Kindness In Odysseus

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Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have known;” this quote by Joseph B. Wirthlin echoes what so many people believe. Everyone needs the kindness of others at some point in their life, and those who show the good in their heart are a gift to others. Odysseus, in The Odyssey, needs some of this generosity. Whether Odysseus is on a strange island alone or he is on the island of his people, but unwelcome, Odysseus faces trials and has already been on an arduous journey. He was exhausted and could not have done what he did without the kindness of two crucial characters; Nausikaa and Eumaios. Although their roles may have seemed small in comparison to some of the supposed heroes …show more content…

First appearances can be deceiving, which is what many characters learn after encountering Odysseus for the first time. When both Nausikaa and Eumaios are introduced to Odysseus, he is in an unruly state, and it is unknown to him that he is the king of Ithaka. To Nausikaa, Odysseus seems like “a mountain lion, rain drenched, wind buffeted, but in his might at ease, with burning eyes...driven on by hunger too” (Homer 6. 140-147) when he emerges from bushes where she and her maidens are. Yet though he appears a wild man, Nausikaa remains where she stands, even while her maids ran from Odysseus. Nausikaa’s soul has the ability to recognize that those who look harried as he did, often need compassion, so she is unafraid. Her kindness allows for Odysseus to come close …show more content…

They expect all people to avoid prejudice and allow time to understand the circumstances of stranger’s lives. Though Odysseus did appear seemingly out of nowhere to Nausikaa and her maids, she requests that they return to her side; “stay with me! Does the sight of a man scare you? Or do you take this one for an enemy?...no: this man is a castaway” (6. 213-214, 220). Nausikaa is embarrassed that her maidservants would determine the danger of a man in need so unjustifiably. On the other hand, the unfair assumptions made about Odysseus on his own island, Ithaka, are even worse. He and Eumaios are walking a path, and the goatherd, Melanthios, meets them. Melanthios quickly makes unjust judgments, and insults Odysseus for being a beggar, even kicking at him (17. 278-298); since Odysseus is in disguise, he must control his temper, but Eumaios quickly steps in to defend the man. The swineherd tells his co worker that if he hoped if Lord Odysseus was around, Odysseus would do away with anyone who treated another human like Melanthios treated this beggar (17. 312-314). Eumaios is ashamed that a peer would disregard a human as the goatherd did. The kind pair, although on the separate islands of the Phaiakians and Ithakians, defend Odysseus, unknowing that he is a king. Nausikaa defends him to her maids, and Eumaios defends him to

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