissed around the spike.” Odysseus shows rash behavior because of the Cyclops killing of his men. The conflict is resolved when Odysseus and his crew are able to escape the Cyclops. The result of the resolution was that no more of his men would be killed by the Cyclops. Odysseus ran into conflict but wisdom and cunning helped him resolve them.

As a director you have to modify this to be a more accepting to viewers, so in the movie they just exclude that part of them swimming in the ocean. As they walk through the beach, they find the conch half buried in the sand, which they use to find the rest of the group. Taking the scene out didn’t affect the movie, since it felt more of an extra in the book, which had no effect with the plot or the escalating conflict between Ralph and Jack. The second example of adaptation of the book to film is Wilson being tortured and tied in the film. In the movie he was just thrown on the ground and whipped by everyone.

When Odysseus yells out his real name to the Cyclops, as Odysseus and his crew of men were trying to escape the cave of the Cyclops “Cyclops-if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so,-say Odysseus raider of cities” (Homer, 21) Odysseus can be rather arrogant at times. Odysseus did not want the credit of stabbing a Cyclops in the eye go to “Nobody”. So, he told Polyphemus his real name. Odysseus wanted everyone to that it was he who took down the mighty Cyclops. However, like many other heroes, they are not perfect all the time.

The war has changed Nick drastically; he doesn’t see the world the same anymore. Fishing for him is an escape from the war as well. Not only is his reluctance to go to the swamp a reflection of his avoidance tendencies, but the whole trip is a tool for him to avoid his thoughts about the war. Hemingway’s setting of a war-torn town reinforces the idea that Nick will never be able to escape his thoughts about the war. Nick’s tendency to avoid is not limited to his

Odysseus and I have both shown leadership. In the Odyssey he was explaining to his men to tie him to the mast so he would not succumb to the sound of the sirens. Odysseus showed leadership by knowing he had to be available to lead his men, not under the spell of the Siren. Odysseus states “The lovely voices in ardor appealing over the water made me crave to listen, and I tried to say untie me!’ to the crew, jerking my brows; but the bent steady to the oars” (933).

In The Odyssey, Odysseus’ encounter with Nausikaa externally represents Odysseus’ calculated way of thinking and humble character when he asks for help from others. Odysseus is fully aware of his actions and makes sure that his actions yield the results that he desires. On page 103, lines 152-159, it states, “ And Odysseus came, debating inwardly what he should do: embrace this beauty’s knees in supplication? Or stand apart, and, using honeyed speech… In his swift reckoning, he thought it best to trust in words to please her… he might anger the girl, touching her knees.”

Bravery, cleverness, and determination are three traits a good leader has. In Homer’s epic “The Odyssey,” Odysseus, the hero in the story, is trying to return home to Ithaca after his victory in Troy. On their way back home, Odysseus and his men hurt the cyclops, Polyphemus, and angered his father, Poseidon. With a god angry at them, Odysseus and his men had to overcome many obstacles. These obstacles led them to strange islands that had goddesses and dangerous creatures.

Although Odysseus proved to have guile on the Island of the Cyclops, he made crucial mistakes. Odysseus’ first mistake was taking his men into the Cyclops cave. This brought upon a dreadful chain of events, for even Odysseus knew. In fact he said “I knew some towering brute would be upon us soon-- all outward power, a wild man, ignorant of Civility” (Homer 8). This quote states how Odysseus had already predicted that the presentence of him and his men would come down on them; but his selfishness made the lives of his men expendable.