Comparing Odysseus And Joseph

From what we are told, we can obviously tell that Joseph has a very difficult life as it is, “What can a crippled, speechless boy do, asked Joseph…” Nolan is telling us that Joseph thinks of himself in a negative manner. But while he may look in himself in a negative way, he is still optimistic, explaining

He is stricken with hunger and longs for nourishment, but he is able to triumph over this temptation by remaining mentally strong: “One day I withdrew to the interior / to pray the gods in solitude, for hope / that one might show me some way of salvation” (XII, 426 – 428). Instead of giving in to temptation, Odysseus heroically prays to the gods. In addition to physical and emotional challenges, Odysseus faces intellectual challenges, and is able to overcome these challenges with quick thinking. Odysseus must utilize his cunning wit when he devises a plan to surprise the suitors in an attack, and hide their weapons: “I / shall signal to you, nodding: at that point / round up all armor, lances, gear of war / left in our hall, and stow the lot away” (XVI, 335 – 338). This challenge tests Odysseus as a tactician, and he is able to succeed with intellectual valor. Odysseus encounters a mental challenge when he is on the Land of the Kyklopes. He quickly tells Polyphemos that his name is “Nohbdy”, and then once the Polyphemos is stabbed, the other Kyklopes think that “Nohbdy” hurt him. Then, Odysseus and his men are able to escape on the underside of sheep. Odysseus bravely risks the lives of his men and himself. Odysseus overcomes all these challenges, using his physical, emotional, and intellectual abilities. The courage he displays in each of these instances makes him more heroic.

One quality that establishes Odysseus’s leadership is that his men trust and believes in him. This is demonstrated when Telemachus stands watching as his father take a beating from Antinous, but as his father had wished, he keeps his feelings internalized, “Telemachus, after the blow his father bore, sat still without a tear, though his heart felt the blow. Slowly he shook his head from side to side, containing murderous thoughts” (ln 1053-1057). Had Odysseus been a bad leader, his reputation among his servants would have been bad. If the family servants think of Odysseus in a negative way, they would have told stories to Telemachus about Odysseus’s infamy. As a result, when Odysseus finally comes home to Ithaca and informs his son about his plot for revenge, Telemachus would possibly not have followed his father’s instructions due to doubt and mistrust. However, Telemachus obeys his father’s wishes because of the good things he has heard from his mother and servants. Moreover, while being eaten by Scylla’s heads, Odysseus’s men cries out for help, “Voices came down to me in anguish, calling my name for the last time” (ln 650-651). Since Odysseus’s men cried out to Odysseus for help, it shows that they rely on Odysseus. If Odysseus was a poor leader, his men would have accepted their

While being taunted by the suitors Odysseus kept his composure, the best choice for protecting his family. Odysseus also sees some of the servants sneak off to have sex with the suitors. He “was stirred by this, and much he pondered in the division of mind and spirit, whether to spring on them and kill each one, or rather to let them lie this one more time with the insolent suitors, for the last and latest time; but the heart was growling within him".(homer,20,9-13) The personification of his growling heart depicts how very angry Odysseus is. He could have unveiled himself then and attempted to kill the suitors and punish them, as well as prove his strength. Instead he waits for a better moment so that he does not risk the lives of his son and wife only to demonstrate his superiority, a mistake he made previously when calling out his name to the cyclops. Odysseus also realizes more about himself while on the journey. He makes the realization that he is no god, only a mere mortal whose imperfect decisions can often put other people at risk. Odysseus and his crew had been trapped by the cyclops due to his own

Aunt Harriet comes over one day to exchange her deviated baby with Mrs. Strorm’s baby for an inspection. This is against the law, so Joseph suddenly takes control. He has to prove that he is in power. To prove his authority, he has Aunt Harriet killed the next day. Another example of authority is the tail-less cat incident. Joseph finds out that the cat has no tail, and tries to control the situation. He kills the cat, only to later find out that the cat was perfectly legal. These examples all show that Joseph has the power in most situations. If he doesn't have the power, or is proven wrong, he is extremely ashamed. Joseph Strorm is very authoritive in the community of Waknuk.

