Heros Journey In The Odyssey: The Hero's Journey

Odysseus’ Quest In the Hero’s journey, The Odyssey, the main protagonist, Odysseus, changes in a way which helps him gain self-knowledge. Odysseus ' experiences transformed his personality from how he was in the beginning to the end, by leading him through a heroic journey, also known as a quest. The real reason for a quest never involves the stated reason, and this is no different with Odysseus. As the story developed, many of Odysseus’ sides were exposed through the challenges he faced. Out of the countless dangers and obstacles every step back home, him and his crew have only acquired minimal character changes. Even though they are minimal, they are those which take many decades to achieve. As the odyssey is a hero’s journey, it too …show more content…

In this long narrative poem, Odysseus changes from being disrespectful to the gods by explicitly saying that he doesn’t need them, to longing forgiveness later by stating that he is nothing without them. After the success with the Trojan Horse, Odysseus considered himself higher than the gods because he, a mortal, was able to accomplish something even the gods couldn’t. He boasted to Poseidon and the others about how he is overpowering, and how his power and abilities were far beyond their limits. His epic boasting to the gods had lead him to create his own obstacles as, he is one who essentially was the cause. This disrespectful attitude is the personality which shows how Odysseus behaved at the beginning of the story. It not only demonstrates what he was once like, but how his obstacles get much more precarious. As this is the attitude in the beginning, by the end of this epic, Odysseus understands the value of gods and their power, even if it’s for good or bad. At the end of book twenty-two, page 1160, on lines 107-109, Odysseus finally accepts the fact that he is not the biggest thing …show more content…

This was a major step in the hero’s journey because it helped Odysseus discover and meet new friends, mentors, enemies, challenges, skills and new knowledge. This self-knowledge began with Odysseus not having any friends who trust him whatsoever. The main reason to do so is, in book nine, Odysseus doesn’t make any new friends considering the fact that he has a problem with letting his hubris get into the way of letting him believe someone is actually good enough to be friends with him. Here, it is clearly articulated that he was too boastful for him depend on anyone. This is major because not only does he avoid dependence, but he also avoids trust put on him. If he is too selfish, no one will believe his word, as they will think it’s all for himself and not any for them. The part of the epic which identifies this is when Odysseus gives specific instructions to his crew to not open the bag which was given by Aeolus. Only Odysseus knew that the bag contained powerful winds which could help them reach Ithaca, but this is hidden from the crew. They had already identified Odysseus as selfish, so they expected the bag to be full of treasure, and how mankind is, they wanted some too. To the readers’ surprise, this all changes the minute he enters Ithaca. He is welcomed by his dog, Argos, and was helped a kind shepherd who filled in Odysseus