Is it morally correct to be deceptive in order to help or save someone you love? What if it is just to save yourself? In The Odyssey, a Greek epic, by Homer, a man named Odysseus makes the ten year journey home from fighting in the Trojan War. He faces many dangerous trials along the way. In The Odyssey, most of the main characters lie at one point or another during the course of the storyline. Whether it is to keep a mother from worry or to defeat a Cyclops, deception seems to be a good, even necessary, method of reuniting Odysseus and his waiting family.
Disguises are a form of deceptiveness that plays an enormous role in the storyline of The Odyssey. In the first few pages, Athena, disguised as Mentor, visits Telemachus. She convinces
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These lies may be necessary to keep a person out of trouble or worry. When Odysseus was in Polyphemus’s cave, he knew that the Cyclops would kill him if he knew his name. So when the Cyclops asked he answered,” Nobody is my name.” This was a lie, but it saved him from being eaten by Poseidon’s son, who hated him. Odysseus lied to the Cyclops a second time when he said, "Poseidon, Shaker of the Earth, has shattered my vessel. He drove it against the rocks on the outer coast of your country, cracked on a cliff, it is gone, the wind on the sea took it.” He knew that the Cyclops was trying to trick him into revealing the location of the ship, and that he would kill his crew if he knew where the boat was, so he had to lie to save their lives. Many times, deceptions are also given to spare someone’s worry or feelings. For example, when Telemachus left Ithaca to go and find his father, the only person he alerted was his childhood nursemaid. He told her, “Do not fear, nurse. This plan was not made without a god’s will. But swear to tell my beloved mother nothing about this until the eleventh day has come or the twelfth hereafter, or until she misses me herself or hears I am absent, so that she may not ruin her lovely skin with weeping.” He knew that his father’s mother had killed herself over worrying about her son, so he did not want to give that same fate to his mother, who already had enough stress on her from dealing with the
In Odysseus's mind he has very good reasons to kill the suitors. He decided to kill them when he found out that they wanted to marry his wife. The suitors has all assumed that he was dead, for 20 years. As a result they tried to marry his wife. Penelope also believed that he was still alive and she tried to delay any marriages. Odysseus's idea to kill them all is not very logical especially because while he was away on his 20 year expedition he cheated on his wife two times. Odysseus actions were very rash. The reader can see this when Eurymachus says, “Rash actions, many here,” (Homer 818). Eurymachus knows that Odysseus has made rash decision and he is trying to show him his ways and how it is bad. Later the reader reads that Odysseus doesn’t really see that and he is just excited to be reunited with his wife.
Plato once said: “Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty.” People are taught from a very young age never to lie or keep secrets. It would be easy for anyone to stand behind the argument: “Honesty is the best policy,” but in times of personal anguish, that decree is quickly disdained. What this argument fails to consider is that keeping a secret or lying is the justifiable in times of crisis.
At some point in their life, many people experience feelings of inadequacy or uncertainty. In “The Odyssey” by Homer, one of the main characters Telemachus experiences both of these feelings. He feels that he is not good enough, especially compared to his father, Odysseus, who many people refer to as a great leader. In the beginning of “The Odyssey”, Telemachus’ home has been taken over by suitors, each with the goal of winning over his mother, in hopes to marry her and become king. Telemachus is not fond of these men in his home, but does not have the confidence to get rid of them. Lastly, at this point in the story, Odysseus, Telemachus’ father, has been gone for approximately twenty years, most of Telemachus’ life. Telemachus has been
Have you ever told a lie to protect yourself or someone you love? People lie for their own purposes. Some people lie for themselves or for their close one. They depend on the lies so much that they do not care that their lies might hurt others. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, almost all the characters lie for their own desires and to protect their own interests. Even though lies are forbidden in their religion, some people are blind to understand the punishment of lying. The concept of lying to save oneself is also evident in “Fear Was Reason For Lying About Shooting, Woman Says” by Mary Spicuzza. The article highlights how a woman hid the truth about witnessing a murder just for the sake of her own life. Another article, “The Truth
Odysseus disguised as a beggar is the basis for the lies that are going to be told to Penelope in this passage by him. In my opinion, this is the main lie that is used as the building block for many other lies to be told. Odysseus is being deceitful by disguising himself as a beggar for specific reasons. His reasons are to find out what has been going on in Ithaca in his twenty years' absence. He wants to find out his wife's loyalty to him as the husband and the authority figure, and her love to her husband. If she did not still love him, he might think twice about revealing his identity to his wife and to the island of Ithaca. He wants to get a feeling of how Penelope feels towards him before he reveals himself to her.
When confronted with a problem, why does the human brain default to lying? Dishonesty is never a solution, although it may seem like the best option in the spur of a moment. My grandma always gave the example of her youth: she avoided and deceived her friend’s sister because the little girl riled everyone. Come to find out, the sister passed the following month due to an illness. I could never imagine the guilt she experienced. Nevertheless, everyone has been deceitful before and many characters were in the tragedy, The Crucible, by playwright Arthur Miller. Reasons for lying are understandable, but most people will admit that mendacity has only caused pain. Lying’s outcome is never positive: it may seem like a good option, for falsehood can save a person’s life, benefit someone, and it eases stress, but these are all transitory.
