Examples Of Bravery In The Odyssey

Back at Polyphemus' cave, he tricked the giant by telling him his name is nobody. So when Odysseus blinds him and he calls for help, the Cyclops shouts, "Nohbdy, Nohbdy's tricked me, Nohbdy's ruined me!" (9.444) He knew that his trick would keep him safe from harm, at least temporarily. This shows that Odysseus is an incredibly strategic man, and that he can talk his way out of most situations.

One of Odysseus’ traits is bravery. One example of Odysseus’ bravery is when he injures a Cyclops that is 5 times his size, “I drew it from the coals and my four fellows/ gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops/ as more than natural force nerved them, straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it/ deep in his crater eye. 329-332” This quote shows how brave Odysseus and his men are to face the Cyclops. Odysseus was intelligent to think about this idea, but

He was often displayed with heroic qualities, facing each obstacle head on with little fear. However Odysseus was flawed, with emotional constraints of a human he often took risks just to please his pride, this lead to disasters that could have been avoided. An example of this occurred after blinding Polyphemus, Odysseus and his crew paddled off to sea but Odysseus could not leave without taunting his victory. He yelled out to the Cyclops, which made it even angrier. Polyphemus took a mountaintop and hurled it at Odysseus and his crew, nearly beaching them. In response to this Odysseus yelled, “Cyclops, if a mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider if cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!” (Page 13). Polyphemus then prayed to his father Poseidon dooming Odysseus to never be able to return home. Occasions like this showed Odysseus’s imperfections. But his bold fearless character was quite prevalent for an immense amount of the story. When talking to Polyphemus clever as he was he told him his name was nohbdy. As a result when the Cyclopes got stabbed in the eye he cried out, “nohbdy, nohbdy’s tricked me, nohbdy’s ruined me!” (Page 13) this did not alarm anyone to come and help him. By doing this Odysseus saved most of his crews lives and helped them return back to their ship safely, which showed a high amount of valor and also his

Odysseus shows bravery when put against evil beings such as Circe and Polyphemus the cyclops. He shows his bravery when Polyphemus eats some of his crew but still finds a way to combat the cyclops. Odysseus explains, “Cyclops, try some wine. Here’s liquor to wash down your scraps of men”(155). This shows that even though the cyclops ate his men, he developed a plan to get the cyclops drunk. His plan works and it helps he and his men attack this cyclops which is a very brave

Odysseus will usually look through both sides of an issue before he decides which side or idea to choose. When Polyphemus asks him who he was, he took that opportunity to lie to protect himself and his crew by saying, “So he laid his trap but he never caught me, no, wisen to the world I shot back in my crafty way, ‘My ship? Poseidon god of earthquakes smashed my ships’”(IX). He recognizes a place where he could lie without the Cyclops noticing and took the chance. While this plays out, he has to stick with this lie until the end. When his crew wanted to kill Polyphemus, Odysseus knew they need the giant alive, because “There at a stroke we’d finish ourselves as well- how could we with our

Throughout the many traits Odysseus has, his bravery is the most outstanding. Odysseus shows his bravery in the quote, “We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and took some cheese to eat, then sat in silence around the embers, waiting.” (Homer page 760 lines: 219-221) Odysseus was waiting for the cyclops. His bravery was shown when he broke into the cyclops home, took the cyclops food, and sat there and waited for him. Usually when you break into someone's home you do not give them an offering and take their stuff for them to find. In the next quote Odysseus shows even more bravery to go home and not fear the consequences if someone recognizes him. “... Odysseus, in his beggar disguise, finds his way to the heat of Eumclaus, his old and trusty swineherd.” (Homer page

Odysseus is brave because he has fought many enemies on his way back home to Ithaca. While Odysseus and his men were stuck on Polyphemus’ island, they had to kill Polyphemus, “Straight forward they sprinted… and rammed it deep in his crater eye” (665). What this is saying is that Odysseus and his men were brave enough to run towards Polyphemus and stab him in the eye. Another reason why Odysseus is a hero is because he is smart.

