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Examples Of Odysseus Flaws

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Odysseus’s Greatest Flaw
It is very clear what Odysseus’s problem is. Throughout the entirety of the Odyssey, we can see the countless mistakes made by Odysseus. As a viewer, you focus on the main character’s actions and decisions. Seeing as that is what we look for, we can quickly observe that Odysseus is not the smartest of men. As you read through this essay, the answer to this question becomes clear.
Odysseus’s most significant fault had to do with his thought process and the decisions that he made (his cerebration). There were many instances where if Odysseus would have simply gone with the plan and thought of others and not just himself, he would be saved from a lot of hardship. He often put his men into bad situations, costing them their lives. He tended to make decisions off the top of his head, instead of listening to the advice given to him. It is easy to see that Odysseus could be easily deterred from his final destination. Odysseus always seemed to make it back to his original path, even if it took him a sum of years. Sadly because of his rash choices, none of his men were able to make it home with him. …show more content…

Not to mention demanding a gift since that was “custom” (Homer 566). Anyone could see that the situation was wrong and how Polyphemus could be angry. If Odysseus simply moved on from the island, his men’s lives could have been spared. A great example of this is when Odysseus and his men were coming up to Cyclops island and Odysseus knew that the people on the island were cyclops. He didn’t tell any of his men about the beings that lay within the island, causing them to blindly go toward their deaths. The text even tells that Odysseus knew (Homer 564). It is very clear that Odysseus just wanted to explore, and didn’t care for the lively hood of his

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