Odyssey Essay Being attacked by one eyed monsters, huge storms, a giant sea dragon, and scores of angry men were just a few of the perils Odysseus had to overcome. He did not only overcome them, but he did so in a way that would forever be thought of as heroic. Odysseus, the epic hero of Homer's The Odyssey demonstrates the Greek ideal of leadership, bravery, and devotion to the gods. Odysseus was a great leader and showed his leadership abilities many times, times where his men were ready to give up and accept their fate. With his motivational speeches he turned his men into dangerous fighters who would keep on going hard until they were struck down, eaten, or thrown into the churning seas. One example of this was during Scylla and Charybdis. Odysseus' men were tired and didn't want to proceed, but Odysseus said: "Friends, have we never been in danger before this? More fearsome, is it now, then when we faced Cyclops? Did I not keep my nerve, and use my wits to find a way out?" (P. 708, L. 766) There are also times when all the men are afraid, but here Odysseus shows he's in charge and speaks up when nobody wants to: "We all felt pressure in our hearts, but I spoke up in replyÉ" (P. 689, L. 203) Odysseus gave warnings to help his fellow shipmates and tried to protect them from the wrath of the gods: "Old shipmates, our stores are in the ship's hold, food and drink; the cattle here are not for our provision, or we pay dearly for it." (P. 710, L. 840) Odysseus was not only a great leader, but also a very brave man. There were also many times when Odysseus showed how brave he was. In this next example involving the Cyclops Odysseus shows that he is not the type of leader that sits on safe land while he sends his men in to kill, but a leader who enjoys nothing more than being engaged in battle with his men. "I took my twelve best fighters and went ahead." (P. 687, L. 136) Odysseus also had the heart of a fighter, he would do battle whenever necessary, no matter whom his opponent was, in this case the giant Cyclops: "drawing the sharp sword from my hip I went to stab him." (P. 690, L. 248) Though bravery is nothing without a blessing from the gods. Throughout the whole story Odysseus showed that he was in the god's favor, and that he had to give sacrifices and ceremonies to the gods in order for them to bless him, like in this following instance: "I addressed the breathless dead than vowed to slaughter my best heifer." (P. 700, L. 556) He also knew that when he was in the god's favor he could use it to his advantage: "Please provide us with food and shelter, remember Zeus will avenge the unoffending guest." (P. 689, L. 215) He also showed that he had faith in the gods and truly believed in what they could do. "If only Athena would grant what he prayed for." (P. 690, L. 264) I think that this is a great story that tells us of a man who could do just about everything and could do it so well people thought he was immortal. Until reading this story I assumed that Helios, Olympus, Mercury, and Saturn were just company names that people made up. I didn't fully understand why the planets are called what they are or where certain terms came from. It's hard to believe that this story was a way of life to many Greeks and that people studied Odysseus and tried to model themselves after him. I feel that this is something everybody should read and something I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
Throughout Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, the reader or viewer has the opportunity to see the story’s main protagonist make leadership decisions, and take actions, that range from critical to minor in terms of importance. But the fact is that Odysseus is a leader. And that is the key thing to keep in mind no matter how you experience the poem. Inevitably, when you are talking about leaders, the questions arise: is he or she good or bad? What is the metric and what is your method of evaluation? In this case, we’ll look at Odysseus’ performance through a modern leadership lens, while keeping in mind that Homeric Greek culture might have motivated him to act differently than he would have today.
Odysseus does many things to make himself a bad leader. He doesn’t tell his men many things, he isn’t respectful to the gods or his wife, and he is constantly putting his men in danger just so he can go home. Odysseus is a selfish leader and only thinks about himself. Although he may have good intentions for himself by going home to see his family and the rest of his kingdom, he is a bad leader.
Although Odysseus shows he is prideful in Homer’s Odyssey, he also demonstrates rhetorical skills, wisdom, and compassion, which makes him an effective leader.
After the negative impact of Janie’s relationship with Logan, she ran off with Jody because he promised her that she would not have to work. These promises were not successful which caused Janie to regret her relationship with Jody. Hurston was able to change the relationship between Janie and Jody by using descriptive diction, imagery, and tone.
It is arguable whether or not Odysseus is a strong leader. Many people believe Odysseus is a strong leader, others believe he is a selfish leader. Throughout his journey in The Odyssey, Odysseus makes countless mistakes. Odysseus is a leader but several times he can be very selfish and greedy. He is a selfish leader because he constantly puts his men in danger and kept secrets.
Janie, the main character in the novel, went through a roller coaster of emotions and personalities throughout her life. Janie went from hardly speaking to speaking up for herself and not being involved in any town activities to becoming full of life, always overjoyed, and friends with every person in the town.
Hurston’s distinctive use of symbolism in character development allows her to expand and go in to more detail on the personality and subtle information of a character. The author’s emphasis on Janie’s hair throughout the novel exempts her true identity. “She tore off he
In The Odyssey, Homer, or more so, the characters, often referred to Odysseus as the ‘Great Odysseus’. In the text, it is obvious to see that Odysseus demonstrates arrogance, charisma, over-confidence, and pride. Odysseus and his m...
Through her use of southern black language Zora Neale Hurston illustrates how to live and learn from life’s experiences. Janie, the main character in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a woman who defies what people expect of her and lives her life searching to become a better person. Not easily satisfied with material gain, Janie quickly jumps into a search to find true happiness and love in life. She finally achieves what she has searched for with her third marriage.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus is shown to be a good leader. There are evidence and details to support Odysseus as a good leader. Odysseus values intelligence which was part of what the Greeks valued at the time. He is strong willed meaning he is determined to do as one wants even if others advise against it. He also possessed great physical strength which for the Greeks, it was essential meaning it was absolutely necessary. Odysseus called himself “Nohbdy” to trick Polyphemus, the Cyclops. This evidence from the epic poem proves of Odysseus’s intelligence. Odysseus takes Circe’s advice when she tells him to order his men to tie him down
“I would not heed them in my glorying spirit, / but let my anger flare and yelled: / ‘Cyclops, / if ever mortal man inquire / how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him / Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: / Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!’” (500-505, 769).
John Wyndams purpose for writing The Chrysalids is to teach his readers valuable lessons, which inclue that, his readers learn about discrimination in a deeper way, about how change is always an option, and how religion often affects one’s thinking. He makes it evident to his readers that judging people by their first impression is wrong. Also how change is possible but hard to achieve. More specifically religion is often used as the foundation upon which people make decisions.
to dominate over and control his kingdom/state, it was obviously not meant for lesser mortals. It
All humans have different morals that change based on their environment and circumstance. Jean Valjean, in the novel Les Miserables(1961), changes from someone with confused morals to a man with more morals than most whom with respect learns to love and share.
“For now, my repugnance to him had all melted away, and in the hunted wounded shackled creature who held my hand in his, I only saw a man who meant to be my benefactor, and who had left affectionately, gratefully, and generously, towards me with great constancy through a series of years” (441).