Character Traits Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

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Odysseus’s Traits: A hero is someone who demonstrates substantial quantities of courage outstanding achievements and is recognized for their positive impact on society. A heroic person is someone who can aid in the time of need and comfort others in times of distress. The Odyssey was written by Homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald. Odysseus has the defining character traits of a Heroic leader: strength, courage, nobility, a thirst for glory from doing great deeds,wanting more knowledge, having more power, and confidence in his authority. His most distinguishing trait, however, is his sharp intellect. Odysseus’s quick thinking helps him out of some very tough situations, as when he escapes from the cave of the Cyclops. …show more content…

Odysseus decides to remain silent and from this point on he is disguised as a beggar versus the King of Ithaca. To be sly is to be misleading and Odysseus demonstrates this by convincing everybody that he is a beggar man and dodges from telling Telemachus that he is his father. Odysseus shows examples of being sly when he tells the Cyclopes that “my name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy” . He is being sly because he is hiding who he really is and misleading the Cyclops to think that he is nothing by calling himself “Nobody.” This is rather ironic because Odysseus is everything but nobody. Homer suggests that being sly makes Odysseus heroic because he is trying to hide his identity from the Cyclops so he can not curse him, but because of his hubris, he later uncovers his true identity. He is also a hero because he is undercover from his friends and family and therefore shows that he can think rapidly and thoroughly at any given situation like most heroes do when they help someone, for example, escape from a train track after falling in. However, sly is not the first thing somebody thinks about when they see a hero. A hero can be sly, but it is not required because someone can be purely truthful and not hide anything and still be a hero. Odysseus is being sly, is just an addition to his heroism that is not found it all heroes. Overall, this talks about being Knowledgeable which is one of the IB Learner Profiles and it shows this because he shows his skills and ways to get pass all his obstacles and he knows about many things and uses a certain level of intelligence which shows he is smart and very knowledgeable and has a vast wisdom and