This is where he is wrong. He wants to leave the island and get back home, but really if the Cyclops has help from the gods that feel sad for him being blind he could be able to go to Odysseus’ home and destroy it all. So then when Odysseus is back all he will have is a destroyed hometown and a blind Cyclops to deal with. This is where individual good vs communal good, people in that type of situation especially with gods, and monsters involved you can’t just think about yourself you have to think about others. Yes, Odysseus was not selfish for leaving so that he could see his wife, but he was selfish of not thinking what could happen with a world of gods and a son of a major god, Poseidon. In this type of setting, you can not think about yourself you have to think about the entire world around you because with one word from the gods they can easily destroy cities themselves, or seduce others to destroy the cities for them, with a reward. Odysseus thinks that he can rule over the world and through his selfishness his actions will cause no harm as said, “The poem in effect redefines justice in terms that privilege the individual over the community, since Odysseus’ vengeance brings on neither exile nor death at the hands of his victims’ families”(10 Schein). In this case, Odysseus is very lucky because he is loved by the goddess Athena but for others this at times is the exact opposite, through their actions all they get is punished that leads to death. In addition, Odysseus has to stab the Cyclops eye, Zeus had to kill all of Odysseus’ men, and Penelope had to get a new husband. Without destroying the eye Odysseus and his men would have been trapped in the Cyclops’ cave. Zeus would have been hated by Helios, and as a leader you need to have as many people you can to like you. Also, Penelope had to find a new husband because that is her only way to have a social stance, without a man
In the book The Odyssey, some of the characters are downright dirty, they lie, cheat and steal just to get their way. One of these characters is the main character Odysseus. Odysseus is the King of one of the parts of Greece called Ithaca, so when he heard that his fellow Grecians were going to besiege the city of Troy, naturally, he left his baby son and wife in charge of Ithaca and left to Troy with his army. But on his way home victorious Odysseus’s ships were blown off course by a storm. He then had to find his way back to Ithaca, but along the way he met a lot of women, and he was not always as loyal to his wife as his wife was to him. So, overall, Odysseus is very disloyal to Penelope (his wife) and does not deserve her loyalty.
Throughout the ten years of The Odyssey, Odysseus was determined to come home to his wife and son in Ithaca. During this journey he met two beautiful women, Calypso and Circe. Odysseus was forced to stay with Calypso, and was seduced by Circe. Both the nymph and sorceress were depicted as beautiful in Homer’s The Odyssey. However Odysseus chose to stay with his wife and take the difficult journey back to Ithaca. This illustrated his devotion for Penelope. Another primary evidence that supports how he loved his wife was that Calypso offered him immortality in exchange for his company. Odysseus chose to live a mortal life with a mere human over an eternal life with a beautiful nymph. Although Odysseus had an affair with Calypso, it can be understood that he was forced to do so, as the nymph would not allow his leave. Even during the seven years in Ogygia, Odysseus relentlessly searched for a way to escape in order to be reunited with his wife. Penelope also proved her faith to Odysseus, as she delayed her suitors advances back in Ithaca. The characteristic which makes Odysseus the most respectful and loving hero is his loyalty to his wife Penelope. His love for his human wife transcends the temptations of an alluring sorceress and a beautiful
The relationship between Odysseus and his wife Penelope is one of loyalty, love, and faith. Both characters are driven by these characteristics. Odysseus displays his loyalty in his constant battle to get home to his wife. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Odysseus spent 20 years trying to return to his home in Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War. Along the way he manages to offend both gods and mortals, but through his intelligence, and the guidance of Athena, he manages to finally return home. There he discovers that his home has been overrun by suitors attempting to win Penelope’s hand in marriage. The suitors believed that Odysseus was dead. Odysseus and his son, Telemachus,
Odysseus overcame the fury from Poseidon and the lust from the beautiful Goddess that he came upon, to ultimately be reunited with his wife. Some people say it was selfish for him to leave her in the first place, but he had to fulfill his duty to his country and fight in the Trojan war. Also, people say that he cheated on his wife with the Goddess's that he came to through his journey. This isn't the case because in Greek philosophy it was ok to have intercourse with a Goddess because there not humans. When Virgil says, "[Odysseus's"] heart set on his wife and his return--Calypso, the bewitching nymph, the lustrous goddess, held him back" (Homer 259). This quote shows how much his wife means to him. No one explains Odysseus's journey back to his wife then Dianna Rhyan Kardulias. Kardulias had her article, "Odysseus in Ino's Veil:," published into the Transactions of the American Philological Association. In her article she reinforces Odysseus's love for Penelope by saying, "Odysseus journeys home, from "submerged identity" back to wholeness and reintegration, from languishing "dangers of exotic vice" back to the firm-founded bed of Penelope" (Kardulias 23). To confirm his care for his wife he can't even enjoy his time Calypso a beautiful goddess. The contrast of this is the way that Aeneas viewed his wife. He didn't seem to love his wife that much or even at all. For example, when his wife, father, and child along with him were fleeing Troy, he was carrying his father and allowed his wife to get lost. When they are running Aeneas says, "did she Linger, or stray, or sink in wariness? There is no telling. Never would she be restored to us. Never did I look back or think to look for her, lost as she was" (Virgil 1140). This shows that Aeneas was only worried about getting his father and son to safety and wasn't concerned with his wife's disappearance. Another
This is literally the entire plot of the story where Odysseus is trying to get back to his loving wife and kid. He goes through the toughest challenges he’ll ever face such as going to the underworld and facing Scylla and Charybdis, yet he still goes on to find his way back to Ithaca when he could've easily given up. He even had a chance to be with a goddess and be safe and cared for for the rest of his life and he still chose to go
Suffering is undergoing pain, hardships,or distress. Weather suffering is taken place internally or externally, it is being experienced in everyone’s own well-being. In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his wife, Penelope, both suffer in different ways. Furthermore, Penelope suffers more than Odysseus as she has to battle her struggles mentally rather than physically.
Upon his return home after twenty years, Odysseus slaughters all the wooers of his wife, Penelope with the help of his son, Telemachus despite the pleas of mercy from some of them. He even murders all the servants and even the priest. I believe that the killings of many of the wooers, servants and priest were severe and brutal. While the killings of some of the wooers were justified, the slaughter of the other wooers, servants and priest were not justified in my mind. Odysseus could have definitely punished them in a less harsh manner.
I think that Odysseus’s most emotional encounter was with the ghost of his dead mother. This is the most emotional encounter for Odysseus because his mother tells stories of how her and his father missed Odysseus. She explains that his father was a poor farmer who slept with slaves and had no bed and bad clothes. She tells him that he sits on a vineyards slope during fall and winter lying in sorrow. She tells Odysseus that he died of grief “longing for your return” (11.197). She tells Odysseus that this is also how she died. This is very emotional because both of his parents were so worried about their son that they died of grief, wondering why he was and if he would return. His mom says that she did not die from an illness, she died
Imagine yourself knowing you have a father but growing up with what seems like a single mother. That was Telemachus’ and his mother's everyday life. He and his mother Penelope lived together with hundreds of suitors going in and out of his home taking advantage their home by using the laws his father set up to help people. Odysseus left the first day his son was born and Penelope his mother was left to raise her first and only son.