Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Critique about The Odyssey
Symbolism in the odyssey
Critique about The Odyssey
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Anytime in life, it is always a good idea to listen to advice. People giving the advice have usually already experienced the problem at hand, and can help another person past it. In the story The Odyssey, there are multiple instances in which advice is given and not listened to. This creates problems down the road that could’ve been avoided. These instances include when Odysseus taunted The Cyclops and his men told him to stop, when Eurylochus told everyone not to go back to Circe, and when Odysseus’ men ate Helios’ cattle. When Odysseus and his men outwitted The Cyclops, Odysseus felt good and wanted to brag about escaping him. Anyone would’ve felt good about that, but Odysseus took it too far. “Now when I cupped my hands I heard the crew
After escaping Polyphemos’s cave, Odysseus’s crew remains loyal. As a result, the focus changes to Odysseus being the epic hero. Odysseus takes control of the situation and allows most of his crew to escape safely. The crew is helpless and directs the attention to how Odysseus rescues his crew by blinding Polyphemos with a spear. He has escapes by having his men hang on the underside of rams. Odysseus laughs and keeps calm during the entire tense situation. “They lumbered off, but laughter filled my heart…” (9.461). Odysseus’s ability to keep his cool is what separates him from an ordinary man. Odysseus rises up when his crew is in predicaments. His lea...
The first bad decision that Odysseus made was poking Polyphemus’ eye out. Even though it was necessary to escape, poking the sea god’s son’s eye out is never a good idea. To make matters worse, Odysseus bragged about his accomplishment later to the cyclops. The only reason why it took Odysseus ten extra years to get home was because Poseidon was angry at him for severely injuring his son. Also, if Odysseus would not have revealed his name to the cyclops, Polyphemus would never have known who poked his eye out. In return, Polyphemus would never had told his father, Poseidon, that Odysseus injured him and that he should give him a hard time on his journey home. So, if Odysse...
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
Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus shows us a vast amount of bravery and courage; the primary thing a hero needs. In book 9, when Odysseus battled Polyphemus (the Cyclops) to try and save the lives of all the crew members held captive in the cave, he was demonstrating bravery the entire time because, the true meaning of bravery is when you have the ability to challenge fear, or danger which is exactly what he did in this situation. Even though Odysseus was afraid to confront the Cyclops, he did it anyway in order to get him and his crew members out of the Cyclops cave alive; despite the 2 men the Cyclops ate. Another way Odysseus demonstrates courage and bravery was when he didn’t give us on his crew even when things got rough for example, when he faced Scylla knowing he would lose se...
Odysseus and some of his men went to investigate to see what these Cyclops were like. Unfortunately, they stumbled upon a Cyclops that had no intention of being nice. His name was Polyphemus who was the son of Poseidon. He took Odysseus’s men and ate them every night and would keep Odysseus and his men hostage. Odysseus made a clever escape and blinded the Cyclops. When Odysseus finally made it back on the ship with the remaining men that went along with him, Odysseus got a little too angry and shouted from the ship to Polyphemus and insulted him. Polyphemus prayed to the god, Poseidon and cursed Odysseus. This was on page 77, lines 526-533, book
Similar to an elaborate dish, a literary genre consists of multiple necessary “ingredients,” called epic conventions, which classify a text into a particular category. Homer follows an impeccable recipe in his magnificent work. Labeled as an epic, The Odyssey by Homer portrays the Greek hero Odysseus years after his victory in the Trojan War and his awaited journey back to Ithaca. As the plot develops it is evident it is no effortless feat for our hero to return home. The godly Odysseus encounters adversities in the forms of Cyclops, sea monsters, alluring flowers and formidable Greek gods with varying conceptions of him. These characteristics distinguish the Odyssey and its episodes as an epic and bestow Odysseus with the title of an epic
How many people have heard of the “men don’t ask for directions” jokes? Well, in ancient greece it appears as if they got lost just as easily and they don’t take advice no matter how good it is either. Several instances in The Odyssey by Homer show examples where excellent advice is given but not taken, resulting in death and disaster. For example, Teiresias, a blind seer, warns Odysseus not to harm the Sun-gods cattle. Odysseus then gives this advice to his crew. However, when his crew becomes overwhelmed by hunger, they disregard Odysseus’s advice and and butcher several cattle. As a result, they all perish. Then, when Odysseus returns to his homeland, he advises a suitor, Amphinomus, to leave the palace. Again, Amphinomus does not take
To start, within the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus displays hubris through many of his actions. The most prominent instance in which Odysseus shows hubris is while he and his men are trying to escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus. They drug the monster until it passes out, and then stab him with a timber in his single eye. Polyphemus, now blinded, removes the gigantic boulder blocking Odysseus’ escape, and waits for the men to move, so he can kill them. The men escape from the cave to their boat by tying themselves under flocks of rams, so they can easily slip by. Odysseus, now proud after beating the giant, starts to yell at Polyphemus, instead of making a silent escape. Odysseus’ men ask him to stop before Polyphemus would “get the range and lob a boulder” (436). But Odysseus shows hubris by saying that if they were to meet again, Odysseus would “take your life” and “hurl you down to hell!” (462; 463). Polyphemus, now extremely angry with Odysseus, prays to his father, Poseidon, to make Odysseus “never see his home” again, and after which, throws a mountain towards the sound of Odysseus’ voice. (470). Because of Odysseus’ hubris after blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon grants the prayer, and it takes Odysseus 20 years to return home, at the cost of the lives of all his men.
