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Perseverance In The Odyssey

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Obstacles make heroes’ perseverance stronger. Numerous stories display treacherous situations in which the protagonists use determination to survive. The Odyssey, written by Homer in the Archaic Age, captures a leader’s, Odysseus, hardships and will-power to keep going. Similarly, The Martian, a film adapted from Andy Weir’s book, exhibits Watney’s strong perseverance to continue on his journey, no matter the extremity of the problems he experiences . Although both epic adventures highlight creative problem-solving and questionable decision-making, Watney’s crew shows greater loyalty because of the friendships shared.
In both universal journeys, Odysseus and Watney are creative problem-solvers because they do not panic when forced to …show more content…

The crew of Odysseus rebels multiple times throughout their journey to Ithaca by disregarding their commanding officer’s directions. King Aeolus gives Odysseus winds in an ox skin bag as a going-away gift to arrive back on Ithaca, but does not include the crewmates in the gift. Odysseus’ sailors become jealous of the favoritism shown by King Aeolus, so they open the ox bag and “all the winds burst out” while Odysseus is sleeping (Fagles 10.52). The crew does not like how Odysseus, a unilateral decision maker, receives more attention and gifts from the King, so they become resentful of their captain. Differently, Mark Watney’s crew trusts him and focuses on their new sole purpose: saving their fellow crewmember. Once Watney’s comrades learns that he is alive, they risk their lives to rescue their friend. The astronauts of the Hermes vote whether to extend their mission by 533 sols and travel back to Mars to retrieve Watney or to stay on track and leave their comrade; of course, they choose to save him because they are a team (The Martian). Watney’s fellow crewmembers show their loyalty by endangering their lives to save his because they have shared jokes, tears, and forgiveness; they have a closer bond. This relationship propels Mark Watney’s adventure from a book to a popular American

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As eager as Odysseus is to get back home to his wife and son in Ithaca, the shipmates on board with him are struggling with hunger and the loss of energy. Looking at Odysseus’ intense determination to return to his town, it seems as if the only idea that is filled in his mind is to go back to Ithaca without looking at the tired condition of his shipmates. Odysseus’ yelled difficult orders and tasks that were expected to be fulfilled by his sailors, and for the most part they were able to complete it. Looking at the poor men rowing day and night over the monstrous waves, Odysseus never gave them a chance to take a break and enjoy a single meal, until one shipmate decided to speak up. Even so, Odysseus was narrow-minded and thought only about

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Lastly, Odysseus lack of leadership is shown when he tells his men not to open the bag of air. Some readers argue Odysseus should have shown them the bag in order to avoid the situation, “Temptation had its way with [his] companions, and they untied the bag. Then every wind roared into hurricane; the ships went pitching west with many cries; [their] land was lost” (X. 50-54). However, a heroes orders are followed without debating, but Odysseus orders were not obeyed.

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As a leader Odysseus should be careful to do exactly what will benefit his crew the most. The lack of communication throughout the whole journey home will eventually lead to mistrust and betrayal of Odysseus by his crew. Following Scylla and Charybdis they reach the island of the god of the sun, and because of the crew’s spite for Odysseus they don’t follow his directions not to harm the cattle of the Sun. Just in the events of the journey back to Ithaca alone the reader can see how Odysseus’ inability to be a strong leader leads to the dismantling of a good relationship between him and his crew, which leads to a much more difficult trip. Odysseus’ inability to be a great leader for the group leads to a lot of conflict among the crew members.

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However, this wind came with one request which was to not open the bag which Odysseus understood and did as he wanted. Whereas it was the men that decided to open the bag and disobey the orders. Additionally, they were sent back to Aeolus and he wasn’t so welcoming this time. ‘’I’m not going to help a man they hate’’ (Cross 55).

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Moreover, Odysseus does not have a solid grasp over his crew, as demonstrated when they open Aeolus’ winds. His crewmen state, “This guy gets everything wherever he goes...while we...are coming home empty-handed” (10.45-49). The discontent is apparent in his company, who feel a sense of inequality because Odysseus obtains all of the precious gifts from their escapades. If Odysseus is a true hero, he would have a strong grasp over his crew, making sure that they are loyal to him and have a leader to follow. However, in this case, the crew expresses uncertainty of why they are helping Odysseus, since they do not receive any compensation for their actions.

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Although Odysseus occasionally does something for the short-term benefit of his crew, he does not deserve their loyalty because he does not sincerely care about them, trust them, or listen to them. Even when Odysseus is in the middle of nowhere in a boat with his comrades and crew members for twenty years, he still manages to not care about them and think of his own life as more valuable than any of theirs. An example of this is when Odysseus sends his men into danger instead of being a leader and going first: “All I spied was a plume of smoke, drifting off the land. / So I sent some crew ahead to learn who lived there -- / men like us perhaps, who live on bread?”

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