...Throughout the epic poem, The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, struggles with maintaining his pride. This fatal flaw impacted his life by making his journey back to Ithaca take even longer. Many people, including myself, have fatal flaws as well. Odysseus's pride impacted his life, and my fatal flaw influences my life as well. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus has the tendency to let his pride cost him both men and time away from his family. There are many instances in the epic poem that Odysseus lets his pride come before safety, his men, and the trip back to Ithaca. For example, on the land of the Cyclopes, he and his crew entered Polyphemus's cave only to find it empty. Instead of taking the food back to the boat and leaving, Odysseus...
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...Odysseus was a brave and adventurous king who got lost on his way back to troy.On his way back he was met with many challenges that sometimes brought out the worst in him. At the same time he had good intentions for most of it covering up his flaws. This just shows that is human and humans have flaws. This allows the reader to connect with odysseus and his crew. As i stated previously Odysseus was had some flaws in character and judgement. On his way back to ithaca he had sacked a village and partied . this was his first mistake while he partied the natives were “raised a cry for help answered by their neighbors”(111) causing him to loss many men in another encounter with the natives. this encounter not only shows how cockey odysseus is but...
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...Homer’s The Odyssey reveals Odysseus to have a multitude of character flaws. One flaw in Odysseus’s character is his audacity. During their travels, Odysseus and his crew come across the land of the cyclopes. Odysseus and twelve of his men decide to explore the land, and they find the cave of a cyclops. Odysseus's men implore him to take the cyclops’s food and leave. Odysseus knows this is the safest plan but rejects it nevertheless: Ah, how sound that was! Yet I refused. I wished to see the caveman, what he had to offer— no pretty sight, it turned out, for my friends (Homer 652) Although Odysseus knows it is risky to enter the cave and wait for the cyclops’s return, he insists that they do so. He does this out of curiousity and eagerness...
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...Through books IX and XII of The Odyssey, Homer has highlighted one of Odysseus’ most eminent tragic flaws: hubris, better known as having a copious amount of pride. One such instance where Odysseus’ self-confidence shone was in book IX, where Odysseus defeated the Kyklops, Polyphemus, and escaped from his cave. As he sails off the island, Odysseus continues to taunt the beast from his ship, and the shipmates- in exasperation- beg Odysseus to stop. However, Odysseus “would not heed them in [his] glorying spirit/ [he] let his anger flare and yelled/ ‘Kyklops,/ if ever a mortal man inquire/ how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him/ Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye’” (Homer 9. 540-550). Throughout this passage, Homer uses many powerful words and phrases that exhibit Odysseus’ pride....
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...THE ODYSSEY Is a good leader classified as one who personally gains a lot or one who benefits his or her community at large? After fighting in the brutal Trojan War, Odysseus travels the sea in hopes of returning to Ithaca, his homeland, and his wife and son, Penelope and Telemachus. Homer’s The Odyssey reveals the struggles and obstacles Odysseus and his men face traveling home. As prophesized, twenty years later, Odysseus returns to a devastated Ithaca, alone, penniless and unrecognizable. Odysseus has hubris, a flaw that costs him, as well his men, excessive troubles. Odysseus does not learn from his and others’ past mistakes, again leading him into traps that could have easily been avoided. Odysseus constantly puts his men in harm’s way for selfish purposes. For these reasons, Odysseus is an incompetent leader, and therefore should be criticized. Odysseus has hubris. This excessive pride and arrogance leads Odysseus and his men into difficult situations that would not have otherwise arisen. Towards the beginning of Homer’s epic, Odysseus narrowly escapes from a Cyclops’ cave. In triumphant victory, Odysseus taunts the Cyclops, Polyphemus. His men advise him against further agitating Polyphemus after the Cyclops starts throwing massive boulders at their ship; however, Odysseus displays hubris and does not listen. ‘Godsake, Captain! Why bait the beast again? Let him alone!’ ‘Aye He’ll smash our timbers and our heads together!’ / I would not heed them...
