The Odyssey: The Use Of Hubris

Odysseus is keen and cunning when he comes up with a plot to blind Polythemus and escape under the bellies of the flock of ewes brought in and out of the cave every day. After escaping Odysseus cannot resist pumping himself up, so he explains how after his men are out of the cave he yells in anger back at Polythemus: “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). In Odysseus fit of hubris and rage he has given away his identity... ... middle of paper ... ...ily have the right to take all of these men’s lives. However, through hubris Odysseus feels righteous and powerful, enough to simply slaughter the suitors only moments after bragging. The sin of hubris is one of the evilest sins and rightly so.

His biggest mistakes come in the episode with Polyphemos as he first foolishly investigates the Kyklops' lair (and ends up getting trapped there), and then cannot resist shouting his name to Polyphemos after escaping (thus incurring Poseidon's wrath). If Odysseus' character changes over the course of The Odyssey, though, it pivots around temptation. After his errors with Polyphemos, Odysseus has his crew tie him up so he can hear‹but not follow‹the dangerously seductive song of the Seirenes. Disguised as a beggar in Ithaka, he is even more active in resisting temptation, allowing the suitors to abuse him as he bides his time. Temptation hurts his crew, as well, in their encounters with Kirke, the bag of winds from Aiolos, and the oxen of Helios.

Odysseus realizes that in order to gain freedom he must methodically take down the Cyclops by getting him drunk, branding his eye with a hot iron, and then escaping under using the disguise of Polyphemus’ sheep. Getting the Cyclops drunk was a means for Odysseus to build rapport with the monster and this trust can be seen by Polyphemus falling asleep near his prisoners. During this encounter Odysseus tells Polyphemus his name is Noman essentially removing his name from himself. After, Odysseus and his men brand Polyph... ... middle of paper ... ...neys. David Bowman and Odysseus were simply men who were at an immediate disadvantage because they were up against ‘Gods’.

Next he must deal with the Charybdis and Scylla. Throughout his journey Poseidon sends him all over the seas and even taunts him with a glance of his home but then it is ripped away from him due to his own men and their greed. Poseidon is unwilling to stop his punishment and even the gods and goddess' can see this as said best by Zeus himself "Bear in mind that Poseidon is still furious with Odysseus...though he does not kill Odysseus outright, he torments him...

The boys kill Simon mistaking him for the “beast” then moments later Roger without any real motive kills Piggy in cold blood. Ralph runs away from the fight, running for his life, the use fire to smoke him out, he crawls out awaiting death until he looks up, where a naval officer is looking down at him and prevents the other boys murdering him Golding depicts Simon’s death quite graphically and it is what I believe to be the major turning point in the book. Once Simon is killed civilisation no longer exists as all the boys take part in his brutal death: “The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of t... ... middle of paper ... ... happiness in the sand, it was where he first came on the island and felt the soft sand, where he first speculated that his dad, a navy officer would come save him. As he is on the sand we see that he wants to cry but he can’t cry. As he tries he notices a shadow like figure above him, he stands up and looks around for the savages, then looks up to see a naval officer who finds the island due to the huge fire in the Jungle.

However, that arrogance brought about his trials and misfortune on his journey home. A clear example of his hubris bringing forth his misfortune can be found in his ordeal with, the son of Poseidon, the cyclops Polyphemos. In this saga with the cyclops, Odysseus manages to escape Polyphemos’ cave with his men by using his clever mind to first intoxicate and then meme the cyclops (The Odyssey). By tricking the cyclops to call him “Nobody” he was able to follow through with his

But then, Odysseus told the blinded Cyclops his identity by shouting, “Cyclops – if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so- say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca” (9, 558-562). Hubris allegedly causes great success, but in reality, hubris leads to many mistakes instead. Odysseus carelessly telling Polyphemus all of his personal information through his enormous pride angered Poseidon, Polyphemus’ father, who ended up killing Odysseus’ entire crew and delaying Odysseus for 10 long years. If Odysseus would have suppressed his pride, his crew might have been able to return to Ithaca. But Odysseus’ hubris prevented everyone’s safe arrival back home, and resulted in a lot of suffering for many people.

His desire for more loot to bring back to Ithaka leads him and his men into trouble. They are trapped in the cave of the Kyklops, but Odysseus uses his wit to escape. Unfortunately, he spoils the victorious moment when he taunts at Polyphemos: “Kyklops,/ 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 Ithaka!" (IX, ...

In this passage, Odysseus is exposing himself to Polyphemus. Polyphemus then curses Odysseus and his crew on the way to their journey home by asking his father Poseidon to sabotage Odysseus’ journey home either by death ... ... middle of paper ... ...ined himself from fighting back at them. Even though this is true, Odysseus is a leader and king and patience should be a key point in his personality. Odysseus went through many misfortunate events; fighting in a ten year war, sleepless nights, fighting monsters, praying for his survival and most of all losing his concomitant shipmates. But, with all that said, would you genuinely call someone a hero with a pompous, cantankerous and inattentive personality?

Piggy is killed by Roger who levered a huge rock on top of him. Jack and his gang hunt Ralph; they burn the bushes to flush him out on... ... middle of paper ... ... the presentation changes to make it more interesting and gripping to read. This is a significant chapter because this is when the characters find out how evil is within them, and when they lose their childish innocence. In the middle of the book Golding uses the description of the hunters as 'savages', but when the adult appears at the end of the novel he calls them all little 'boys'. This is clearly noticeable when an adult is placed in the picture with them, showing that children aren't thought of as old enough to deal with the trauma of 3 people dying, survival, and how they were lucky to have survived for this long.