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Odysseus Is Not A Hero Essay

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Odysseus is Not a Hero
The translated version of the story The Odyssey, also known as The Epic, is a story about Odysseus, king of Ithaca, spending ten years on a journey back to his homeland. During his trip home, Odysseus makes cowardly decisions that reveal he is not a hero. Odysseus is not a hero because he is selfish, greedy, and secretive. Odysseus is not a hero because he is selfish. When Odysseus is leaving Ismarus; the island of the Cyclops, Odysseus and his men are sailing away from the island after escaping the Cyclops cave by stabbing him in the eye. When they start to sail away, Odysseus starts to taunt the Cyclops. This makes the Cyclops angry, which turns into him throwing a hill and boulder at Odysseus and his men. Odysseus’s …show more content…

Odysseus doesn’t listen to his men and instead yells at the Cyclops again, causing him to throw another boulder. This shows that Odyesseus is not a hero because he is selfish and …show more content…

Odysseus and his men stop at an island, where Odysseus meets Aeolus; the god of wind. Aeolus gives Odysseus a bag of wind to use on their trip back home to Ithaca. Odysseus receives the bag and boards back on his ship with his crew. His men ask what is in the bag, but Odysseus does not tell them what's inside. His crewmates are skeptical of what's inside the bag, so while Odysseus is sleeping they open the bag. The wind ends up blowing their ship in the opposite direction of Ithaca, this is what Odysseus gets for not telling his crew what's inside the bag. “When they are near home, Odysseus’s men open the sack, letting loose a storm that drives them back to Aeolia” (Homer 699). This quote talks about how Odysseus’s men open up the bag of wind from Aeolus, sending them back to the island of Aeolia. This is the result of Odysseus being secretive, and not telling his men what was inside the bag. Odysseus is not a hero because he was secretive with his men, and it resulted in a longer trip

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“Nohbdy that's my name Nohbdy so my mother and my father call me all my friends”. When Odysseus says this it's a plan because Odysseus and his men blind the Cyclops, but when the Cyclops calls to his friends he's going to say nobody hurt me so his friends won't believe him and think he's messing with them. There are many ways Odysseus is a hero but this example shows his intelligence and his Larger than Life quality which makes him the hero he is.

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In the story “The Cyclops” By Homer, Odysseus is not a hero. Odysseus escapes from the Cyclops lair after losing several men and he starts to jeer at the cyclops, “If I could take your life I would, and take your time away, and hurl you down to hell” (line 306-308). Odysseus invites himself into the cyclops home and steals his food while the Cyclops is not home. When the Cyclops returns Odysseus tricks him and stabs his eye out.

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A hero is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. In the movie, Odysseus shows that he is a hero by showing off his bravery and courage to defeat several monsters. He showed courage when he faced the Cyclops, when he met Lotus Eaters, and when he went back to Ithaca to see his wife. Odysseus and his men went to the cave to show the Cyclops that they are better than him. The Cyclops got angry when he got back to his cave since Odysseus and his men were eating the Cyclops’ food.

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There is no excuse for his behavior, except his own selfish pride and hubris. So no, Odysseus is not a Hero.

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In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus should be considered a hero! Odysseus has done more good deeds than bad deeds throughout the years of the Odyssey. Odysseus has saved lives more than he has taken them for no good reason. Odysseus has honored people more than dishonored people. Today’s hero code is completely different than in Odysseus’s time.

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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

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Odysseus is not a hero because he stabs Polyphemus in the eye and blinds him. Odysseus is still a hero because he is a leader. Moreover, after Odysseus and his men fight the Cicones, he orders ¨Back and Quickly! Out to sea again!” (Homer 984).

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Odysseus cannot be a hero due to his uncontrollable arrogance that harms others around him. For example, Odysseus endangers his men through their encounter of Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon, he boasts that “[the one that] put out your eye [was] Odysseus of Ithaca” (Hind 108). Odysseus used his arrogance to add onto a streak but would later regret his decision as he would be lost for eternity. By adding the unnecessary touch of inquiring that he was “Odysseus of Ithaca” instead of focusing on running away, it would cause his men to be endangered as the gods would now know the identity of the individual and curse Odysseus and his men on all his sails. Secondly, Odysseus’s nature of Hubris is when he sleeps with Circe after she releases his men from a curse that turned them into pigs even as his men said that they should leave (125).

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These derisive comments make Polyphemus retaliate by throwing huge boulders at their boat. Odysseus’ crew “begged” (9.556) Odysseus to stop antagonizing the cyclops but he does not care. Instead of thinking through his actions, he tells Polyphemus who he is and where he lives which causes future tribulations, such as the god of the sea, Poseidon, having a grudge against Odysseus. Poseidon makes Odysseus’ journey back home much more rugged due to his own reckless actions.

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While they may have a point, they do not take into account the fact that he did not use his brain when approaching this challenge. He had been prideful on this part of his journey. To conclude, Odysseus was a hero. He was a hero when he used his brains to ponder about and reach the answer to a predicament. Heros are the people who complete tasks that they are afraid to complete, but they do

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When Odysseus is gifted a bag of winds to sail him home, he falls asleep and his crew opens the bag out of distrust. Odysseus recounts the moment: “Temptation had its way with my companions, / and they untied the bag. / Then every wind / roared into hurricane; the ship went pitching / west with many cries; our land was lost” (X, 51-55). Odysseus’s crew are unable to control their curiosity as Odysseus is unconscious.

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In The Odyssey, Odysseus was a major hero of the novel. He had both heroic traits and human weaknesses. Odysseus defeated the Cyclops, defeated the suitors that were courting his wife, and overcome other challenges throughout the novel. A special trait that made Odysseus a hero was that he was a courageous

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