Examples Of Flaws In The Odyssey

In the odyssey, Odysseus is trying to get home after the trojan war, but the gods are trying to kill him. He survives all of them. After the 10 year war, it takes him another 10 years to get home. It would of taken him less time to get home if his decisions were good. The three worst decision were. Not eating the cattle, telling the men what's in the bag, and keeping your mouth shut.

Epic heros are not perfect. They are people who possess many flaws, such as Odysseus in The Odyssey. After the Trojan War, he endured 10 years of different trials to get back home. He preforms these tacks mostly by brainpower, then brawn. In book 9, his obstacle was to face a cyclops known as Polyphemus, who will soon create a rough voyage back home for Odysseus. Book 12 demonstrates his authoritative skills passing the Island of the Sirens and Helios Island. Lastly in book 22, his thirst for revenge against the suitors not only shows his strength as a hero but as well as his cunningness. Odysseus’ intelligence also comes with cockiness, meaning his schemes on the return back to his homeland, Ithaca will backfire.

Odysseus’ hubris played a negative role when Odysseus revealed his identity to Polyphemus. Odysseus and his crew had just managed to escape from the Cyclops, Polyphemus, after driving a stake into his eye. But then, Odysseus told the blinded Cyclops his identity by shouting, “Cyclops – if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so- say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out you eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca” (9, 558-562). Odysseus managed to tell Polyphemus his name, father, and home. