Examples Of Courage In The Odyssey

Walking into her boss’ office, my mom thought about what was to come. Is this really the best for my family? Will the pay difference be worth it? My mom strolled into her boss’s office, looked into his eyes, and quit. Sick of being yelled at and treated like an outsider, she moved from a private practice to Legal Aid where she could further impact the community. Even though this event may seem perfectly normal to most people, it nevertheless requires courage. While many people have different definitions of the word courage, dictionary.com believes it “is to do something difficult.” Even though the word does in fact have to do with overcoming a difficult situation, this definition is too broad. Many people believe that jumping off a cliff requires

For example, in The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, shows this trait in the book “Calypso, the sweet Nymph” by Homer, because he isn’t afraid to tear up. In this scene he is weeping because he is wishing to return to his wife and home. The book states, “With eyes wet scanning the bare horizon of the sea….” (line 73-74). Eyes drowning, Odysseus is longing for his wife. In this quote Odysseus is looking at the sea, trying to see if people have come to save him. But in society, men are often frowned upon for crying because it shows that they are weak. It was brave for him to cry. He overcame the fear that he may be judged for crying. Although crying is a simple thing that everyone does, it can still show bravery and

He has to choose between losing his ship or losing six of his crewmates. Finally, he decides upon losing six of his men to the sea monster Scylla. Dangling from Scylla’s mouth, the six men are grasping for Odysseus. The story states, “She ate them as they shrieked there, in her den, in the dire grapple, reaching still for me –and deathly pity ran me through at that sight.” (l828-831). It must have taken a great amount of courage for Odysseus to watch the consequence of his decision. After leaving his men in Troy, Odysseus was already shaken by seeing many of his friends die, and now he had to watch his crewmates die as well. Regretting his decision, Odysseus, the great war hero, likely sank onto the floor in grief. In this passage, Odysseus was putting his priorities in front of fear because he was focused on getting as many of his crewmates home as possible. Home writes “in the dire grapple, reaching for me.” This part of the quote really sticks with the reader. The men were helpless, trying to fight and wrestle with Scylla, even though the prophesy stated that only Odysseus would make it out alive. Odysseus was brave to even stand there, even though he was most likely weeping as a widow weeps for her husband. Most people today couldn’t even imagine being in this situation—having a person’s best friends reaching for him with death