Odysseus’ Character Development Homer’s literature served as a moral messenger to the people of ancient Greece. The Odyssey by Homer demonstrates the character development of Odysseus, the epic hero, and his journey of self-discovery. Odysseus was a great, wise, noble, and well respected war hero to his people. Odysseus had one tragic flaw that was demonstrated by his actions throughout the book. The author Homer continued to strip Odysseus of his arrogance throughout the story, by throwing challenges his way, making him pay for his mistakes, and allowing him to continue to overcome obstacles. The main purpose of Odysseus journey also to reach his home a more humble man. Reading Odysseus’ journey also served as a way to look at morals. The …show more content…
The challenges that Homer give the protagonist is all a test of character. Odysseus continues to pass the obstacles with flying colors, but his arrogance is the one flaw that is in dire need of correction. Some of the many challenges Odysseus overcomes on his voyage home is defeating the Cicones, surviving the Island of the Lotus Eaters, outsmarting the Giant Cyclops, saving his men from Circe, Traveling to Hades, passing between Scylla and Charybdis, escaping Calypsos’ Island and many more. Odysseus survives these obstacles and uses his smarts to escape near disaster. Often times he was the only one to survive these things and his crew often lost their lives due to their own stupidity. “‘We left the island and resumed our journey in a state of gloom; and the heart was taken out of my men by the wearisome rowing. But was our own stupidity that had deprived us of the wind.’”(P127 L75-79) Odysseus shows how he is an extraordinary man by being much smarter than his crew and the men that follow him. As a part of this stripping of Odysseus, Homer shows that Odysseus is a collective symbol of Everyman. On the one hand Odysseus is a great warrior, who is extremely intelligent, noble, and a great man. Although he has many god- like qualities he is still human. He shows that he is human and like every man, because of the fact that he still has major flaws. The …show more content…
Throughout the book every time and after he conquers the new challenges Odysseus answers the question, which is repeated throughout, with a different answer. Each time he conquers a challenge on his journey home he learns a new lesson towards humility and answers with a new perspective. “‘I am no god,’ said the patient, good Odysseus. ‘Why do you take me for an immortal? But I am your father, on whose account you have endured so much sorrow and trouble and suffered persecution at men’s hand.’”(P 214 L 186-189) Although he is viewed by many people as very god-like Odysseus realizes that he is an ordinary man and is not a god. Odysseus’ desire to return home is another example that makes him an everyman. In this epic tale the word home had a double meaning for the hero. Home was where his family was and where he wanted to be. The physical element of being home and with his family was a huge deal for him. The other meaning of home was being safe and secure. His aspiration to return home and to return to his safety in sometimes shows that he is also a rather weak man. It is a human instinct to want to go home and stay safe instead of always being brave and
The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.
He has learned that a man is not as strong as he wants to be; a man is only as strong as the gods want him to be. Without the help of the gods Odysseus would not be the truly heroic leader he has become. He embodies all that is an epic hero, and upon his return home to his palace in Ithaka and his victory over the suitors Odysseus is definitely a larger than life hero.
Every hero should show bravery, faith, and responsibility. Homer wonderfully exploits these within Odysseus throughout the epic. Odysseus was never influenced b his crew and tried to set good examples for them to follow. Although none of the crew, but Odysseus, made it home, he still shows these traits at his house with his son. If Odysseus ever lost any of those along the journey, he would never have made it back to Ithaca. Homer shows that people must keep going no matter what happens.
Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus exemplified the key traits needed to be an epic hero. The poem depicts Odysseus as an extremely strong man; at one point, he even defeats the towering cyclops Polyphemus. His ingenuity in creating the trojan horse unearths his slightly latent intelligence. Along with strength and cunning, Odysseus a strong sense of selflessness. He bared a trepid ten year journey and longed for his child and wife. Unfortunately, all of Odysseus’s traits are tarnished by his infidelity, ruthless behavior, and the massacre of men. Though he was, without a doubt, heroic, his lovely wife is the true, unsung heroine of the Odyssey.
The Odyssey was written by Homer and is a Greek Epic Poem. It tells the story of how Odysseus returned from Troy after the Trojan War and his adventures and experiences of the journey. In the book, Odysseus is portrayed as a hero by his actions and how he copes with the challenging situations of his trip. Throughout the nearly 10 years traveling, Odysseus showed responsibility, justice, and wisdom in each one of his trials.
