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Similarities Between Odysseus And Martin Luther King Jr

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During ancient Greek times, heroes were considered people who did something extremely epic and courageous, such as the journey of Odysseus. In today’s day and age, anyone can be a hero. Martin Luther King Jr may not have defeated real life monsters and fought an epic battle, but he did go on journey to reach his goal of living in a world where all people are equal. Both Odysseus, from The Odyssey by Homer, and Martin Luther King Jr, a civil rights activist, go on similar journeys of a hero to achieve their own goals. They each must defeat different monsters, both literally and figuratively, in order to obtain their goals. Although they may seem quite different at first glance, there are many similarities between the two. These two characters, …show more content…

Odysseus says, “Here, Cyclops, take this wine and drink after your feats of human flesh” (Homer 529). By having Polyphemus drink the wine, he can set out on his plan of escape and trick him …show more content…

Odysseus went into this battle knowing that in order for himself to survive he had to sacrifice six of his men, one for each of Scylla’s heads. Although it may seem as though Odysseus only cares for himself, it shows that all heroes must go through sacrifice. By letting six of his men die, he and the rest of his men are able to live. Odysseus says, “That sight was the saddest of all sights my eyes have ever seen, while through sore trials I wandered the sea’s ways” (Homer 538). This just further proves that having six of his men die is not ideal, but is necessary for him and his men to move further along on their journey. While Odysseus decides to sacrifice his own men, Martin Luther King Jr only ever sacrificed himself. He decided to be the one to speak out about rights for African Americans and brought all of this to the attention of the public. Just like Scylla, the people of the public can be merciless and King expressed hero like qualities when he sacrificed his own comfort and safety for the greater good. Odysseus defeats Scylla because of sacrifice and King defeats the racists of the public by

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Since cyclops eat man, Odysseus must come up with a plan. His plan is to give Polyphemus wine, so then he falls asleep and he can poke his one eye out. Poseidon, the sea god, then gives Odysseus a challenging ride back to their hometown, Ithaca.

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266 Words | 2 Pages

Both Martin Luther and King Henry Vlll had similars goals for the catholic church. Both wanted the reformation of the church and disagreed strongly with the Pope. However both of them had different motives for why they were challenging the church. Luther's goal was based on religion where Henry's was based on himself and what he could gain from it. Martin Luther was known for leading a group called the Lutherans.

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845 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass were a couple of the many mistreated African Americans in ways of different injustices. These two men worked in different ways for the same cause; becoming a free man with equal rights. Social and Racial injustices limit the successfulness a person can have in life, however with perseverance, one can push through the barriers that are placed before them. MLK and Frederick Douglass both persevered in the following ways: education to understand the ways of the people, rallying to bring people hope for the future, and not letting the words and actions bring their fighting to an end.

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286 Words | 2 Pages

Odysseus tricks the Cyclopes by giving him a bowl of wine. Odysseus specifies that the

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630 Words | 3 Pages

Rhetorical and literary devices has been utilized to persuade an audience throughout history. In Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Frederick Douglass’ “Address to the Massachusetts Anti-slavery society” speech, they articulate the injustices the black man has experienced over the years by exercising allusion and anaphora. King and Douglass, both civil rights activist, desire action from society; they seek true equality for their black brethren. King and Douglass use allusion to create a recollection in the minds of their audience in order to reinforce their intents. King states, “five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation” referring to Abraham Lincoln.

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439 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout reading The Aeneid by Virgil noticed a numerous amount of similarities between Achilles and Martin Luther King, Jr I also observed that these brave warriors are considered by many to be heroes and also the greatest warriors of their army’s. To me, a true hero is someone whom has the instinct to do what is right no matter what the situation. I believe that a hero is someone who acts without thinking about themselves or rewards, someone who is willing to put themselves family or even own lives at risk for the common good and peace of everyone else. Achilles and martin Luther king Jr. are both heroes whom displayed extraordinary hero like traits.

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1113 Words | 5 Pages

Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. are both very important figures when it comes to discussing the topic of civil disobedience; both fought for what they believed to be right and against the injustice of the state. Antigone went against the edict of the king and buried her brother and Martin Luther King Jr. broke the law to try to end segregation and racism in America. Even though some similarities can be found between the two, ultimately they went about civil disobedience in very different ways. Antigone’s method was personal and selfish and she took an extremely defiant and rash stance while martin Luther King’s approach was more analytical and thought out. It is for these reasons that I believe King’s method was more successful and is the

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726 Words | 3 Pages

If you were to think about a man with great abilities like being strong, courageous and intelligent, you could think of people you personally or like me, you could think of someone such as Odysseus. Odysseus fits the definition of an epic hero because he is quick thinking, strong and courageous. Odysseus is one quick thinking individual. He has gotten him and his crew out some some sticky situations with his clever plans. One of these plans were how to get away from Polyphemus, a cyclops who was the son of Poseidon.

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525 Words | 3 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are two profound African American figures in history. They both fought for equality and to better humanity. But, the tactics they used were very different. Their different views may have been rooted from the where they were raised. Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in a middle class family and received a very solid education.

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Rutgers University Nature of Politics: Final Angel Chicaiza Prompt: How do Mary Wollstonecraft and Martin Luther King embody a commitment to the rule of law, even though they want to challenge it? And what does that say about justice? Wollstonecraft and Martin Luther King embodied commitment to the rule of law by abiding by it, Wollstonecraft and King Jr. challenged racist/sexist laws that they wanted removed and called for new laws, laws that would ensure equality. Wollstonecraft and Martin Luther King Jr. followed many of the laws that had been set to society but they would argue that society needed a better approach in which would grant everybody the same equal rights as the constitution in itself demands. Though they had laws in which would discriminate against women and/or African-Americans, both viewed a similar approach in which violence should not be involved, but rather educate

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131 Words | 1 Pages

It takes a great deal of courage to fight for something that’s bigger than you. Activity 3: Imagine what the world would be like if the very few brave souls who live in it chose not to stand up against the evil that, in most circumstances, outweighs the good. Only a handful of people are brave enough to set aside their fears and perform acts that benefit the greater good. Works of fiction call these people superheroes, we simply call them heroes. Martin Luther

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790 Words | 4 Pages

Humans are terrified of change Jealousy is the key emotion that results in violent human behaviors. Everybody is jealous of everybody. And because of jealousy we, humans, create the worst possible hell. That being said, humans are full of jealousy. Julius Caesar and Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK Jr.) were both assassinated; however, the assassinations specifically were quite different.

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672 Words | 3 Pages

That was not the only time that Odysseus put his men at danger or in harms way. Such as when they went past Scylla because of this his men were devoured. He even got most of his men killed from laestrygonians. He felt something bad was going to happen yet did not warn his men or even try to protect them. He chose to watch them die from afar.

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812 Words | 4 Pages

While the similarities are smaller, like the considerate personalities shared between the main characters of both

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1009 Words | 5 Pages

The African Nelson Mandela and the American Martin Luther King are important and influential heroes who made the world better somehow, in terms to fight for black people rights in their country. According to (www.dictionary.com), a hero is defined as “ the man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities”. Certainly, both heroes had the courage to sacrifice for black people with extreme power to resist the racism in the past using various ways. It is clear that the two heroes met their ambitions, but Mandela made bigger change worldwide and he was inspirational leader with severe willingness to fight for justice. Nelson Mandela and Martin King lived many similar situations which led to their great effort.

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