In The Odyssey by Homer, the development of Odysseus’s characterization through the course of the epic portrays the hero’s journey structure. The hero’s journey chiefly consists of the departure, trials, and the homecoming; the hero matures with the successful completion of each stage. Therefore, Odysseus’s character transformation as a hero metaphorically conveys his progress in the hero’s journey. In the beginning of the epic, Odysseus is like any other young, inexperienced hero with excessive pride in his raw strength. As he truly begins his journey into the unknown (departure), he learns that his character flaws threaten his objective. Up until his encounter with the Cyclops, Odysseus was accustomed to winning with his physical might (Trojan War). However, when his strength could do him no good while trapped in a cave with a beast, he was forced to think beyond killing and combat; ultimately he met success by using his mind, something he had never done before. Yet, still an immature hero, Odysseus brooded over his success and taunted the beast as he left the island. In response, the “blind thing …show more content…
This major transition in characterization emerged as he learned to give up his flaws little by little. In his encounter with the Sirens, he acted like a completely different person when he requested his “dear friends” (689) to “tie [him] up, tight as a splint” (695). Earlier in his journey, he had used a belittling tone to describe his men during the Cicones incident (“my men stood up and made a fight of it” (57)). By the time of the Sirens trial, Odysseus had really matured to appreciate his company’s presence and understand the importance of taking help from others. This development in maturity symbolizes his progress in the hero’s journey: he crossed the threshold as an amateur hero and returned to Ithaca as a newly transformed
The Odyssey English Final Essay The story of Homer's the Odyssey is and is not a heroic story; Odysseus is a hero because of his return; however it is also not a heroic journey because he cheated on his wife and the lack of a treasure One of the reason that the Odyssey is considered a heroic journey is because of Odysseus return from his long journey. When Odysseus returns, the workers are overjoyed and wake up Penelope saying, "Wake up, Penelope, my dear child, so you can see for yourself with your own eyes what you've been wanting each and every day. Odysseus has arrived" (Homer, Book 23, line 70).
One can be judged by their actions, but what truly shapes a person is their personality. Odysseus is an over-confident and ill-tempered man. On the cyclops's island, Odysseus's boasting nearly proves costly. A modest and heroic person would have had his men in mind, rather than himself, and left the island. Also, Odysseus revealing his true identity to the cyclops could very well have resulted in the death of his men. After Odysseus's boasting, Polyphemus prays to his father, "Let him lose all companions, and return / under strange sail to bitter days at home" (Homer 9. (537-8). This prophecy, of course, becomes a reality. Another sign of Odysseus's over-confidence shows while he is explaining himself to King Alcinous. In some of his first words to the king, Odysseus again boasts of his accomplishments. "Men hold me / formidable for guile in peace and war: / this fame has gone abroad to the sky's rim" (Homer 9. (127-8). Another very important fact is Odysseus's position on monogamy. Odysseus believes he's above monogamy, as he stays with many goddesses during his journeys while Penelope stays faithful at home. A hero is not a boasting, over-confident person, but someone who does their actions for no reward.
The monsters of Homer’s The Odyssey as written by Robert Fitzgerald all share traits in common, but there is always the small differences which make each close encounter more gripping than the last. When the not-so-glorious Odysseus, son of Laertes just manages to elude the cannibalistic clutches of the blinded Kyklops (IX) and takes to the high seas, he becomes arrogant and taunts his nemesis. He does not realize this, but the very words he uttered then sets the holy executioner upon the necks of his crew. Every island he passes or makes port at, his men become feasts for native monsters; however upon the beautiful island of Aiolia his men are not eaten, nor do they die at the hands of any mortal or immortal foe. What is so significant
In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.
Throne of Glass is an invigorating fictional book that embodies the Hero’s Journey through a fictional adventure including mystical beasts, princes, and magic. Since ancient Greece, adventures have been formatted by a Hero’s Journey. The Odyssey is an Epic written by Homer in the 8th Century and told the story of a man’s adventure to win a beautiful wife. Together, these lively adventures incorporate portions of the Hero’s Journey including crossing the threshold, the ordeal, and tests, allies, and enemies.
