ODYSSEY

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Imagine a person who is so epic that even the gods will do anything to help him. That person is Odysseus, a character from the book Odyssey written by Homer an epic poem. Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, He and his army had gone to war with troy, the war was known as the Trojan War, and it lasted 10 years. After winning the war, Odysseus and his fleet left Troy to go back to Ithaca, in his journey Odysseus experiences many monster and other natural forces that stops him from getting home. Odysseus’ actions reveal him to be human by showing emotions, but, on the other hand, he revels himself to be epic by showing bravery and physical strength.
On Odysseus’ journey, the reader clearly sees his emotional side, making him a human. For example when Odysseus looks at his son they both break out into tears, as Odysseus and his son embrace “Salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men, and cries burst from both as keen and fluttering as those of the great taloned hawk.” (997) Seeing his son after 20 years makes the both men emotional. Furthermore, when Odysseus encounters an old hound Argus, his dog he begins to weep. When Argus hears Odysseus’ voice, “he did his best to wag his tail, nose down, with flattened ears, having no strength to move nearer to his mater. And the man looked away, wiping a salt tear from his cheek: but he hid this from Eumaeus.”(1000) Odysseus cries because of the state Argus is in, while he was gone no one paid attention to Argus or fed him after 20 years he sees him sitting on a dung pile. Moreover, when Odysseus’ wife, Penelope recognizes him, they both shed tears of joy. While embracing Penelope “his breast into his eyes the ache of longing mounted, and he wept at last, his dear wife, cle...

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... when Scylla has sucked his raft into the whirlpool, he sees a fig tree in the middle of the ocean. He hands on to the tree until his raft came back out of the whirlpool. “I sprang for the great fig tree catching on like a bat under a bough.” (985) the last time Odysseus uses his great strength is when he has to pass Penelope challenge. He has to string a bow which is impossible no one can and shoot it thru axes without hitting them. He is successful thanks to his strength. “Odysseus in one motion strung the bow. Then slid his right hand down the cord and plucked it. So the taut gut vibrating hummed and sang a swallow’s note.”(1007)
Odysseus’ actions make him both human and epic. His emotions make him a human. His Bravery makes him epic. His strength makes him epic. Odysseus is more epic then he is human. What if you were like Odysseus strong, brave, and skillful?

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