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No matter the situation, honesty is always the best option. In book seven of “The Odyssey”, Odysseus does a very good job of being honest with everyone he meets along his journey. He’s doing this because he knows that if he tells the truth, it could get him a step closer to being home with his family. This shows that honesty goes a long way. “As much as it pains me to recall it, all I have told you is true.”
The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would.
At various times throughout the story, mainly through the trials, Odysseus made many decisions and forced his crew to go through many potentially lethal situations without preparing his own crew, or situations that were just a waste of time. This then leads to not only all of his crew being killed but the creation of many bad relationships. The first example of Odysseus mistreating his crew is when he and his crew went through the trails, “No more. Come, / let me tell you about the voyage fraught with hardship / Zeus inflicted on me, homeward bound from Troy...” 9.42-44.
At the end of part 2 of the Odyssey, when Odysseus is finally home and confronts the suitors in his home, he decides to slaughter them all for invading his home and courting his wife: “Not for the whole treasures of your fathers, all you enjoy, lands, flocks, or any gold put up by others will I hold my hand. There will be killing till the price is paid” (22.62-64). This quote from Odysseus shows that he was furious at the suitors, and he would allow no other atonement for their crimes except death. While the suitors all did wrong things, their actions did not deserve the death penalty. This shows that Odysseus was not thinking straight and being fair, and this is not something a hero would do.
I think that Odysseus was justified for his actions by killing the suitors, because he went through so much to get home all to find the suitors taking over his home and they were bothering penelope. However, I don’t think his actions were justified when he killed the maids because they weren’t as bad as the suitors so they did not deserve it. He could have punished them, but he didn’t need to kill them just for being with the suitors. I definitely feel like the suitors deserved it because it was so hard and took so long for Odysseus to come home, and he came home to everything destroyed. Also, maybe not all the suitors deserved it because some didn’t do as much as others.
After reading, I believe that the human characters were responsible for the progression, resolution, and overall plot in the book. Understandably, many would believe that the gods were the ones responsible for what happened; but the gods create and formulate scenarios for the humans to tackle. For instance, there are times when the humans do not obey the gods’ orders; For example, when Odysseus was once instructed by Leucothoe, a goddess who resides in the sea, to leave his raft he decided not to because he did not think he would be able to reach land if he were to.
I believe odysseus was completely justified in delivering his punishment to the wooers. They wronged him in so many ways. They took control of oddyseus ' household. They tried to unlawfully marry his wife. They also tried to steal the world that odysseus ' created with his family.
Odysseus’ slaughter of the suitors was an act of justice and revenge. The act was revenge because slaughtering 108 men for courting your wife and eating your food is insane. If someone did that present-day, society would frown upon the person who committed such an act. It would be considered mass-homicide and the person would be jailed for life. On the other hand, the act is a form of justice because of the setting of the story.
When Odysseus sets out from his home, Ithaca to fight in a long war, he is faced with many problems that lead him to fighting for himself by occasionally being violent to protect himself. The issue with this is that some readers get the idea that he is just violent, which makes him a bad man. Although Odysseus can be violent sometimes, he is a good man because he is a good husband, he always looks out for his crew and is kind to everyone he meets on his journey Despite some violent actions Odysseus does, he is a good man because he was a very good husband
His lack of restraint and willingness to die could have changed the fate of his people he was trying so hard to fight for if the Greeks were successful in killing him. After being told he is destined to be the leader of a new generation of Trojans he seems to take little care and acknowledgment to what has been given to him, and in doing so he risks the foundation of a new city just so he can die with honor. A man not capable of listening to a defined duty should not be classified as a good stoic. Yet in this instance one could argue that his choices do make him a good stoic, and the decisions he makes are something that a good stoic would approve of because he is fighting for his people. However, a few defined moments where he seems to act
What is the definition of a good person? The view of a good person changes as time goes on. However, the Odyssey is still the foundation of human morality. The Odyssey, created by Homer, is an ancient telling of a man named Odysseus and his journey home from the Trojan War. The morals found in the Odyssey show readers the benefit of being able to view situations from multiple points of view.
In expressing his opinions on a prince’s cruelty towards subjects on page 80, Machiavelli explicates that killing people is a permissible punishment because a son will forget about the murder of his father as long as his property is left untouched. However, later, on page 88, Machiavelli articulates that a prince must also refrain from attacking the honor of his subjects for fear of retribution. In killing every suitor, Odysseus assaults the honor of the noble houses of Ithaca. Massacring the sons of all the noble houses leaves Odysseus open to an uprising comprised of a coalition of the murdered suitors’ families as Odysseus realized when he orders that Penelope and Telemachus go with him to their farm to hide. In Machiavelli’s perspective, Odysseus acted rashly, in a fashion that inspires hatred, and leaves Odysseus venerable for an act of retaliation that has the potential to usurp his
There are people who think Odysseus is a hero then there are those who hate him and think he’s a bad guy. One of their strongest claims may be that he cheats on his wife with Circe. But back then it was very common for a man to sleep with someone other than his wife,even though the women weren’t allowed to do it. That may be their biggest claim but they should know that it wasn’t uncommon back then. So they shouldn’t say Odysseus is a bad guy just for doing that one thing, they should consider all the good things he did before they say he’s a bad
Odysseus came home to find suitors who were trying to marry his wife when he was away at war for 20 years. They have ruined his home and made it into a place of their own, all they wanted was the fame and power that Odysseus had and did not care to respect Penelope and Telemachus. When Odysseus finally revealed himself in the epic, he was able to get his revenge against the suitors. It has been long awaited but was able to kill them all including the fact that justice was served after all those years of their disrespect. Odysseus was able to put his revenge on the suitors when he found the opportunity after finding a way to disguise himself that way to gain trust from his people in his home.
The punishment, he decides, is death. This punishment may seem harsh, but it was necessary to ensure the safety of Odysseus and Penelope. There probably were other options that could have been considered. However, if Odysseus had tried any other form of punishment, it most likely would have backfired. Maybe Odysseus could have banished them all from the palace.