Essay On Odysseus As A Hero

A hero is anyone that has the obligation to do what most people wouldn’t; heroes would set aside their private interests and concerns for the good of others. In Reagan’s speech about the then recent tragedy of the shuttle Challenger, he commends them as they “...were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes … The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them.” (Reagan). Reagan mourned the loss of the crew, and called them heroes to prove the heroes don’t need special abilities. Reagan called the Challenger crew what they were. He called them heroes, because they did what few would do, they put their lives

Because they ignored death and continued in their mission they have already done something many wouldn’t, and because they were doing this for others, it proves the claim that anyone can be a hero if they do things that most wouldn’t for others. Additionally, heroes exist in literature, and typically in literature, a hero’s deeds are larger than life. An example of this would be Odysseus from The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a Greek epic about Odysseus, who is a man separated from his family for a very long time and has many arduous challenges that impede his journey home. One of these challenges had Odysseus venture to the underworld to meet the shade Teiresias, who tells him, “Under strange sail you come home, to find your own home filled with trouble: insolent men eating your livestock and courting your lady (Homer 11. 1117-1120). The underworld was a place of sadness that very few people would dare venture to. Prior to learning about the suitors Odysseus was simply trying to get home, but with the newfound information provided by Teiresias, he was doing it for his