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...The classic tragedy, as defined by Aristotle, has six major parts. These parts include a plot, characters, theme, melody, spectacle, and language. All stories, according to Aristotle must have a beginning, middle, and end, and must follow a logical sequence according to these six elements. The plot is the series of events, or sequence in which the action of the play occurs. Plot must follow a cause and effect relationship, which follows a logical pattern. Characters are the people in the play, who have certain qualities that can be determined by what they say, do and what others say about them. The theme of the play is the general feeling or statement made by the author that presents an observation or thought to the audience. Melody is the musical quality of the play, which includes a change of pitch by the voice, musical instruments , and also includes the high and low points of the play giving it an overall melodic quality. Spectacle includes the visual elements of the play, anything that is observed by sight. Often in modern movies and plays spectacle can be overdone, especially if a reason for the spectacle cannot be found. Language is the dialog or speech that makes up the story, and is used by characters to present the play to the audience. Aristotle lays out a very specific definition of what a tragedy should include, and how each element should be presented. He tells us that the tragedy must include these six elements and that they must be laid out in a logical manner...
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...Magical creatures in magical lands offer a story like no other. The epic poem The Odyssey by Homer and the film The Wizard of Oz by Victor Fleming, both focus on a heroic main character struggling to get home. The Wizard of Oz presents Dorothy Gale as the savior for her new friends and local residents of Oz. The Odyssey does the same, illustrating Odysseus as the savior for his crew, as well as his family in Ithaca. Dorothy and Odysseus share many different character traits that depict heroism, however, they have many different approaches to achieving their goal of going home. Dorothy and Odysseus share some similarities of heroism. For example, they both are depicted as brave, loyal, and determined. Dorothy is brave because she stands up...
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...The concept of a hero has been interpreted in many ways throughout the ages an Odysseus is one literary hero that stands the test of time. There are many heroic traits that makes Odysseus in The Odyssey a hero even in today's world. The first trait that makes him a hero is Odysseus is hubristic which is one of his flaws. The next trait is he is stro In the Odyssey Odysseus portrays many traits that make him a hero such as his flaws. In multiple books he shows how hubristic or pride he is especially in book nine at the cyclops island. When Odysseus and his crew first arrived on the island Odysseus picks out a dozen of his best fighters to scope out the island. They find one of the cyclops caves and de themselves at home and “built a fire, set...
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...For years, heros have been thought to be superhuman- only strengths but no weaknesses. However, Homer’s Odyssey proves otherwise. Homer’s Odyssey is the epic poem about Odysseus's journey back to Ithaca after winning the war against Troy. The epic poem explains that to be human means to have weaknesses. Odysseus’s biggest flaws is that he is proud and curious. Homer uses characterization to show that humans have weaknesses. One of Odysseus’s main weakness is that he's proud. Throughout the books, he tries to prove that he is invincible, and no creature can outsmart him. Earlier in Book 9, when Odysseus and his men had just reached the Cyclops’s home, his men pleaded not to go to the Cyclops, he still wanted to “ find out what the mainland...
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...Odysseus’ Journey: A Path to Redemption In Homer's The Odyssey, the protagonist Odysseus sets off on a 10 year journey to reclaim his throne as king of Ithaca after the Trojan War. Throughout his journey, Odysseus constantly struggles with temptation. Odysseus faces the challenge of overcoming his weaknesses to obtain redemption from the gods. Odysseus' chances of returning home are compromised by his flaws and those of his crew; however, Odysseus possesses the necessary virtues and qualities needed to reclaim his throne. One flaw that dooms Odysseus is hubris. When Odysseus and his crew become trapped in the Cyclops’s cave, Odysseus uses his intelligence and cleverness to escape. After the escape, Odysseus brags and reveals his real name to Polyphemus, yelling from his ship “…if any man…should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus…he gouged out your eye” (Homer 9.558). Polyphemus is enraged and curses Odysseus' name to Poseidon, praying that his father will delay Odysseus’ return. Poseidon curses Odysseus and his men by causing storms and winds to prevent him and his crew from returning home. If Odysseus didn’t let his pride influence him in this instance, he may have returned to Ithaca earlier and saved the lives of many of his men. Another example of Odysseus’ pride compromising the success of the journey was when the crew was facing the Sirens. The Sirens are dangerous sea enchantresses that lead sailors to their deaths through song. Instead of putting...
