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What Is Perseverance In The Odyssey

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“The Odyssey” is an epic poem written by a Greek Minstrel named Homer and it is one of the most influential pieces of literature. It is a sequel to “The Iliad” and it is about a soldier from the Greek army named Odysseus. His goal was to get back home from the Trojan War, but he has many casualties along the way that delays his trip to last 20 years. Odysseus is a mortal man that embodies traits of a hero that help him through his daunting journey. Odysseus’s journey is one of perseverance because he has to fight many dangers, both external and internal, to get back home and take back his rightful place as King of Ithaca. Odysseus, a brave soldier, is determined to progress through his journey and overcome any obstacles knowing there will be …show more content…

There was much Odysseus already had to stress on, but everything changed when he visited the Land of the Dead. The trait that Odysseus has in this event is mental strength as the text states, "Then I tried to find some way of embracing my mother's ghost. Thrice I sprang towards her and tried to clasp her in my arms, but each time she flitted from my embrace as it were a dream or phantom, and being touched to the quick I said to her, 'Mother, why do you not stay still when I would embrace you? If we could throw our arms around one another we might find sad comfort in the sharing of our sorrows even in the house of Hades; does Persephone want to lay a still further load of grief upon me by mocking me with a phantom only?” (The Land of the Dead, Book 11) Hence, this shows Odysseus’ internal conflict because you could see that Odysseus’ can’t accept the fact that his mother is dead and that his home is run over by suitors. Another internal conflict in the story is in the beginning of the story when he is on the island of Ogygia with a nymph named Calypso. The conflict was that he wanted to go home to Penelope but he also liked it on the island. Furthermore, the text states “... and racked his own heart groaning, with his eyes wet.’(73-74) “... he lay with her each night, for she compelled him.”(83) Thus, this shows that he is fighting whether to stay or go. The trait he uses here is loyalty because he decides to take the raft and leave the island for Penelope. Odysseus is an epic hero who endures a lot of stress for his goal of home, but reaches it by acquiring great feats with his skills of a thinker and a

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Odysseus is a man, who has been working on going home for twenty years. He is a leader of his men, and will never give up until he gets to his goal or going home to his family. He is faithful to all his men, and he never deceived them. The faithful Odysseus is very hard working trying to help his men get home.

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“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” -Erich Fromm ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, follows the story of Odysseus, a great Greek hero. It tells of his venture to Troy, to lead his army in the Trojan War, and his separation from loved ones and his kingdom for twenty years. However, the novel mainly focuses on the story of his homecoming and all he, and many others, had to endure while he was returning from abroad.

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In the first instances of drastic changes to Odysseus mental state they are severely influenced by physicality of home. One example occurs as Odysseus and his crew are given a magical ship that would take them directly to Ithaca. The fact that Odysseus does not tell his men what is in the bag reveals that he holds the contents of the bag very highly, so much so that he even has this underlying paranoia against his esteemed crew. This secret would untimely lead to the downfall of this attempt home, which causes a rift in Odysseus’s mental state. As the bag of winds ruptures open and the crew is forced away from Ithaca, Odysseus contemplates suicide.

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In the book called The Odyssey by Homer, it mainly follows the story of a king of a village called Ithaca, hundreds of years ago-This man, is named Odysseus. Odysseus goes through many adventures after the victory of the Trojan War. However, this is where Odysseus, is not being as strong as a great war hero and a king as he should be. Although Odysseus was seen as a very strong person, physically and mentally, he lacks the appreciation and the care of his crew throughout the trials and didn’t think through many of his actions thoroughly and how they would affect not only his crew but people around him.

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Personal strengths and weaknesses are magnified during the course of a journey. Some strengths that were magnified during the course of Odysseus’ journey were courage and self-discipline. There were many instances in which he proves to be a courageous man. In the Cyclops story,  Odysseus knows that whatever lives on the island he has arrived to is “a towering brute” and a “wild man ignorant of civility” and yet he decides to venture into the cave.

