Theme Of Cleverness In The Odyssey

Clever can be defined as showing intelligence or skill or being ingenious. Cleverness is an important trait when it comes to dealing with others, especially difficult people. When dealing with difficult people, one must be clever in what they say and how they say it. Homer, the author of The Odyssey, shows the trait of cleverness in the characters of Penelope and Odysseus. Penelope shows cleverness when she tells the Suitors that she will wed the one who wins the archery competition. Odysseus shows cleverness throughout his journey when dealing with all the people he has encountered on his 20 year journey. Although Penelope and Odysseus both display cleverness, Odysseus displays more cleverness because he is able to get his men out of dangerous situations and he deceives others to his advantage.

An example of how Odysseus shows cleverness is he is able to get his men out dangerous situations. Many times in the story, Odysseus is put in a difficult situation and he needs to get himself and his men out of that situation. An example of Odysseus getting his men out of a difficult situation is in the story of “Scylla and Charybdis.” In the story of “Scylla and Charybdis,”

One way that Odysseus shows cleverness is when he is able to get his men out of dangerous situations. Two stories in which Odysseus uses his cleverness to get him and his men out of dangerous situations are in “Scylla and Charybdis”, and “The Cyclops”. Another way how Odysseus shows his cleverness is he deceives others to his advantage. In “The Cyclops” he deceives Polyphemus when he tricks him into thinking his name is Nohbody, and this helps him to escape the island and not get caught. Cleverness is a trait in The Odyssey that helped Odysseus to get him and his men out of dangerous situations, and cleverness also helped deceive others to Odysseus’