Odyssey Persuasive Essay

Odyssey is an Epic poem about a man odyssey that fought in the trojan war and his story of his 20 year journey home. He is the leader of a crew of men that are coming back form the the trojan war. His ship and men land on Cyclops island which they rest in a cave that was inhabited by a cyclops. Odyssey is then to escape and is cursed by Poseidon which they have that long journey. He is trying to get home to his wife Penelope and his family.

Odysseus's journey is about him making it home, alive, to his kingdom and wife back in Ithaca. After the Trojan war he was captured by Calyspo and took him to her Island. While Odysseus was trapped on Calyspo's Island, Ithaca was left without a king, and his wife, Penelope, was left alone with suitors. A few years later, Odysseus finally left the island making a grueling journey trying to make it home. Odysseus and his men encountered many obstacles. These obstacles include,

One of the big blocks in the road for Odysseus and was getting stuck on Calypso’s island, which delayed him in his travels for about seven years, that’s seven years that he could have spent on the sea trying to get home but instead he was on Calypso’s island. Eventually he got off of Calypso’s island because Hermes comes and tells Calypso to let Odysseus go and Calypso gives Odysseus the option

Calypso lusts for Odysseus so much that she holds him captive for many years. Odysseus, however, does not feel this lust for her. At this point in the epic, he wants nothing more than to reach his home and his wife, whom he loves very much. Finally, the gods tell Calypso that is time to release Odysseus, and she obeys.

Calypso greets Odysseus with great welcoming, and a proposal to sleep with her. Calypso welcomes Odysseus by saying, “Come, sheathe your sword, let’s go to bed together, mount by bed and mix in the magic work of love- we’ll breed deep trust between us” (Homer 10: 369-372). Calypso seduces Odysseus quick enough to make him stay with her for seven years. Until one day, he decides to go back to his journey to return to his wife Penelope. This demonstrated that Odysseus was determined to continue his journey home to go to his family.

This time spent on Circe's island was a test of whether he could resist lust from a goddess, and he fails. At first it appears as though the only reason Odysseus sleeps with Circe is to regain his companions, but she easily persuades them to stay. What makes it worse is the fact that Odysseus is not even the first one ready to go. His men are the ones who urge him to leave: "What ails you now? It is time to think about our own country" (Book X, line 472). At a glance, it appears that Odysseus is merely succumbing to Circe's schemes for reasons related to their health and well being, if we read between the lines, we soon begin to realize that Odysseus is weak in the voracious hands of lust. Odysseus arrives on Calypso's island in her cave. At first, it seems like Odysseus doesn't seem much to mind her taking care of him, but over time it is plainly evident that he is unhappy with her. When Hermes arrives on Calypso's island to give her the message from Zeus to release Odysseus, he is bawling on the beach-- a daylong activity for him. Calypso is holding him with her by force; she has no companions to help him back to Ithaca, nor has she a ship to send him in. Athena pleads with Zeus to give Odysseus good fortune,

The monsters of Homer’s The Odyssey as written by Robert Fitzgerald all share traits in common, but there is always the small differences which make each close encounter more gripping than the last. When the not-so-glorious Odysseus, son of Laertes just manages to elude the cannibalistic clutches of the blinded Kyklops (IX) and takes to the high seas, he becomes arrogant and taunts his nemesis. He does not realize this, but the very words he uttered then sets the holy executioner upon the necks of his crew. Every island he passes or makes port at, his men become feasts for native monsters; however upon the beautiful island of Aiolia his men are not eaten, nor do they die at the hands of any mortal or immortal foe. What is so significant