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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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Naturally, he has much to be proud of: his sexy and loyal wife, his bravery, and his victorious battles from the Trojan War and beyond. However, his arrogance creates a weakness in his character that negatively impacts himself and the people around him. The evolution in Odysseus’s personality turns him from an arrogant flaunter to a humble man, and demonstrates that the strifes he encounters during his journey home is not simply new experiences, but also his beginning of a profound revelation. Starting from the middle of the mountain, Odysseus’s new transformation will allow him to soar to the top with eagle

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Odysseus overcomes another obstacle and saves his men from death in his long journey home from the Trojan war. Odysseus and his men often ran into strange creatures and distractions on their way home to Ithaca. During these events, Odysseus displayed actions of a true warrior that kept their hopes alive of returning home. He did everything in his power to keep his men alive and he didn’t show any remorse towards their obstacles. In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is an epic hero because of his knowledge in battle combined with his faithfulness which he displays by using his resourcefulness and trickery to save his men, and fighting off the Suitors so he can peacefully live with his family once he returns to Ithaca.

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Odyssey Argumentative Essay The Odyssey is an epic by Homer. It is a story about Odysseus journey back to Ithaca after the Trojan War. All the Greek heroes had returned home after the Trojan War except for Odysseus who was an important hero in Ithaca. Odysseus was absent in his son’s life and Telemachus decided that, it was time to find his father and bring him back home to his wife Penelope.

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When reading the odyssey I noticed that Odysseus went through a lot of difficult tasks and journeys and has had more than one near death experience. If you read through the book you will notice that most of Odysseus’ hardships go with a life lesson that teach you what to do or not do in the future in that type of situation. One of the life lessons is when a has to hang onto the tree branch for a whole day to survive because Charybdis swallowed his ship. The symbol or life lesson in this part is determination because he wants to get home to his wife and son alive and it is a hard task,but he was willing do it because he had so much determination to get home. If odysseus didn’t have determination at that time he could have just let go because it hurt or it was hard ,but he didn’t because the need to go to his wife and son was greater.

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The Odyssey and The Outliers portray that perseverance is essential to living a happy and successful life because conflicts are overcome and dreams are followed. Some will argue that overcoming conflicts does not take perseverance; However, in The Odyssey, after Odysseus and his men defeat the cyclops, Odysseus gives his men a pep talk to help encourage and inspire them. When Odysseus says, [“by courage, council and intelligence, we escape away”](210-211). He is reminding his men that they persevered through the trials they faced against the cyclops.

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Throughout literature, protagonists have had an integral role in teaching the reader lessons and encouraging them to empathize. Often, authors create perfect characters in the form of heroes to create a role model for readers. Homer’s The Odyssey has a different take on this idea through the depictions of Odysseus, a king who voyages for decades home after fighting in the Trojan War. Instead of creating a perfect character, Homer highlights Odysseus’ imperfections and develops him through a figurative trip to heroism throughout the entire epic.

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Symptoms such as depression, impulsive anger, and paranoia continue to affect Odysseus in his life, though he and others might fail to recognize it. While The Odyssey might be a fictional epic, the issues it addresses are still very real even in today’s society. Post traumatic stress disorder is still a significant issue, and though rates of the illness have improved, work still needs to be done. However, the solution to PTSD is not reducing the impact of warfare, but instead, providing a better, more welcoming environment for returning soldiers like Odysseus. This story might still provide comfort to soldiers today, because they witness Odysseus overcome his adversities, giving hope that they too can

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Odysseus has grown from the man he was before, as now he finds comfort and safety in obeying the gods when in the past he did not consider their wishes. Odysseus has only returned due to Athena and he has recognized that and his compliance is founded in his appreciation and respect for her. Odysseus is now a hero due to the obedience he now has to the gods, founded in a sense of humility. Through Odysseus’ experiences on his journey, he learns the value of obedience and dangers of arrogance and ultimately, become a hero through the lessons learned.

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The Odyssey by Homer is a book that involves the Journey of Odysseus and his men and the Obstacles they come across. The Odyssey portrays many themes including vengeance, hospitality, courage, bravery and more. Odysseus experiences some good and bad during his journey. He comes across people who help him, but also comes across creatures who hold him back. Odysseus is an Epic hero because of his quick thinking skills, bravery, and confidence for himself and his men.

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