Although some literary scholars of The Odyssey have argued that Odysseus is a brave, conquering hero, it turns out that he would actually fall under the classification of a villain. Odysseus is overly self-centered, and only focuses on the goals that affect himself, not the ones that benefit other people. He takes little consideration for the people around him, only trying to accomplish the tasks that would help himself. Not only that, but Odysseus also has a tendency to be arrogant and will often times laugh and humiliate his enemies, which usually does more harm than good. Finally, he also had a habit to take challenges too far in order to make himself seem stronger and more powerful.
To start, what is the difference between a hero and a …show more content…
For example, after Odysseus blinds Polyphemus, he sails away laughing at the Cyclops while revealing his true name. He does this in order to humiliate Polyphemus, and to prove to himself and his men that he is a strong and powerful leader. But indeed all he does only boosted his ego unnecessarily. Instead, he could’ve stayed humble and and just sailed away, but he felt that he had to prove that he was better than any man. Moreover, since Poseidon’s son is now blind, Poseidon becomes enraged at Odysseus and his men, which ends up making it even harder to come …show more content…
He expresses his selfishness when ignoring the fact that he neglects the need to protect the lives of other people depending on him and his choices while he focused on getting home. It is also proven that Odysseus’s arrogance and need to humiliate his opponents is his way to boost his ego and pride. Finally, Odysseus has a tendency to take challenges too far, which results in the death of many men. As the Blind Prophet, Tiresias, told Odysseus himself in the film The Odyssey “You keep your eyes only on your home, blinded. You do not see that it is the journey itself that makes up your life,” (Christopher