The Hero's Journey is never an easy one. This particular journey, as detailed in Homer's The Odyssey, is one of struggle, loss, heartache, pain, growth and triumph. It is comprised of many steps that Odysseus has to overcome and battle through in order to achieve his final goal of reaching his home and his loved ones. From the Call to Adventure to the Freedom or Gift of living, Odysseus conquered them all. The story begins in the middle of the story, as many of the oral Greek traditions did, with the Journey of Telemachus to find his father. Although Telemachus has not yet met his father, it is almost as if they are journeying together, where the end of both of their journeys results in being
Becoming a Man When the word hero is brought up, names such as Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen probably come to mind. While Harry and Katniss might seem like absolutely different people, but they do have one thing in common. All heroes follow a pattern called the hero's journey. The hero's journey is a common cycle that most protagonists follow.
The Hero’s Journey is never an easy one. This particular journey, as detailed in Homer’s The Odyssey, is one of struggle, loss, heartache, pain, growth and triumph. It is comprised of many steps that Odysseus has to overcome and battle through in order to achieve his final goal of reaching his home and his loved ones. From the Call to Adventure to the Freedom or Gift of living, Odysseus conquered them all. The story begins in the middle of the story, as many of the oral Greek traditions did, with the Journey of Telemachus to find his father. Although Telemachus has not yet met his father, it is almost as if they are journeying together, where the end of both of their journeys results in being reunited. Telemachus journeys from being a
The epic poem “The Odyssey” by Homer is about King Odysseus and his goal to return home to his family after being away for twenty years. The “Hero’s Journey” by Joseph Campbell represents a Hero’s steps in a story that also represents Odysseus’s journey getting back home. In “The Odyssey” Odysseus goes through most of the steps in the “Hero’s Journey”. The steps are Entering the Unknown, getting Supernatural Aid, and Odysseus’s ability to Master Two Worlds.
The Odyssey is an epic poem about the journey of Odysseus after he defeated the Trojans, after defeating them, he was cursed by Zeus; to endure a great struggle and remain away from home for ten years and this poem tracks his journey and what he went through. In some situations, Odysseus was very cautious before he decided to react, and used strategy instead of strength. Odysseus used strategy instead of strength in the Cyclops. The Cyclops is a story about Odysseus’ struggles on the island of Sicily. Odysseus and his men get trapped in the cave with a boulder in the way and have to find a way out.
leave Ithaca cannot be simply based on a whim: he is a young king with
The Odyssey is an epic poem that is taken place after the Trojan War. Odysseus and his men were sailing from Troy to Ithica. The trip lasted 10 years and they had some positives and negatives. So even though they had their ups and downs, throughout the adventure they learned many lessons throughout their journey to Ithica. As Odysseus home from Troy, he changes physically and mentally as he learns the following lessons: cunning overpowers physical strength giving into temptations has negative effects, and loyalty and perseverance are heroic and admirable.
“With the personifications of his destiny to guide and aid him, the hero goes forward in his adventure until he comes to the ‘threshold guardian’ at the entrance to the zone of magnified power”. Thus wrote the mythologist Joseph Campbell on the hero’s departure from his home as he ventures into the world of the unknown where he will encounter many challenges. Owing to its form as a nostos, Homer’s Odyssey (trans. Shrewing) conforms to the obverse of this mythological paradigm postulated by Campbell. The challenge for Odysseus is to return, not to his native land of Ithaca, but to the mortal realm away from his heroic past. No scene other than the trial of the marriage bed within Book XXIII more potently illuminates this. For Odysseus’ journey
The Odyssey tells the story of an epic hero named Odysseus and the adventures he faced on his twenty year long journey away from his homeland Ithaca. The story begins in the final year of the Trojan War. The Greeks have not been able to breach Troy’s walls for ten years until Odysseus came up with the idea of the trojan horse. After the Greeks defeated the Trojans in such a ruthless way the gods were angered and made their journey home a very difficult one. Throughout their journey home Odysseus shows traits of bravery, wisdom, and loyalty as a great leader. Bravery is one of the few heroic traits that Odysseus shows.
The life of a God, forever bliss, complete happiness: Odysseus slights all of these things in order for him to return to his loving wife and son. The concept of true commitment was a very commendable quality for a Greek hero to possess. With this character trait, Odysseus models the ideal husband, father, and leader. Unfortunately, in today’s society, one rarely encounters such outstanding morality. Being raised in an explicit society, a decrease in certain morals has become fashionable. In particular, the college experience has become accepted as the “wild times” of one’s life. Certain activities ordinarily shunned are now perceived as a learning experience when involving a college student. Drugs and alcohol abuse are commonplace around