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Merriam-Webster defines a hero as,”A person who is admired for great or brave acts.” In the epic poem The Odyssey written by Homer, Odysseus must go through a journey to become a full fledged hero. The journey of a hero has three main stages; The Separation, Initiation and Transformation, and The Return. Odysseus becomes a different person by the end of the poem due to these stages. Each one of the stages are vital to Odysseus’ transformation as a hero. The first stage of The Hero’s Journey is The Separation, within The Separation there is the call which is the “invitation”for the hero to go on his journey. In the case of The Odyssey the call occurs according to greek mythology, when Odysseus is called to fight in the Trojan War. The second …show more content…
The parts of the Initiation are the Challenges, Tempters, and the Abyss. Odysseus’ main Challenges is him trying to find his way home. He has two tempters, Calypso and Circe who both tried to keep him from going home, and his Abyss is him going into underworld. In the underworld Odysseus must face those who have died before him, “The souls of the dead gathered...with an eerie cry, and pale fear seized me”(11;159;36-41). This quote shows how Odysseus is afraid of the ghosts, but he must get over this fear in order to question them and receive information. Once Odysseus leaves the Underworld he goes into his Transformation. During the Transformation the hero has a Revelation and Atonement. Odysseus’ has his Revelation later on in the poem when he returns home to Ithaca,”Odysseus went up from, the harbor….he would find the noble swineherd”(14;206;1-4). Instead of being impulsive and going to straight to his suitors and murdering them he goes to his swineherd's home. Odysseus has become less impulsive and thinks things through more after leaving the Underworld. Odysseus has become one with his new self and has his Atonement. He uses his Atonement to his advantage by planning out the murder of the suitors. In this second stage Odysseus changes the most with him becoming less impulsive. These stages are the most important parts of The Hero’s Journey;this is where Odysseus is shaped into the mold of a …show more content…
In the return the hero must return to everyday life and often becomes a better person. Odysseus’ return is filled with murder but he does become a better person afterwards. He now thinks things through more and he plans how to deal with the death of all the suitors,”Then sponge down all of the beautiful tables and chairs,”(22;350;464-465). This quote shows that he knows that he must get rid of the evidence and break the news of the suitors death himself. In the Return the hero is often has gifts in Odysseus’ case it is his family,”This brought tears from deep within him, and as he wept he clung to his beloved wife,”(23;360;238-239). Odysseus weeps when he is finally with his wife. The main point of The Odyssey is Odysseus getting home to the family he loves. This quote shows just how much Odysseus cares and loves his family. Odysseus has received many gifts throughout the Odysseus and has lost all of them one way or another, except for the greatest gift of all his family. The Return is the last part of The Hero’s Journey and is where the a person becomes a hero, Odysseus finally achieves that title at the end of the
The majority of those who read The Odyssey consider the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, a hero. On many occasions, however, Odysseus makes decisions beneficial to himself alone. For example, when Odysseus and his men find themselves on Polyphemus's island, Odysseus's actions are self-centered and at the expense of his men. This can be said for most of Odysseus's actions in the story, as his main objective is to reach his home. Having his men by his side when he returns seems a trivial thing to him. Odysseus could be considered a hero, but many of his actions say otherwise. Due to the many unfaithful and self-centered decisions he makes in the story, Odysseus is not a hero.
endure the pain and strife that came from his homeward journey. Without his heroic resources to help him escape the temptations by battling his way out or using his wit to escape he holds on and endures and finally returns. Dying on the battlefield would be a fantastic ending for a hero such as Odysseus. Dying alone without a fight or giving in and living without ever returning to his home or Penelope would be a fate no hero could accept. He would have been forgotten and others would claim what was his. Odysseus does endure and returns, escaping danger and great temptation to be the hero and claim his own.
In his work The Odyssey, Homer wrote arguably the best example of an epic journey. Every protagonist in any epic must. It consists of three main components, the call, the challenges, and the return. In Homer’s The Odyssey, the most important aspects of Odysseus’ epic journey are the gods’ decision to allow Odysseus to return to Ithaca, his encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus, and his reaction to the abuse he receives from the people of Ithaca.
Opposed to that of common thought, superman is not the only type of character that fits the heroic persona. Although “superheroes” typically come to mind when one thinks of a hero, there are many other ordinary people capable of extraordinary things. A hero is a person who takes the initiative to set out on a journey of internal growth. During this symbolic journey, one truly finds himself and betters the lives of other mentally and physically. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus takes the path of heroism, resulting in the reborn spirit of a selfless, modest hero. During the process, Odysseus is faced with many challenges that he must overcome in order to earn the noble title. Odysseus proves himself to be a well-deserving hero because he is intelligent with his decisions, he displays cleverness, and he rids himself of hubris.
With the Odyssey, Odysseus learned a big lesson in humility. The greatest example of this is in the last five books or so within the story. He has to dress, act, and live like a beggar in order to regain everything he had lost. While he was a beggar, the suitors treated him horribly. Antinous, leader of the suitors, was the worst of them all. He was the first to mistreat Odysseus and planned to kill Telemachus. He was also the one that would abuse him physically and verbally for some time to come. Also, if that weren’t enough, he planned a boxing match for Odysseus to be in to watch him get beat up. All this was happening and the other suitors were most likely following their leader in whatever he was doing. Odysseus had to control himself the whole time this was happening. If he had lost his temper, the suitors would have killed him, his son, and most likely taken over the kingdom. That didn’t happen though. Odysseus learned self-control and humility. He may not be perfect at it, but going through all the humility made him a better man. Along the same topic, he was a king going through this humility. It would be one thing for a peasant to go through it, but a king? This made it even harder for Odysseus. He had rank above all the suitors and could rightly kick them out of his kingdom. Instead he waits for the right time and kills them all. The “pre-journey” Odysseus would of thought of himself invincible and probably would have died trying to get his kingdom back.
