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What Are The Obstacles In The Odyssey

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Life is full of obstacles that make us who we are. Obstacles come in all different shapes and sizes, from avoiding Sirens to resisting the temptation of eating a second cookie. In the book “The Odyssey” by Homer the obstacles Odysseus, the main character, faces are monsters as he journeys home to his kingdom, Ithaca. The Odyssey can be looked at like an allegory for the journey through life. I relate to Odysseus and his obstacles with monsters of my own as I strive to reach my goal of living a successful life. My monsters are getting distracted, laziness and fear. Life is full of distractions. On my journey there will be times where I would rather slack off than do something productive with my time. The Lotus eaters are a symbol of the distractions I will face. Odysseus and his men landed on an island with the Lotus eaters. A few of his men ate the Lotus plant and it made them lose sight of their goal. I must not eat the lotus plant in life to make my goal a reality. In my quest I will face the obstacle of laziness. In College there will be difficult exams and tests that I will have to work hard and study to get a satisfactory grade on. The laziness I face is similar to the Cyclops. The Cyclops wouldn't let Odysseus and his men leave its cave and started eating Odysseus's men. Similarly we …show more content…

All of Odysseus’ obstacles I can compare to the obstacles I will face. The Cyclops is my obstacle of school, the Lotus eaters are a distraction that I must to resist, and talking to Tiresias is my fear of the unknown. Fear is an integral part of Homer's epic.. If Odysseus didn't get over his fears, he wouldn't be the same person. Without fear anyone in the Odyssey could have been like Odysseus. Unlike the other mortals, Odysseus was fearful but still tried anyways, and he succeeded. To achieve my goal of becoming successful I must overcome the fear and many other obstacles like Odysseus

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734 Words | 3 Pages

He has to overcome his foes and his environment. In the cavern with the cyclops, Odysseus must fight to survive. He and his men have to use wit and strategy to escape the cave. After the first attack on his men Odysseus knew he would need to develop a plan to survive. Odysseus and his men are put in danger as they encounter their foe:“Neither reply nor pity came from him, but in one stride he clutched at my companions and caught two in his hands like squirming puppies to beat their brains out, spattering the floor” (Homer 903).

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172 Words | 1 Pages

Everyone has their own obstacles face. Certain restrictions that limit or halt our journey from our main goal or destination. In The Odyssey, written by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, we can examine some characters with their unique flaws that leads to their undoing. The ones that differentiates themselves from the rest are those that can mature or grow in character throughout the whole of their journey. Odysseus demonstrates this by acknowledging his pride, foolishness, and by not repeating his past mistakes.

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848 Words | 4 Pages

The Greek epic poet, Homer tells the story of the Odyssey which details Odysseus’s journey home after the trojan war. Odysseus and his men face life threatening challenges including his encounters with the Cyclops, Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. While facing danger, the gods also tested Odysseus. Despite struggling for 20 years, he eventually prevails and returns to his wife Penelope. Not only does figurative language entertain and help the audience visualize the moments, but it also emphasizes the struggles and pain of the characters.

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Odysseus faces many obstacle and life threatening situations but he overcome them all. Odysseus is an epic hero because he has supernatural help and he overcomes obstacle throughout his journey by proving himself in order to reach his goal, which is getting home to Ithaca and to take control over his kingdom. Odysseus is an epic hero because he is capable of deeds of great strength and courage. Odysseus shows he is brave/courageous when fights the monstrous Polyphemus and stabbed him in the eye with a giant olive tree. He proves he is

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1107 Words | 5 Pages

Although Odysseus in The Odyssey by Homer does not learn life lessons easily and constantly puts himself and others in danger, the challenges that come his way helps him

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TS1 (Thesis): In The Odyssey, Homer depicts Odysseus’ real foe as the theme of temptation with displays of hubris and lustrous goddesses, which portrays the importance of being vigilant to not submit to temptation. ST1: Homer depicts that Odysseus is determined to get home, but Odysseus succumbs to temptation when he leads his crew into the cyclops lair, eats the cyclops’ food, and demands for a gift, resulting in a protracted journey home. 1: Homer displays Odysseus as recklessly brave when he requests, “we’re at your knees, in hopes of… a guest-gift”(9.300) from the cyclops. 2: It is apparent that Odysseus has given into the temptation to be arrogant when he declares for the cyclops to give them, “a guest-gift,” after Odysseus and his men have broken into the cyclops lair, showing even further Odysseus’ isn’t vigilant to

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500 Words | 2 Pages

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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In The Odyssey Homer makes Odysseus’ journey to his beloved Ithaca excruciating. Odysseus encounters many friends and foes throughout his journey and has to be a leader throughout his experiences. As an example, he encounters Polyphemus and Poseidon, both of whom make his journey mentally and physically painful. Odysseus faces countless scenarios in which he has to save multiple people in those situations. He also encounters the suitors, who are a group of men that try to marry Penelope, when he returns to reclaim his home.

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The Odyssey by Homer revolves around the character, Odysseus, and his ten-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. As the epic’s idol, he displays the combination of a clever, handsome, and courageous man popular among the mortals as well as the gods. Essentially, he embodies the ideals of the ancient Greek culture, being adorned with many favored characteristics of the era. However, an intriguing aspect of Odysseus lies in his personality. As the protagonist, he does not manifest the entirety of a stereotypical hero because Odysseus has a fatal flaw—his arrogance.

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1045 Words | 5 Pages

Odyssey Essay “Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It’s strengthening of his powers of accomplishment” - Thomas Carlyle. In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca goes upon a journey, and encounters danger and challenges that prevents him from going back to Ithaca, which is his goal. And during the journey, he begins to become an epic hero.

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The cave is dark and musty. The beast is gruesome: nasty, brutish and gross. He gobbles down men and sheep for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With only one eye, decaying, rotted teeth, and the stench of his rancid breath filling the confined cave, the journey Odysseus had embarked on, did not look like it had a bright future. But, this was part of the journey that he had agreed to.

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The Odyssey is an age old classic read around the world. In the Odyssey, Homer tells the story of the wayward Odysseus. The story follows the protagonist as he makes his way back home, dealing with man-eating Cyclopes, a vengeful god, and a possessive nymph. During the story, the reader sees many sides of Odysseus as he dealt with his tribulations, such the cunning and witful side, but also the pompous and indulgent side. To begin with, Odysseus is trapped on an island with the nymph, Calypso.

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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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The Odyssey In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus is bestowed with great abilities. But along with this potential, he is cursed with great arrogance. Conveying that even the labeled ‘perfect’ among us have fatal flaws that causes pain and suffering among the ones closest to them. The author, Homer, uses Odysseus’ arrogance to create a melancholic atmosphere to convey the idea that arrogance is a fatal flaw that will lead those around them to pain and suffering.

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541 Words | 3 Pages

Odysseus’s traits help him achieve his goal of returning to his home. Odysseus and his men have a lot of willpower to continue traveling after some dangerous and life risking experiences with cannibals, lotus-eaters, cyclops and many more creatures that could of killed Odysseus and his whole crew. Odysseus's confidence and epic hero traits only increase as the story goes on, his confidence in his men increase as he starts noticing how strong and powerful his men can be, and also shows confidence in

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