The natives there gave Odysseus and his men an intoxicating fruit of the lotus. After Odysseus and his men eat the fruit, they forget all of their thoughts about home and decide to eat more of the fruit. The only way that Odysseus can get him and his men back home is by dragging his men back to the ship and lock them up, Odysseus decides to go along with it. When Odysseus went back to Ithaca, He made the wise choice to go and see his wife Penelope. Odysseus was so brave to go see his wife because he didn’t know if she was going to recognize him at all or want to be with him for the rest of her life.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus faced many adversities that caused him to have to stand up and take charge of the men who were sent on this epic adventure after the Trojan War. The Trojan War was a ten years war that was caused because of the abduction of Helen by Paris. Helen was a very beautiful woman whom every man desired to have. Thus, Paris kidnapped her and took her away to Troy. In order to win this forever lasting war Odysseus came up with the idea of building the Trojan Horse.
As Odysseus arrives to the island-home of Calypso, the beautiful nymph, he is quickly held prisoner. Although it may seem that Odysseus felt that he was truly a prisoner, he, at one point in his stay, enjoyed Calypso’s presence and was willingly seduced by her. It is clear that over the seven-year stay, Calypso had fallen in love with Odysseus and he had let his vulnerability to women become his harshest weakness. Her female dominance was even shown at times of manipulation through her ability to hold a man prisoner and prevent him from carrying on with his travels home. Although, when it came upon Athena that Odysseus was eager to arrive home to Ithaca, Zeus sent Hermes to have Calypso free Odysseus.
Odysseus, a man who was known for his adventures, but do we really understand the attributes needed for an epic hero? The King of Ithaca had a very concealed past where it is hardly ever noted that his men were mistreated by their captain and all of Odysseus’ mistakes affected those around him. Odysseus, on several occasions did his men wrong and along his journeys, he became very willful and big headed. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus has several misfortunes such as losing all of his men and being stranded and not returning home for 20 years, but evidently all of these problems were caused by the mens lack of trust in Odysseus and Odysseus being too stubborn and full of pride. The crew had a very important job in the quests that Odysseus
Both Odysseus and I have both shown level headedness. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is trapped in a cave with the gigantic man eating cyclops. The cyclops left them trapped in the cave for a day while he tended to his sheep giving him time to think. Odysseus finally comes up with an ingenious plan to put the cyclops into a deep sleep, but it would require him to stay level headed in one of the most dangerous things he ever had to do. Odysseus went up to the cyclops and offered him some extremely potent wine to put him into an very deep slumber so they could stab him in the eye.
The responsibility for this suffering is caused by a mixture of both human actions, along with the intervention of the gods. The plotline depends heavily upon the idea of suffering, due to the separation between characters. The suffering through separation throughout the story plays a critical role in the development of the characters, and for the advancement of the storyline. Between Odysseus and Penelope and Calypso and Odysseus, the pressure of each character’s situation tests their mental strength, while highlighting their intense sorrow felt while being separated from one another. After Odysseus had defeated Troy, he ended up on an island with the beautiful goddess Calypso.
Calypso and Odysseus in the beginning do not like each other, Odysseus’ men went onto her island and she turned them into pigs. Odysseus made a wonderful choice to stay behind in case something happened, so after his men were turned into pigs he persuaded her to turn them back and help them. Odysseus’ background is not told to the reader. To figure out why he went to Troy the reader would have had to read previous mythology stories.
Odysseus, the man of many wiles, was a man of many strengths both as a leader and a man, whom suffered many weaknesses like all men do. Odysseus displays his many strengths and struggles throughout his mighty journey in The Odyssey of Homer, a verse translation by Allen Mandelbaum. In book 18, Odysseus displays his great physical strength as a man while disguised as a beggar with this powerful quote. " But don't provoke my fists; do not incite; however old I am, if we should fight, your chest and lips would run with blood; that done, tomorrow we'd be spared another ruckus—I doubt that you'd be visiting with us again—here in the halls of lord Odysseus." (Homer 361)
He is so loyal and goal oriented to getting home that he rejected the offer and wants to leave the island to find home. Odysseus breaks news to Calypso, “Yet, it is true, each day / I long for home. Long for the sight of home…. “(5. 85-86).
In “The Odyssey”, Odysseus, the protagonist, displays an unusual heroic characteristic: curiosity. Odysseus told his men to wait, and that he wanted to meet the Cyclops, for the sake of satisfying his curiosity, saying, “But I would not listen, though it would have been best, wishing to see the giant himself, and test his hospitality.” This goes to show that Odysseus’ strong sense of curiosity tends to guide his decisions. This, however, is a good thing, since it can lead him to new discoveries. In conclusion, Odysseus’ curiosity makes him a unique
”(5.91-96). which Calypso is the cause of. This quote supports the reason because it shows that Odysseus does not like being trapped on Ogygia, especially with a woman he did not like. If he truly liked Calypso, he would have decided to stay with her forever, and forget his wife. But, he did not which proves his true loyalty to his wife Penelope.
Imagine being apart from your family for over ten years, fighting for your life in a war, and in the many battles and problems you will face on your way home from war. Would you be able to fight a cyclops, pass a dangerous whirlpool and have to face the fact that your crew betrayed you? In the novel The Odyssey written by Homer, Odysseus must do all of these things and more. He has been away from his wife, son and many other family members for over ten years now, fighting for his life on his journey home after fighting in the Trojan war.
This sets off many emotions in Odysseus all at once, causing him to weep due to the euphoria of finally holding his wife once again. Odysseus’ persistence in returning home throughout a period of twenty years fulfilled his longing for love and to be reunified with his
Homer shows how Odysseus feels the pain of the journey strongly when his men are being devoured by the deadly man eating whirlpool, Charybdis. “She ate them as they shrieked there, in her den, in the dire grapple, reaching still for me- and deathly pity ran through me at that sight- far the worst I have ever suffered…”(Lines 821-825). As his men were being consumed by Charybdis, Odysseus realized that the journey would be more painful than expected. Odysseus also felt the grieving emotional pain of the journey when he watched his men face their inevitable deaths. “ No sooner had I caught the sight of our black hull, than the savory of burnt fat eddied around me; grief took hold of me and I cried aloud…”(895-898).
After the time spent with the Phoenicians, Odysseus made his way home as quickly as possible. Traveling in a small boat, that was a gift from King Alcinous, at the fastest speed possible, foregoing all thoughts of adventures and any other side quests that he might do on the way. The waves rocked the tiny craft back and forth, the blue water frothing against the prow. After hours of staring into the distance, a giant wave from the port side caught Odysseus’ attention. He turned the small boat towards the wave to avoid capsizing, after riding the wave for a few minutes, it dissipated and he turned back towards Ithaca and went on his way.