Intelligence has always been a well liked trait throughout tales ancient and modern in our world. Perhaps this is why Odysseus is so admired. This hero is cunning, and though he has plenty of brawn to get himself out of trouble, he uses his brains to scrape by in tough situations. An example of this trait is this passage from the Odyssey, “Three abreast I tied them silently together, twining cords of willow from the ogre’s bed; then slung a man under each middle one to ride there safely, shielded left and right.” (9.337-340).

Both of these dreams made Joseph seem like he was the greatest and

Joseph no longer wanted to manipulate people. and he had finally learned how to best tell his dreams without sounding boastful or rude. He let the people know that no one could interpret the dreams he saw besides God, and that he would only tell them what he saw, and not what it meant. Finally, after all the struggles that Joseph went through there was light at the end of the tunnel. The Pharaoh had heard of the man who could interpret dreams, and called upon him.

The story of Joseph in the Bible begins with explanations of Joseph’s youth and innocence and how his brothers were jealous of him because he was the “blessed son”. It involves a lot of specifics, like it mentions that Joseph was seventeen years

Through the evolution of Joseph and his parents as a collective assembly to unraveling Joseph's inner turmoil, the family acquired more knowledge and was accepting of new developments that became

The story of Joseph is displayed differently with different religions, the basic story is the same but details and events are explained differently. In some cases, different things happen but the story, as a whole, is the same. Joseph is one of the many sons of Jacob, when this story begins he is around the age of seventeen. Joseph was the favorite son who was very loved by all but his own brothers. One day his brothers decided to sale him to Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt. Joseph goes through a rough life to, in the end, come out on top. The Bible and the Qur’an tell different versions of the same story.

During the years of famine, Joseph’s brothers came from Canaan to buy some food and as soon as he saw them, he recognized his brother and he made them look like spies, retained them and put one of them in jail and put the condition that to liberated him, the other brothers had to bring the youngest one. With struggle, the older brothers of Joseph convinced their father to allow them to take Benjamin, who was the youngest brother to Egypt. When they returned to Egypt, Joseph liberated his brother, the one putted in jail and had prepared a banquet for his brothers. He ate with them, at this time none of them knew that it was Joseph. When his brothers left the palace with grains in their bags, Joseph tricked them again putting his cup of silver in Benjamin’s bag. The soldiers stopped them before they left Egypt and Joseph said Benjamin should be put in jail, but his brothers begged him to take for slave another one because their father would not survive that. At that moment Joseph reviled himself to his brothers and told them to bring their father to Egypt. They told their father to go to Egypt with them because Joseph was still alive. And Jacob accepted. Moreover, The God of his father Isaac appeared to Jacob in a vision and told him not to be afraid to go to Egypt and one of the things God said to Jacob is that “I will go down with you in Egypt…and Joseph hand shall close your eyes.”

Joseph embodies a major theme of Genesis, in his ability to have faith in God and his plan. Another theme encompassed in Genesis is God rewarding those who do good; In this case, personal transformation. Genesis highlights the main the of God helping and the need to trust God, which is shown through Joseph and his

Joseph and Odysseus successfully surmount any problems that emerge along the way by using their cunning intelligence. The mind is a hero’s greatest weapon.

There are a plethora of stories in the Bible, but one stands out in particular; the story of Joseph. The Hebrew meaning of the name Joseph is “may Jehovah add, give increase.”1 Through the life of Joseph we see God add meaning and purpose to his life, just as God adds meaning and purpose to all our lives. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”2 Joseph obediently followed God’s plans through trials and tribulations whereas many other figures in the Old Testament faltered in their faith. Joseph, son of Jacob, is the single most important human being in the Old Testament because of his impeccable faith in the one true God and his story of forgiveness that set the stage for God’s chosen people.