In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus fails as a leader by prioritizing his reputation over his crew’s safety after defeating the cyclops Polyphemus. In the story, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, travels to Troy to fight against the Trojans. On his journey back to Ithaca, a string of damaging incidents lead him to a mysterious island, which he later discovers is inhabited by the murderous cyclops Polyphemus. His crew manages to escape the cyclops, but not before Polyphemus kills several of Odysseus’s crew. Odysseus escapes and could have sailed away peacefully, but he calls out to Polyphemus to suggest that “if anyone, any mortal man, asks you how you got your eye put out, tell him that Odysseus the marauder did it,” (IX, 500-502). This prompts Polyphemus to lob a rock, nearly destroying Odysseus's ship. It is odd that this was
Throughout the Odyssey, there are many relationships that represent love between two people. These relationships show loyalty, compassion, and the wanting to be near one another. Two of these kinds of relationships are between Odysseus and Telemakhos, and Odysseus and Penelope.
Odysseus and his men do not show self discipline throughout the odyssey. They give into many temptations and those mistakes cost them big. Self discipline, not only important in the Odyssey, but is still relevant in today's society. There are many tempting things that can and will be very harmful. The trick is to use self discipline to say no and think of how that will affect
Odysseus from the Odyssey had confidence in spades but did not have enough ignorance which had a major effect on not only his journey, but also that of those traveling with him. Although Odysseus achieved great things, he displayed too much confidence which put many people in harm’s way. In book 22 of the Odyssey, Death in the Great Hall, Odysseus massacred all of Penelope’s suitors just to make a statement that he was the best and no one was going to take his land or his beautiful wife away from him. Odysseus, overly confident, planned to destroy all of the suitors , “ Odysseus’ arrow hit him under the chin and punched up to the feathers through his throat”( Homer, 1256). He was so confident in his skills, that he had no second thought about killing these men who were acting upon Penelope’s request for a new husband, based on her misconception that Odysseus was dead. Instead of just announcing to the whole village that he was alive, his overconfidence dominated which
As former first lady Michelle Obama once said “You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it's important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages,” (Michelle Obama). Odysseus faced much adversity in his journey back from troy and in his home life back on Ithaca. The Odyssey is an epic poem created by Homer that highlights Odysseus's journey from Troy to Ithaca. “Ulysses” is a poem by Lord Tennyson Alfred about Odysseus's thoughts after he returns to Ithaca from Troy. Homer and Tennyson both use figurative language when speaking of Odysseus’ travels, and his thoughts when he get back home. People undertake journeys to immerse themselves in the
The Ancient Greek view on wisdom, along with their views on most things, is that it’s the will of the gods. The gods control all aspects of human lives and the people have little control over what happens to them. They also view wisdom as something for all genders to have, not just the men, as shown by Athena and Penelope. The theme of wisdom in the Odyssey is best portrayed through Penelope’s statement to Eurycleia when she tries to tell her mistress that Odysseus has returned (Odyssey 23.11-21).
Intro: There are a wide variety of themes present throughout the Odyssey, written by Homer. Be it hospitality, perseverance, vengeance or power of the Gods, loyalty is truly the theme that brings the whole book together. Being 10 years after the Trojan War, many have forgotten about Odysseus and his men as they constantly brave what the gods throw their way. This essay will be talking about Odysseus and Penelope’s mutual loyalty to one another, the loyal relationships between Gods and men and finally, the loyalty Odysseus’ men show for him until death. This essay with prove to us that without loyalty, Odysseus’ legendary journey would have been put to an end near where they started. The general theme of loyalty is what kept Odysseus motivated and determined.