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Odysseus Character Analysis

Decent Essays

Around the 1200 B.C., Odysseus was sailing the Mediterranean Sea for the purpose of reaching home. In his long narrative poem, The Odyssey, Homer conveys how Odysseus desperately wishes to go home to Ithaca. However, he faces brutal treatment and obstacles from several different antagonists, and more obstacles appear when he reaches home. Odysseus came across many external conflicts, which he dealt with intelligence, determination, and loyalty. The protagonist, Odysseus, encounters Polyphemus and Scylla and must surpass them with his intelligence and perceptive in order to keep his shipmates safe. Polyphemus questions the main character, Odysseus, about his ship’s whereabouts. “Tell me, where was it, now, you left your ship-.../ He thought he’d find out, but I saw through this,/ and answered with a ready lie: ‘My ship?.../ broke it up on the rocks at your land’s end” (269, 271-272, 274). The author uses this scene to elucidate how the protagonist uses his cleverness to see the cyclop’s genuine intentions and answers with a perfect lie to keep the ship and his other crew members in it safe. The cyclop was one of the many antagonists and Odysseus had very cunningly dealt with him. Furthermore, as they approached Scylla, the main character doesn’t tell his crew members that six of them were going to die. “But as I sent them on toward Scylla, I/ told them nothing, as they could do nothing. They would have dropped their cars again, in panic,/ to roll for cover under the decking…” (790-793). Homer uses this specific event to substantiate how Odysseus had made a reasonable resolution for his crew members, because Odysseus knows that he can't win against Scylla, another one of the several enemies of Odysseus in his odyssey. His intelligence is truly unveiled when he doesn't tell his men about the incident bound to occur, because he knew the aftermath. The main character uses his intellect when opposed to Scylla to make the best decision possible for his men, and he use his quick wits when he moves the focus off of his ship when conversing with Polyphemus. Odysseus is tested for his loyalty by Calypso and his crew members, who are victimized by the lotus plant. The protagonist practically

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