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
Assessment One: Textual Analysis A traditional Greek hero possesses certain qualities including bravery, confidence and a desire to obtain glory and fame. These are demonstrated in Homer’s Odyssey in the hero, Odysseus, however he additionally displays cleverness. The selected passage from book IX details the interaction between Odysseus and the Cyclopes, Polyphemus. It demonstrates how his curiosity and overconfidence lead to rash decision-making, consequently ending with the imprisonment of him and his men (Homer, Odyssey 9.170-306). Book X presents Odysseus with the same curiosity in his encounters with Hermes and Circe (Odyssey 10.261-347). Both passages have Odysseus presented in similar ways and it is only through subtle points of character development, such as in
Despite the loss of Odysseus’s crew in the epic, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus maintains his title of being a good leader by remaining loyal to and fulfilling his crew’s wish for home as well as maneuvering his crew through challenging obstacles.
Odysseus is faced with a problem. He needs to escape the Cyclops without losing any more of his valuable crew. He devises a plan to trick the Cyclops into allowing him to
Odysseus is an extremely persuasive character in The Odyssey. He quickly convinces Polyphemus that his ship, which was safely docked on the Cyclops’ beach, had been destroyed by saying “Poseidon Lord, who sets the earth a tremble, broke it up on the rocks at your land’s end. A wind from seaward served him, drove us there. We are survivors, these good men and I” (9.185-187). This response to Polyphemus’ questioning provides the idea that he has the ability to think rapidly and form believable lies as well as telling them with enough confidence that people readily take what he claims as fact. Even people who have never met and/or heard of Odysseus are easily swayed into thinking that things he says are the truth, resulting in their obliviousness to this trait to put them at a
Resulting in angering Polyphemus’ father, Poseidon, who has curse Odysseus to never return home with years of bad luck. Indicating that Odysseus cockiness has lead Odysseus to try too hard to be heroic in unnecessary situation. Though, a point could be made that the Polyphemus does do bad things to people on the island, but nobody really ask for help from Odysseus. He kind of just take self liberty to bring justice to the people by defeating the Polyphemus. Not to mention, that the Polyphemus offer him a chance to forget all about the incident and be friend, but instead of accepting that offer, Odysseus provoke him even more by saying, “If I could take your life I would and take your time away, and hurl you down to hell!” (line 480, pg. 997). To put in simpler term, Odysseus indicate that he will never befriend the Cyclops for he is horrible creature that should be annihilated. Showing the reader how rashly Odysseus made his decision, as he could have make friend with Polyphemus, and continue on to his voyage home instead of putting himself in a bad position by insulting the Cyclop. Lastly, another quality that is bad about Odysseus is that he is selfish. For once, when he has come across an island on his way from Troy, he had decided to raid the village and take women as hostages for sexual pleasure. Showing how he is only doing this for his own need and not caring about the people that live in that village. He
This main character is a hero that has all the elements of an epic hero. He has supernatural abilities, he faces many magical being such as monsters or sorceresses, and he is tested in multiple ways to exhibit his abilities. His name is Odysseus. Odysseus encounters many obstacles on the way home. He gets passed every obstacle he has came across so far.
The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.
Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was probably on of the greatest warriors in the history of Ancient Greece. It is said that the poet, Homer, wrote the story of the Odyssey. In this story, Odysseus and his crew are trying to make their voyage back home to Ithaca after they have fought with the Trojans. During the long journey, Odysseus will show some of his character traits which include his bravery, cleverness, and wisdom that will assist him with the situations he encounters on his journey home.
As he gets the Cyclops drunk he then says his name is nobody. He then pierces the spear through the sleeping Cyclops’s eye, blinding the giant beast. The Cyclops then tells everyone that nobody blinded his eye. Nobody is actually Odysseus who is king of Ithaca who can be very smart and cunning in the story. The author of this story is a man named Homer. Homer cannot be proven the author of this book because there is no proof he ever existed. Odysseus king of Ithaca set sail with his crew to fight at Troy, but Odysseus and his crew run into some problems returning to Ithaca. Odysseus’s character in the story shows he is very cunning, he is very cocky, and he is very brave.
Odysseus left Calypso’s Island and began his journey back home. His odyssey might be described as one’s own life struggles. There are ups and downs to every situation, and through reading The Odyssey, readers can connect parallels between Odysseus’ experiences and lessons learned in their own life. Human weaknesses can still prevail through even the strongest men you may think of; examples of this are shown in this epic. Even though there is a large gap in space between Odysseus’ travels and the present, human nature and weakness still share the same obstacles.
In Epic Poem “The Odyssey” Odysseus is the protagonist. Odysseus’ over-the-top ego caused him to lose his men and his son’s childhood, but taught him a valuable lesson about humility. The Odyssey, written by Homer, tells the story of Odysseus and how he faced misfortune in his attempts to return home after the Trojan War. Odysseus is not famous for his great strength or bravery, but for his ability to deceive and trick. To his friends, he was a brilliant strategist. To his enemies, he was a deceiver and a manipulator of the worst kind.
Homer's epic tale The Odyssey is a story of the triumphs and downfalls that are in store for one warrior's long pillage home. Odysseus, the hero from the Trojan wars, has led his people of Ithaca and other Achaean soldiers to victory and now wishes to return home to his wife and family of Ithaca. Through his twenty year journey Odysseus is often tested not only of his physical strength, but his wits as well. The many accomplishments he achieved earned him great status and recognition throughout ancient Greece. The mistakes he made caused the deaths of many men. Consequently, we as readers are able to see the many personas that Odysseus carries with him.
Lizeth Marin Honors Introduction to Literature Period 3 18 April 2008 Odysseus: Hero or Villain? Heading home, to Ithaca, Odysseus is faced upon many obstacles that he and his men try to overcome, but in the end substantiate that Odysseus is a villain. “The old soldier in despair: He has spent ten years (seven of them as Calypso’s not entirely unwillingly captive) trying to get home” (652, summary). Evidence proves that Odysseus is a villain, because he tries to convince that he was kept unwillingly by Calypso. However, it is true that Odysseus was kept as Calypso’s captive for a time. Yet he can still be judged as a villain, because he does not just stay as a prisoner, no, he assists Calypso by being with her for the pleasures that
Nothing but a name alone, plaguing me, souring my breath as if it were rancid milk
The Odyssey by Homer is, an epic poem, set in ancient Greece around the eighth century. In The Odyssey by Homer the main character Odysseus is dragged along adventures and trials: temptation, danger, and influence along with passel of others and unpleasantness Odysseus faces and overcome parallel a regular person’s day, more specifically, myself.