Odysseus Weaknesses

We Can All Be Heroes

The story of The Odyssey was not written as just a book for enjoyment. It was also written to teach and to inspire in the hope that someone would read it and would make the world a better place. Rather than just finishing it, setting it down and saying it was well-written, we can look at it as a call to be a hero. Before the story begins Odysseus and his men fight with Troy for 10 years and finally win. The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus and his men encountering many hardships as they try to get home. Odysseus is a hero. He has many strengths, but he also has weaknesses. Homer wanted to inspire the Greeks to be heroic and gave them this story to do so. Some key traits that Odysseus has are intelligence, focus, and, unfortunately,

This is shown when he tricks the Cyclops. He has the foresight to know that he needs the Cyclops in order to get out of the cave. He gets the Cyclops drunk, tells him that his name is “Nobody”, and, when he falls asleep, he blinds him. When the Cyclops calls for help, he says, “Nobody hurt me,” so none of the Cyclops come to help him. The next morning when the Cyclops moves the stone to let his sheep out, Odysseus and his men escape out of the cave under the Cyclops’ sheep. Odysseus’ success through intelligence demonstrates the importance of the mind. When you think before you act, it reduces the chance of making a mistake and helps you to make the right choice quickly when the time comes. Being able to think through your situations and make good choices quickly will always give you a tremendous advantage over the rocks that life (or a Cyclops) throws at you. Therefore, intelligence is an important trait of a

For example, he is prideful. This is shown when he taunts the Cyclops. He had already defeated him and escaped from the cave. He could have sailed quietly away. Instead, he chose to taunt him and boast about what he had done. The consequence of his pride is a curse that comes to pass. The Cyclops prays that Odysseus will not be able to get home for a long time, the time until he gets home will be dark, he will lose all his companions, and he will come home to some type of hardship. It is a shame that all of this befalls him because of his pride. Homer includes this character flaw in order to demonstrate that we shouldn’t taunt people and we shouldn’t make fun of people at all even if they are not hospitable and go so far as to try to kill you. Had he reacted humbly he might have been able to just sail home with his men intact. Therefore, pride can have some terrible consequences; it is worthwhile to work to control