Critical Thinking In The Odyssey

Odysseus’ Exceptional Trait of Critical Thinking Carries Him Home

In The epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus would not have made it home alive if it was not for his significant trait, critical thinking, to return home to Ithica with his master eloquence, swift decision making, and acute thinking.

Odysseus uses his first critical thinking trait of master eloquence when he is being held hostage on an island with the nymph Calypso. Zeus hears of this and he sends Hermes to go and let Odysseus go. Calypso at first resists, but then she receives a threat from the god. She reluctantly supplies. Although she is very upset that Odysseus has to leave, she sends him away with all the supplies he needs. She even allows him to make his own raft.

In the same way, Odysseus places a final seal on his departure from Calypso's island by using compliments and sympathy. Odysseus does not do the bare minimum to get himself off the island but he goes beyond what his goal is. He knows that Calypso is strong and powerful. Using that knowledge, he compliments her to assure her that she is much more beautiful and

For example, Odysseus outsmarts Polyphemus by telling him that he is “nobody”. The choice of the name “nobody” comes in handy later in the chapter when Polyphemus tries to let the rest of the giants know who attacked him. “So you ask me the name I’m known by Cyclops?...Nobody---That’s my name. Nobody---so my mother and father call me” (Homer 223). Unfortunately, they did not believe that “nobody” did it and laughed at him. The choice of his name is also significant in the fact that Odysseus is unknown. Back in Ithica is well known for his royalty and bravery in the Trojan War. Presumably, Odysseus being away from home for more than twenty years feels forgotten. He understands that people back home think that he has died. Without knowing Odysseus’ background, one perceives him as a