From the beginning until the end of the Odyssey, Athena and Odysseus use physical disguise to ensure that justice and truth prevail. Athena uses her infinite disguising powers to change status, sex, and age and appear as the Mentor, a little girl, a “young man’s figure” and more (3.281). While all disguising instances are essential towards helping Odysseus go back home, the Mentor disguise seems to be the most important. In Book 2, Athena transforms into “Mentor’s form and voice” as a strategy to persuade Telemakhos to believe in his potential and pursue the journey ahead of him (2. 425). Mentor is in fact a person here, Telemakhos’s tutor and Odysseus’s comrade in batt...
The utilization of lies assists Odysseus in executing the plans he creates to get revenge on the Suitors. In “Chaos, Order, and Cunning in the Odyssey,” the author mentions the lies Odysseus states and their importance throughout the rest of the epic. As Odysseus returns to Ithaca, he tells lies to Penelope, the Suitors, his loyal servants, and numerous others. Heatherington mentions how The Odyssey is “a poem so much concerned with the questions ‘Who are you? Where do you come from?’ since, if he answers wrongly, the disorders he is trying to right can only get worse, not better” (Heatherington 229). Therefore, Odysseus has to be careful with what he chooses to tell certain individuals in order to keep his identity a secret. If Odysseus says one thing wrong the Suitors could become angry
“There is no safety in unlimited hubris” (McGeorge Bundy). The dictionary defines hubris as overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance. In The Odyssey, Homer embodies hubris into the characters Odysseus, the Suitors, and the Cyclopes. Odysseus shows hubris when he is battling the Cyclopes, the Cyclopes show hubris when dealing with Odysseus, and the Suitors show it when Odysseus confronts them at his home.
As Agamemnon tells Odysseus, “Let it be a warning even to you. Indulge a woman never, and never tell her all you know. Some things a man may tell, some he should cover up” (Book XI 199). This is not news to Odysseus, who treats all women with caution ever since he was betrayed by his wife Helen, who acted in a way that defiled all womankind. Agamemnon did not come to this realization all by himself, however; his statement represents the common sentiment that existed throughout all ancient Greece. Even before Odysseus speaks with Agamemnon, he exhibits a similar attitude in his many encounters with women during his long journey home. Every major female character that Odysseus comes across uses deception in one form or another to get the better of him. This being the case, Odysseus fights fire with fire, using his own cunning deception against the evils of womankind.
In The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Allen Mandelbaum, Homer retells the story of Odysseus’s expedition from Troy to his homeland, Ithaca. Along the way, Odysseus faces numerous challenges—from dealing with Poseidon’s wrath to getting trapped on Calypso’s island. With Athena’s guidance, he returns to Ithaca to reunite with his son, Telemachus, and loyal wife, Penelope. Throughout the book, hubris or excessive pride is in display especially with Odysseus and the suitors. Hubris causes the them to neglect the gods and create careless mistakes which backfire in the future. Their incapability to make good decisions is affected by their pride which blurs what is and is not a good idea. In addition, hubris is also a trait looked down on in Greek culture. Homer lets his audience understand how pride can be part of one’s success. However, hubris will not only cause his or her downfall but also of those around them.
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.
Brains over brawn, who will win this battle?Homer's tale of Odysseus' adventures in “The Odyssey” show that being intelligent and cunning can be far better than having physical strength. Being physically strong certainly has its advantages, but not in all circumstances. Strength in intelligence shows new meaning of strength. Odysseus is amused with himself when he defeats Polyphemus. His great skills with a bow outweigh the others abilities. Knowledge of the placement of his bed win his beloveds heart.
The characters' use of disguises in Homer's Odyssey is a crucial element that helps to catalyze the victory of good over evil. Each disguise is unique, created for a specific purpose. Before she talks to Telemachos, Athena disguises herself as a wise old man in order to ensure that her words carry weight and are taken seriously. She knows that she must assist and encourage Telemachos into searching for his long lost father without revealing her divine nature, so she assumes the guise of Mentor because men were generally given more credibility in those days. In a similar vein, Odysseus disguises himself as a homeless man in order to exude anonymity so that he can safely return to Ithaka where he slaughters the inconsiderate suitors. The characters' use of disguises is a key element that Homer utilizes to further the story as well as spice up the plot.
Secondly, it is okay to be untruthful if you are trying to protect people. In certain situations, it is safer, and more practical for you to tell a lie rather than putting a loved one in jeopardy. To illustrate you may be in a situation where you are in a serious or dangerous situation, and you do not what anyone else involved, to keep them safe. For example, if you are getting held up for ransom, would you tell the truth to a loved one and get them involved, or lie and keep them safe? The obvious answer is to keep them safe at all costs, even if it means lying. Also, you do not want to put someone in harm’s way, so it would be ...