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Odyssey literary analysis
Analysis of the odyssey by homer
Critical analysis of odyssey
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Odyssey literary analysis
Analysis of the odyssey by homer
Critical analysis of odyssey
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Arrogant Odysseus Ever since the dawn of humanity, one of the most prominent problems of heroes has been their arrogance. Characters whose downfall was set in motion by hubris include Victor from Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Satan from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and King Oedipus in the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex. Even Odysseus, thought of by some as the greatest soldier of all time, struggles with his ego and arrogant manner in both Homer’s epic depiction and Andrei Konchalovsky’s movie portrayal of Odysseus. However, Odysseus proves to be much more conceited in the film than in the original epic tale.
Why don’t people take advice that later comes back to haunt us? This is shown superlatively in the story of the Odyssey, by Homer. There are several times that the great Odysseus did not take any advantage of the opportunities presented to him. These times consist of when the men slaughtered the cattle of Helios, when the several Suitors tried to make Penelope their spouse, and when the fleet of Odysseus’ men and himself bothered Polyphemus. Odysseus and his men met their demise with their poor decisions.
In the book, the Odyssey, written by Homer, it is set all around the Mediterranean sea. The protagonist, Odysseus, is considered a hero. He left his family the day his son was born, to fight in the Trojan War. It took him twenty years to get back home. He fought just to get back to his island with his family.
In the epic poem, The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, has to face many obstacles on his way home to Ithaca. For example, Calypso holds Odysseus on her island for seven years, until Athena finally convinces Zeus to send Hermes to make Calypso let him go. Also, Circe, the sea witch, captures Odysseus; she turned half of his men into pigs! Odysseus has three major character traits that help him eventually get home. One good character trait is the fact that Odysseus is extremely courageous.
Success reinforces heroic values because it builds one’s confidence in themselves. This is supported in The Odyssey, after Odysseus and his crew faced many trials, including one where Odysseus successfully got them out of a near death situation with the cyclops, Polyphemus, they had to face another one with Scylla and Charybdis. Before facing these two monsters, Odysseus inspired his crew by declaring, “When Cyclops penned us up in his vaulted cave... my courage, my presence of mind and tactics saved us all and we will live to remember this one day… up now, follow my orders,/ all of us work as one!” (Homer, 12. 228-231).
In The Odyssey, throughout the book Odysseus develops traits that can be seen in modern society.while reading the book, I have recognized Odysseus traits in my mother. Nevertheless, my mother is kind and quiet although she is quiet she can be fierce at times. Odysseus, the main character resembles to my mom because both demonstrate determination, intellectuality, patience and courageousness. Odysseus being far from home for more than 20 years he was determined to go back to Penelope and Telemachus. However, Telemachus being determined to discover if his father was alive he went in search of him.
In the epic poem The Odyssey the main character Odysseus shows many qualities of an epic hero. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, has a wife, Penelope, and his only son, Telemachus all struggle as Odysseus goes to war in Troy the day of Telemachus’ birth. Odysseus struggles and fights through obstacles that no mortal on earth has ever conquered. Odysseus demonstrates the qualities of a leader, speaker, and superhuman strength that every epic hero should have. Odysseus shows the characteristic of leadership many times throughout The Odyssey.
When reading the Odyssey, it’s hard not to be captivated by the thrilling story. Even today, it’s easy to see that Odysseus has every heroic trait there is. But what made him a hero to the ancient Greeks? The reason is that ‘The Great Odysseus’ had competence, godlike capabilities, and he was determined to be righteous and victorious, regardless of the cost.
The main character Odysseus in the Odyssey written by Homer is generally thought to be a great hero; however, he shows more traits of a quite flawed character on closer inspection. Around the beginning of Odysseus’ journey home after the war, Odysseus decides to take a detour to the home of a cyclops deciding to not listen to his men’s suggestions to leave while they still could; consequently, it does not end well: “Ah, how sound that was, Yet I refused. I wished to see the caveman, what he had to offer no pretty sight it turned out, for my friend” (9.130-132). This thought by Odysseus shows that he realized his decision to go to the mysterious island wasn’t the most rational one and that his men’s pleas to leave were the better option, but he decides to be stubborn and place his curiosity before his men’s safety resulting in a non-heroic
Odysseus’s Traits Throughout the Odyssey, the main character Odysseus goes on an epic adventure with his focus being to get home to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. He faces many obstacles dealing with characters such as the Cyclopes, Poseidon, Aeolus, Athena, Helios, Calypso, Zeus, Hermes, Scylla, and Circe. Odysseus’s men are some of the most valuable people to him throughout the Odyssey. He always puts himself in front of danger for them to protect them even though they all died from an unexpected turn of events soon before he returns home. When Odysseus comes home he greets his twenty year old son and straightens things out on his homeland, Ithaca.
Odysseus was an effective leader in battle, an amazing fighter, and he was the person who helped defeat Troy by using the wooden horse. Although everyone thought this was a heroic action by Odysseus to obtain victory, the gods were not so happy with him, especially Zeus. The gods punished Odysseus by making his journey back home difficult for him and his men. Even though Odysseus was being challenged by gods, he had traits that were of an epic hero. Also, throughout his journey he had friends and companions to help him travel back to Ithaca safely and obtain his kingdom once again.
What really is a hero? A hero is described as someone who represents its cultures beliefs and their hopes, in which this case is the ancient Greeks. In Book Nine of The Odyssey, “The One-Eyed Giant’s Cave,” written by Homer, begins the book by stating heroic characteristics of Odysseus. Homer describes Odysseus as god-like, intelligent when faced with many difficult challenges, as well as a committed warrior to his homeland. Odysseus is considered a hero by everyone because he symbolizes the ancient Greeks cultures and values.
The book “The Odyssey” has many inspiring moment in the book. The most inspiring Character is Odysseus. I think he is inspiring because he can be very inspiring to people that are having hard times in their life. If Odysseus can be very inspiring to kid in the world today. I think that he is very inspiring because he will not stop and will push you to finish.
Similarly, to Odysseus, it seems like you have gone through personal trial and tribulations. At first, the reader meets Odysseus is a temperamental and proud young man. As he progresses through his adventures, Odysseus becomes a patient and cautious man, learns to control his ego in order to take control of the situation; nonetheless, he retains his cleverness. He is a changed man by the time he returns to Ithaca.
The Odyssey In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus is bestowed with great abilities. But along with this potential, he is cursed with great arrogance. Conveying that even the labeled ‘perfect’ among us have fatal flaws that causes pain and suffering among the ones closest to them. The author, Homer, uses Odysseus’ arrogance to create a melancholic atmosphere to convey the idea that arrogance is a fatal flaw that will lead those around them to pain and suffering.