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...Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus exhibits his most prominent heroic trait of courage, but unfortunately, also demonstrates the human characteristic of arrogance. Even though Odysseus is seen as a hero, he has bad qualities too. Odysseus has the two main qualities of courage and arrogance which he demonstrates while fighting the cyclops and traveling throughout the seas with his crew. Homer exhibits these traits all throughout the story by presenting Odysseus as a war like hero with no flaws, when further throughout the story you are able to see all of Odysseus most human like qualities. . Odysseus has many characteristics that he portrays all throughout the book of the Odyssey. A couple of his most prominent heroic qualities are courage...
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...The Odyssey is an epic poem written by Homer telling the story of the King of Ithaca. Odysseus displays the traits of a true hero; strength, nobility, confidence, courage, and the love of glory. He gains fame through his journeys, victories and skill. As with all Homer created heroes, Odysseus possesses pride which causes him to do very unwise things. The Iliad is another epic poem written by Homer entertaining us with a story about Achilles. Achilles was the greatest warrior in the Achaean army. The most significant flaw of Achilles is his excessive pride. He is willing to subvert the good of the whole army and to endanger the lives of those who are closest to him to achieve emotional blackmail. The plot of the Odyssey is Odysseus’ 10 year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. While Odysseus battles mythical creatures and faces the wrath of the gods, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus fight off suitors or fakers trying to steal Penelope's hand from Odysseus and Ithaca's throne long enough for Odysseus to return. The Odyssey ends with Odysseus winning a contest to prove his identity, killing the suitors, and retaking the throne of Ithaca for himself. The plot of the Iliad is about the final year of the Trojan War, a conflict in which Greek warriors sailed the Aegean (Turkey) and surrounded the fortress of Troy for ten years, three millennia ago. The plot also includes the greek hero...
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...In The Odyssey, Homer tells a tale about the main character Odysseus as goes through many trials and tribulations on his journey home. Homer’s tales shows many important things about the Greeks and their views about life. One of things he shows through his story are the qualities of leadership. The Odyssey shows many important qualities of leadership, three of the most important qualities of leadership are determination, courage and intelligence. The Odyssey shows that one of the most important qualities of leadership is the ability to be determine and not let the bumps in the road stop you from reaching your goal. In book 5, although Odysseus has been stuck on a beautiful island with a beautiful women he still longs to go home. “Yet it is true, each day I long for home, long for the sight of home,” replied Odysseus to Calypso. Calypso tried her best to try and convince Odysseus to neglect his goal, but Odysseus stayed strong and kept his goal in sight. This is an important quality for a leader to have, because a leader must be able to keep his men strong and help them remember why they are still working. A leader has to be able to stand firm even if his men begin to give up hope. The Odyssey show what a determined leader looks like through the character of Odysseus....
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...Odysseus is a classic hero? Odyssey by Homer is an epic about odysseus going on his epic adventure or his own destiny. In the Odyssey homer clearly develops odysseus as an epic hero . He faces supernatural foes and receives supernatural help , he is a great warrior , and he travel over vast travels . Through his vast travels readers infer that odysseus is an epic hero . In the story odysseus went to the cyclops island when he faced cyclops and was very wise and blinded the cyclops . also went to troy to be in the war where he fought for 10 years . Also he went to circe's island where he ended up after poseidon ruin odysseus ship and was washed up . unfortunately he made it back to ithaca and disguised himself . Readers also infer that odysseus...
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...Odysseus from “The Odyssey” is referred to as a true Greek Hero by many and is studied by English Classes around the world. What The Odyssey is about is the hero, Odysseus, who is trying to get home to Ithaca after winning the Trojan War. The war took him ten years and the voyage home is taking him ten meaning Odysseus has been gone for a total of twenty years. Odysseus is in fact a true hero, yet he does have flaws through either fulfilling, or failing to fulfill the following, arête, eudaimonia, and hubris. A perfect example of Odysseus not fulfilling arête is when they see Elpenor in The Kingdom of the Dead and he says the following: “Don’t sail off / and desert me, left behind unwept, unburied, don’t, / or my curse may draw god’s fury on your head” (Book XI 79-81). Elpenor was part of Odysseus’s crew and he died when he fell off of a building and broke his neck. Odysseus and his men did not have time to bury Elpenor because they had to leave to visit Hades. This is a perfect example of Odysseus violating arête. Even though they had a place to be they could’ve easily buried Elpenor, it is in a way hospitality. Zeus, who is the god of hospitality, would not be pleased with Odysseus, especially since he always shows hospitality with whom he encounters. Elpenor even said that the gods will draw...
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