First and foremost, a hero needs to be courageous enough to take action, even against impossible odds; although, the form that that courageousness takes are often different between heroes. Take Beowulf and Shahrazad for example. Beowulf is a famous and powerful Geat leader, a “man whose name was known for courage” (Beowulf 120), especially in the field of battle, where he best demonstrates his courageousness. When Beowulf hears of the attacks on Hereot, he quickly comes to offer Hrothgar his services, and in his first battle with Grendel, Beowulf displayed immense bravery and courage fighting the demon, knowing that he may well perish, and even more so in deciding to do battle bare-handed and naked

I believe that two characters that embodied bravery and showed what being a true hero is are Bilbo and Gandalf. Bilbo is a very unlikely hero because of his size, what he’s been taught his whole life, and how small his comfort zone is, but he is a true brave leader and a hero. Bilbo used to be a boring, predictable elf that never wanted

Odysseus is Brave. For example, Odysseus heated up the stake getting ready to stab the Cyclops in the eye. “To make a stake with pointed ends, this in the fires heart toughening it.” (9. 231-232). This shows that Odysseus was brave because, he had the braveness and strength to heat up the stake and get ready to stab the Cyclops in the eye. This also shows that Odysseus is brave because the Cyclops is a very large and scary creature. Odysseus stayed strong and did what he had to do to get back to his home, ad return with him and his men safe. Odysseus is nothing comparable in size to the Cyclops. In addition Odysseus stabbed the Cyclops right in the dead center of his eye. “So with our brand we bored that great eye, while blood ran out and around the hot bar” (9. 296-297). This shows that Odysseus was very brave because he stabbed the Cyclops right in the eye and risked his life to save his men and himself. This also shows that Odysseus was brave because the Cyclops was very close to grabbing the men

Odysseus shows his heroism through his bravery. When Circe turned his men into swine, Odysseus confronted her: "I drew my sharpened sword and in one bound held it against her throat"("Circe, the

Odysseus embodies courage in that he has the ability to something that maybe considered frightening to another. Odysseus’s boldness comes at full force first when he fights along his men in the Trojan War, then it makes another appearance in the second act when he fights against a man eating Cyclops. Another great display of courage he portrays is when he takes his men into battle he leads them in strong fighting with them and not just standing idly by while each of them are picked off. Odysseus lead his men into battle, fought a Cyclops, and fought in the Trojan War, he was not frightened, but strong against his many ordeals.

Not only does Odysseus demonstrate a strong sense of courage in his journeys to prove that he is a hero, but he also shows never-ending perseverance through the countless adversities berating him. Although much of Odysseus’ journey is guided and assisted by various gods, especially in tough situations, what he does is ultimately of his doing and free will, as demonstrated by his tenacity when coming across many hardships. An example of this is later on in Odysseus’ story, as he and his men sail away from the Island of Aeaea to complete their journey home to Ithaca, they encounter many obstacles. The sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis terrorize and put Odysseus’ men and journey into peril, as his crew is struck with the terrifying might of the sea monsters.

     Bravery is a great trait for a hero to posses. I think bravery is a key quality because you don’t always know what lies ahead of you and you have to be brave to continue. A good example of this is Charles Lindburgh. He was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. I believe that took a great amount of bravery because no one had ever made it across, so he didn’t know what lie ahead of him. One of his many good quotes he said, “The most effective way to do it, is to just do it”, (Lindburgh 1).

What does make a hero a hero? Is it there looks? Alternatively, maybe is it their personality? However, the question is what are those essential qualities that make one a hero? Different people require different heroes to look up to or try to emulate. However, whoever it may be, they all possess certain qualities. My hero is my mother, for the reason that she is selfless, compassion, and courage. That kind of selflessness can often be premeditated, since concentrating on others' needs often winds up helping one accomplish one’s own goals. However, a heroic leader does so without any anticipation of a return. The display and concern show the care one has for others. This can often apparent itself in strong but gentle actions planned to increase the lives of others. Courage and bravery come to mind first when we think of heroism. However, it is difficult to achieve anything truly heroic unless one is up against overwhelming chances. As Nelson Mandela put it, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it." These minor acts of heroism rarely attract any notice. A true hero is always sympathetic, benevolent and shows a great deal of compassion and sympathy to those poorly or in agony. He or she keeps away judgements; that are oriented to the self and embraces an attitude that serves others.