Perseverance helps push a person past their limits to reach their goal. Throughout the book, Odysseus faces many problems he must solve in order to return home to Ithaca. He must escape the Cyclops’s cave, figure out a way to get past the sirens, and dodge the dangerous sea monsters. His determination will help him get back home to see his wife Penelope and return to rule Ithaca. In The Odyssey, Homer presents the idea that perseverance can make a person stronger when they overcome many obstacles and have a goal to work towards.
Odysseus never gave up hope when he was trapped inside the cave of the Cyclops with his men. In the text, Odysseus says “So he declared, I poured him another fiery bowl- three bowls I brimmed and three he drank to the last drop, the fool” (Homer IX. 404-406).
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In the text, Odysseus says, “ I reached the crag of Scylla and dire Charybdis’ vortex” (Homer IXX. 464). Odysseus and his men are rowing towards the sea monsters layer. Scylla will kill them with the razor sharp teeth. Charybdis will swallow them in the seawater she gulps up. Odysseus knows that he is entering a very dangerous part of the waters. In order to survive, he must fight for his life. In the text, Odysseus also says “But heaving myself aloft to clutch at the fig-tree’s height, like a bat I clung to it’s trunk for dear life” (Homer IXX. 466-467). Odysseus avoids falling into Charybdis’ mouth by clinging to a tree. He holds on to the trunk with no good footholds. Some of his men have already fallen into the mouth of Charybdis because they gave up. Odysseus uses all his strength to hold onto the tree. He has to dig deep inside himself to find what he must work towards. His life depends on the little tree and his determination to stay live and hold on. Once Charybdis closes her mouth, Odysseus falls into the ocean and floats to land. He pushed through all the hard parts and finally reached