leave Ithaca cannot be simply based on a whim: he is a young king with

Calypso being the temptress that she is kept Odysseus on her island, Ogygia, for seven years. Eventually, after Zeus talked to Athena, Zeus told Calypso that she must set Odysseus free. Even with Zeus’ orders she did not want to let Odysseus go so Odysseus had to escape her dreadful island and return home on his own. Then after he left the island of Calypso, he ran in to Circe. Circe started to mess with all of Odysseus’ men and made it harder to get home. Both Calypso and Circe, made Odysseus’ journey home so much harder than it needed to be. Since Calypso trapped him on the island for seven years, his family and everybody at home was starting to believe he was dead. They had no hope that they would ever see him again. So they started to push themselves on Penelope. Also if Circe would have just left him alone and did not mess with any of his men and stayed out of the way, he could have made it home faster. Since both of the Goddess wanted him for their selves they both interfered with his journey in many different ways. Some ways was the same like giving him the gift of immortality and persuading with other stuff. Some ways was different like trapping him in a cage for seven years and turning his men into pigs so he could not leave as

Calypso, on the other hand, had Odysseus trapped on her island. She held Odysseus captive for seven years in hopes of marrying him. Odysseus was miserable and continuously longed for home and the love of his wife, Penelope. When he was liberated by Hermes under orders from Zeus, Calypso offers him immortality if he will stay. Odysseus declines the offer.

There have been many proposed theories to the great hero Odysseus’ return to Ithaca. Odysseus has wandered long and far to make his return to his home soil. He fought Cyclopes, fled from cannibalistic Giants, spent seven years on a nearly deserted island, and literally went to hell and back just to breathe the air of his motherland. There has been great debate on what kept the enduring hero from giving up. He could have accepted his fate as an immortal on the Island of Calypso or allowed his will power to dwindle and fallen into the jaws of Charybdis. What did the hero truly desire so much that he refused the will of the Gods to reach his native land. It was his beloved wife Penelope.

In book five Odysseus is presented with a very great and tempting barrier. Calypso confronts him with this statement, “But if you only knew, down deep, what pains are fated to fill your cup before you reach that shore, you’d stay right here, preside in our house with me and be immortal.” She promised him that he would possess a trait that no other human in the odyssey has, immortality. Even though her offers are very tempting and would be self fulfilling, he promptly rejects because all he wants is to go home and the love of his life, Penelope. This act alone shows that he was willing to give himself and up for a greater cause. He showed great discipline and faithfulness to reject Calypso’s offer and to continue on his journey home. At the beginning of the epic, Odysseus did have one flaw that could have been detrimental to his homecoming journey and that was self-glorification. By the end of the Odyssey, Odysseus overcame his pride and tempered it with patience because at the end of the day he didn’t really know that Penelope would be waiting on him, but he was willing to put in the effort to find out what was at the end of the road.

Then placed her arm around Homer’s gaunt shoulders, and addressed those in attendance., “It tickles my heart a lovely shade of pink to stand here and share with y’all, that Princeton University selected Homer as the recipient of their prestigious Faulkner, Creative Writing Scholarship.” Straightaway, a wave of pandemonium surged through the audience, causing the animals in the nearby pasture to hightail it for cover. After, the audience calmed down, Sally asked Homer to say a few words. Those in attendance knew Homer preferred to write his words on paper rather than verbalize them.

“Thinking before acting is wisdom, but acting before thinking is regret. (PictureQuotes.com)” This quote relates directly to the main character in The Odyssey, Odysseus, who is trying to get home to his wife and son who are being bombarded by suitors to take her hand in marriage, unknowing of the return of Odysseus. As Odysseus journeys home with his crew, they overcome many obstacles with the help of his leadership and the mythological greek gods, yet lose many crew members along the way. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus endangers many people including people he does not even know. As much as people may say that Odysseus was a great leader, there is more evidence that he puts his crew in danger absent-mindedly, risks his family to get revenge, and deals with his problematic people in cruel and idiotic ways, proving he is not, in fact, a morally good man.

Homer's great literary classic, The Odyssey, represents and illustrates many emotional and mental values. All of these values can be classified under three different main themes that are constant throughout the epic tale. These themes are: A boy's struggle to be a man, a king's struggle to reclaim his kingdom, and a man's struggle to return home. As one reads this book it will become more and more evident to them that a man's struggle to get home is the most important theme throughout Homer's adventure.