The Hero’s Journey is an ancient archetype that we find throughout our modern life and also, in the world of literature.Whether metaphorical or real, the journey that a character goes on shows not only the incredible transformation of the hero but it also gives them their life meaning. It is the ultimate human experience and it reflects on every aspect of life. Take Logan, also known as Wolverine, from the X-Men movie as an example. His adventure starts with “The Call,” which is the first step of the Hero’s Journey. This step happens due to the realization of imbalance and injustice that the character has in their life. Logan steps into the first stage of the pattern but is hesitant to start his adventure because he does not know what and
The definition of a hero is unique for every individual; however there are several regulations that majority of individuals can agree on. A hero must exhibit traits such as humility, kindness, and courage. Once the candidate expresses hubris, displays cruelty, or retreats from a formidable challenge, he cannot be considered a hero. Lastly, a hero candidate must overcome challenges that defy the odds. He must deliver a gift to society that benefits society as a whole; such gifts can be freedom, liberty, or hope. Odysseus in The Odyssey, by Homer, fulfilled these requirements and rightfully earned the title of a hero. Odysseus is well deserving of the title hero because he has put the needs of others before his own, shown signs of courage in the face of adversity, and displays humility by ridding himself of his hubris.
Everyone expects a hero’s odyssey to end in glory, for the hero to come home with a win under his belt and stories of victory to tell. The Odyssey exemplifies this particular ideal of a hero’s journey. Odysseus comes home after twenty years abroad, having beaten multiple foes along the way, and continues to win as he slays the suitors who are courting his wife. There is no doubt that his odyssey ended with a win. However, not all odysseys have such happy endings. Junior’s odyssey in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, mostly inspired my creative project. Junior’s journey, in particular, stood out since his obvious odyssey abruptly ended without a victory. I wanted to address that the purpose of an odyssey is not always to come out on top but can be learning about yourself.
Odysseus portrays himself as anything but a hero throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus goes through his life believing he is the best. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and he believes nothing and no one can harm him, not even the gods. Odysseus feels he is always the leader and no one can tell him otherwise. Odysseus should not be considered a hero because he portrays himself as a selfish man that failed his crew, and is controlled by his hubris.
of Odysseus’s journey and the fate of his companions before the story is told. In this
The main character of the Odyssey, Odysseus the King of Ithaca is given a complex personality to an extent where it is hard to identify whether he is a true hero or not. True heroism is only achieved when a person achieves certain qualities that portray heroism. Odysseus is not a hero based on the standards of merciful, selfless, and gentle because of his actions of sacrificing his men, killing the suitors and being ruthless throughout the Odyssey. Along with many others qualities these three are helpful and necessary in a hero. A hero must be willing to do service for others and put the needs of others safety and protection before his own. Odysseus does not even come close to matching these qualities because he is a person, who only serves of himself, and he sacrifices his allies to achieve his goals and often he takes action ruthlessly.
...-evaluation and corrected himself by turning his life around so that he could be fully aware of what it means to be a hero. Even though he has different traits from different heroic people he still succeeded in proving himself, like all heroes do. Now he truly understands his place in the world, his purpose, and what he must do in the future as the main hero of his household. Journeys like Odysseus’s would influence people to think about a hero in a complete opposite way than stories about pure-hearted knights in shining armor because it shows a person’s mistakes and how he handles or copes with them while maturing overtime. Even though different traits can describe who is or who is not a hero Odysseus is beyond doubt a well-developed hero.
The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus and his both literal and figurative journey home to Ithaka. When the great king, Odysseus travels to Troy on the account of war, many obstructions hinder him from returning home. During his absence, his deprivation of being a father to his son, Telemachus, causes great disappointment. Without a father, his son strives to grow and mature yet he has not the slightest idea of where to. However, as Telemachus struggles to reach manhood and his father struggles to return to Ithaka, their seemingly separate journeys are connected. They both learn values that turn a boy into a man and a great man even greater. In the epic poem the Odyssey, Homer uses parallel rites of passage with Odysseus and Telemachus to develop the importance of the father son-bond.
Ursula Kile Guinn once said, "It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end." Nowhere is this idea more clearly evident than in Homer's, The Odyssey. The Odyssey reveals that a rigorous journey can be filled with situations that lead you to be a stronger person. Homer most efficiently uses vast setting, deeds of valor, and invocation on the muse to advance the thematic topic of journey. Modern readers finish the epic with a greater understanding of challenging journeys making someone stronger.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, many happenings interfere with Odysseus’ journey to return home to his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus. Self-determination is a strong characteristic that Odysseus portrays in The Odyssey. The three traits that Odysseus portrays as evidence of his self-determination are: endurance, perseverance, and courage. Odysseus, like most humans, has his doubts of confidence, but seems to overcome them. Out of this great tragedy, he has become a greater man to regain his kingdom and live a long life. He learns that without his determination he would have never returned to his home. Nature played a key role in how the story played out. Nature can interfere and impede human progress but that nature cannot conquer mankind so long as men are willing to face hardship and accept the consequences of their struggle.