A Hero or a Self-Serving Pirate? Odysseus’ journey is interpreted in one of two ways: either hailed as a hero for his bravery throughout, or a figure whose actions can be seen the same as a self-serving pirate. In the epic poem, “The Odyssey'' by Homer, Odysseus the protagonist is shown as a self-serving pirate who demonstrates traits of impulsiveness, arrogance, and entitlement. Although Odysseus’ journey is often celebrated as heroic, a closer look will show readers his actions prioritized, exemplifying his narcissistic nature. We first see Odysseus show impulsive behavior when Odysseus allows his men to consume the Lotus fruit offered by the Lotus Eaters. In “The Lotus Eaters” by Homer, Odysseus and his men come into contact with the Lotus Eaters. Despite knowing that the Lotus fruit …show more content…
Fearsome, is it, than the Cyclops’” (Homer 585). This arrogant sentence proves Odysseus wrong because it ended up endangering Odysseus’s crew. He believed that he and his crew would be able to handle the threat of Scylla, which wasn’t the case because Scylla ate 6 of his crew members. His arrogance was another reason why it took him 20 years to return home, which caused many conflicts along the way. Furthermore, Odysseus shows great amounts of arrogance towards his men and the challenges he faces. Odysseus has shown his entitlement through the different obstacles he’s faced and his previous role of being the king of Ithaca. In Scylla and Charybdis by Homer, Odysseus guides the ship knowing that some of his men will be endangered, which puts his crew members at risk for death. He was aware of this before choosing if he was going to cross Scylla or Charybdis, but he believed that he was entitled to only keep it to himself, that most of them would die. In “The Cattle of the Sun God” written by Homer, Odysseus tells his men to only follow what he says by saying, “‘We must obey the orders as I give them’” (Homer