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The Role Of Failure In Homer's Odyssey '

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Failure is vital to the growth of not only heroes, but ordinary people as well, as it teaches them how to move past their guilt and negativity in order to persevere. Through the article Nine Ways to Fail Better, the author shows that it’s not easy to deal with failure, but it is extremely important to move on. The author states, “Blaming yourself for the bad things that happen to you--are probably the biggest reason people metabolize failure badly.” In expressing that one should put the blame on themselves, “for the bad things that happen to [them]” stresses the idea that failure is often inevitable, and there is not much that can change the outcome of the situation. Additionally, there is no sense in feeling shameful about failure. Along with the self-blame associated with failure, …show more content…

Even though Odysseus experiences success through his journey home to Ithaca, he undergoes various failures as well. For instance, rather than following Circe’s advice and taking Charybdis’ path,Odysseus chooses to sail towards Scylla. As a result, he loses six men, and says, “Of all the pitiful things I’ve had to witness,/suffering, searching out the pathways of the sea,/ this wrenched my heart the most” (Homer, Book 12, 280-282). However, shortly after this event takes place, Odysseus goes back to being the brave leader that he is best known for. As Odysseus describes his encounter with Scylla as “pitiful,” this shows that he does indeed feel guilty for the loss of his men. However, he does not dwell on the past, and continues to move forward with his journey, knowing that the end reward is worth the struggle. When Alani the fish deals with the death of her close friend, Hector, she initially blames herself, as she was not watching to make sure that he was safe. However, she knew not to be ashamed, as there was nothing more she couldn't have done to prevent the

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Dana Nguyen Ms. Newray ERWC, Period 5 August 28, 2015 Perez’s & Graff Articles Summaries In Perez’s article, Want To Get Into College? Learn to Fail [ Feb. 12, 2012], failure is the most significant, but hurtful step towards a successful life. If a person has never honestly dealt with failure, how can they possibly ever improve or move forward? It is important to learn and be able to solve problems in society, whether it is for academic or not.

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In the article “Failure to Rescue” the author Atul Gawande argues that failure gives an individual a chance to rescue themselves from defeat and prosper. If a person fails they should not dwell on the past and become crippled by failure, they should continue to take risks because in order to see advancements, in anything, they must first take a chance. Gawande’s first altercation is failure is inevitable if we don’t take risks. He talks about eighty- seven year old Mrs. C who had neck surgery. The procedure went well, but resulted in an ulcer that ruptured in her chest, she had an eighty-per-cent fatality rate, but she defied the odds and survived to left the hospital in a week.

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One bad decision that Odysseus was made when he decided to sail towards Scylla and Charybdis when he could have sailed the other option, “One ship alone, one deep-sea craft sailed clear,/ the Argo sung by the world, when heading home/ from Aeetes’ shores” (12. 76-78). This quote shows that there was one ship that sailed past the Clashing Rocks unharmed. Odysseus could have chosen to sail this path, but he didn’t. A real hero would have taken the route that wouldn’t have killed any of his crew like the route with Scylla and Charybdis did.

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852 Words | 4 Pages

270, 280-283). The biggest loss that Odysseus felt during his time away from Ithaca was that of his men. He was devastated because his job was to protect them and in order to make sure their sacrifice was not for nothing, he knew he had to avenge them in some way. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca, he devises a plan to defeat the suitors and take back Ithaca. As he is killing the suitors, Odysseus yells with anger at the suitors for their actions because they “bled [his] house to death” by trying to ravish his serving women and wooing his wife and he proclaims that nothing will stop “[his hands] from slaughter” until “all [the] suitors had paid for all [their] crimes”(22.

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Odysseus is extremely selfish by betraying his crew. His crew believes that Odysseus is trying to help them return home, when he is actually only concerned about himself.

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“... Odysseus looked around him, narrow-eyed, for any others who had lain hidden while death’s black fury passed”(Homer 613).This expresses how much power and determination Odysseus use when it comes getting revenge on something important. The ordinary man would not remain standing in a world full of Gods, Goddesses, and Monsters. His connection with his crew members were valuable to him and from the men that died in different locations, he realized that he could not lose

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1066 Words | 5 Pages

(Book 10, page 159, PDF). Odysseus had left almost always meant to die with only saving a few which may have caused a sense of controversy and confusion. Also Odysseus hadn’t thought of a way to save all of his men, which eventually impacted his journey and his entire crew. Though Odysseus did have several acts of heroic deeds, the amount of failure in a majority of those other acts overpowered them

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At various times throughout the story, mainly through the trials, Odysseus made many decisions and forced his crew to go through many potentially lethal situations without preparing his own crew, or situations that were just a waste of time. This then leads to not only all of his crew being killed but the creation of many bad relationships. The first example of Odysseus mistreating his crew is when he and his crew went through the trails, “No more. Come, / let me tell you about the voyage fraught with hardship / Zeus inflicted on me, homeward bound from Troy...” 9.42-44.

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While Odysseus did have good intentions of bringing his men home, he continuously made poor and selfish decisions, and he was constantly putting his men in danger more often than

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Also in the story of Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus led his men to both of the monsters. Once his men began to get taken Odysseus could hear his men’s struggles, “Voices came down to me in anguish calling my name for the last time.” (936) In this final part of his journey to get home to Ithaca, Odysseus allowed all of his men to die when facing these sea monsters. He sacrificed his men, who had embarked on this extremely dangerous mission with him, for his own sake.

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In the epic story the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is returning from the Trojan war, and on his way home he finds many obstacles ahead of him. Odysseus is the ruler of Ithaca and he is trying to return home to his land. Many creatures try and stop him from achieving his goal of returning home, but he and his crew have to push through and get home. Odysseus portrays bravery and courage leading his crew through these tough challenges. Odysseus heroically leads his crew and himself through dangerous obstacles, but also foolishly endangers them during the journey home.

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2113 Words | 9 Pages

“See, I'd always told myself that because I meant no harm, anything that happened wasn't my fault. At that moment, though, I knew I was wrong. If I hadn't given the female my gun, the bird wouldn't have been shot. I was responsible even though I didn't pull the trigger.” ― J.R. Ward, Lover Eternal Everywhere Odysseus goes, his friends suffer for his decisions; a trail of carnage is left behind in practically every location visited, not the blood of enemies, but of friends killed by carelessness.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

After Odysseus’s men's stupidity, greed, and foolishness gets them killed, he learns that others actions and decisions may cause some terrible, long lasting grief. Odysseus faced a terrible amount of pain, but it only pushed him farther to finish what he had started and make it to his final destination,

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1013 Words | 5 Pages

In The Odyssey, Odysseus’ journey is created by a cycle of self-created obstacles that are solved by quick witted thinking and ultimately reflect no real desire to learn from his errors or create any character development. Throughout the story, Odysseus expresses a strong desire to return home to Ithaca, however he is constantly thwarted by his own curious and boastful nature. For example, when

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Although some may say that Odysseus deserves the loyalty of his crew, he does not because he puts them in the way of danger, is very inconsiderate, and usually follows other plans that people have gave him. While on his journey home,

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