The Odyssey portrays Odysseus as a man that showed many bold traits. Written by Homer in 800 B.C.E. Set in greek mythological times The Odyssey showcases a series of islands and kingdoms. The Odyssey visualized in Greek mythology shows many heroes, Gods, and enemies. Odysseus’ many eccentric traits had a great contribution to his journey in The Odyssey. Cleverness, pride, and strength shapes Odysseus and is in place as the backbone of the story.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, is stranded at sea after the Trojan War. He must overcome many obstacles in order to reach his home, Ithaca. Throughout the book, we see the many admirable qualities that Odysseus possesses that makes him such an influential literary character: among them being cleverness and loyalty. However, every hero also has his weaknesses, and Odysseus’s main weakness is his pride. We can learn how to live our life from a hero’s good traits and bad traits
Odysseus is one of the very many prominent characters in Homer’s Epic poems, The Illiad, and The Odyssey. Odysseus has been famed one of the more relatable characters from Homer’s writing, as well as one of the Greatest Greek Mythology Heroes. Homer’s Epic poems highlight many periods of shame and honor for Odysseus. The character analysis of Odysseus through the poem’s timeline shows vast developments and heroic features appear to take form in him. The Illiad portrayed Odysseus as more of a secondary figure behind Agamemnon and Achilles. In contrast, The Odyssey portrayed Odysseus as a hero in the form of an average human.
Since one can’t change one’s nature then one should learn from it in order to become better people. We will always be disloyal, self-centered, and inconsiderate, even if we don’t notice at times. Homer shows us all of these faults through Odysseus’s relationships. Inconsideration is shown when Odysseus doesn’t listen to advice given to him or recognizing others that helped him win challenges, overcome temptations, etc. Homer shows us disloyalty when Odysseus was unfaithful to his wife and forgetting about his dead friends. Most importantly, Homer shows us that we are self-centered through Odysseus blaming others for his own mistakes and by taking all credit for victories. Yet, at the end, when he recognized all of his weaknesses, Odysseus became a better and understanding
The Odyssey is an Epic Poem that stars the main character odysseus, who is a brave and courageous hero who does many things throughout the epic poem. Odysseus does many things to prove what kind of a person he is. Odysseus is most known for his 20 year voyage from Ithica to Troy and back. He had many things he had to overcome and accomplish throughout the long tiring journey. He is most known for the Trojan Horse he created to trick and defeat the Trojans. Odysseus suffered many deaths of his men and tragedies that made his journey longer than it should have been. He eventually does surpass all of the problems he faces and he does safely make it back to Ithica.
Homer’s The Odyssey is a Greek story that follows the journey of its primary character, Odysseus, back to his home in Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus encounters many challenges in his journey home, from encounters with Polyphemus the Cyclops, the witch Circe and even the ghosts of dead Greeks. Meanwhile, his household in Ithaca is being threatened by suitors of his wife, Penelope, all wanting to inherit Odysseus’ possessions in the belief that he was already dead. Like many epic heroes, Odysseus possesses many admirable qualities. Three good characteristics of Odysseus are—cleverness, bravery and strength—here are some supporting instances from the epic that demonstrates Odysseus possession of such characteristics.
Odysseus, the main character in “The Odyssey,” had many tales of adventure and his character was shown greatly in the decisions he made. With the help of the important relationships he made, Odysseus was able to return home to his wife. Some of the important characteristics that Odysseus showed in his journey was his wisdom, his leadership, and his important relationship with Athena.
There are numerous heroes throughout “The Odyssey,” but none of them are as significant as Odysseus. “The Odyssey” is a narrative poem written by Homer (around 800 and 600 BCE) to show the numerous adventures and experiences Odysseus goes through. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus a prominent Greek epic hero is on a quest to return back to his home in Ithaca; to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Just like real life, not all heroes are picture-perfect; they all have imperfections. In this case, Odysseus is sometimes insolent, and discourteous; but he is still considered an epic hero because of the many heroic qualities he endures. Odysseus proves himself to be an outstanding hero in various ways such as showing loyalty, intelligence, bravery, strength, and courage which are all some of the most momentous qualities found in a hero. If a true hero can prove they are a true hero, makes them a true hero.
From escaping the cyclops to getting lost at sea and coming home to seeing the non-expected, he still managed to survive his hell on earth. One of his most powerful moment that shows how really brave odyssey is, is when his men were turned into pigs by the goddess Circe. Eurylochus who managed to escape goes and tells Odysseus what Circe had done. Odysseus then tells Eurylochus that he will go and save them, but Eurylochus warned him that no one returns alive. Eurylochus also,“.... Begs him [Odysseus] to sail away from Circe’s island.” ( 10.46-48) Odysseus being the courageous man he is went “ Against this advice” and “... Rushes to save this men from the enchantress” ( 10.46-48). Within these line odysseus shows how honorable he is to his men. Knowing the risk, Odysseus still chooses to risk his life to save his men rather than just leaving them for dead. His bravery is why his men honor him. Through all the danger they went through, his men never left Odysseus’s side and Odysseus never left theirs, which is a very good example of what being honorable is. Odysseus reveals that bravery is a powerful characteristic of a hero, because people will honor you for your bravery. [Zehaa
In Homer’s The Odyssey, there are a lot of traits displayed that are considered important in ancient Greek culture. These are shown by many different characters, but mostly by Odysseus (he is, after all, the main character in the epic poem). Odysseus is the epitome of a Greek ruler: he has a lot of admirable traits. His only fault is his hubris, but that is overcome and taken care of. Throughout Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus displays wisdom combined with strong loyalty and inspiring leadership through the evident trust of his men and the ability to conquer any challenges that he may face along his journey back to Ithaka.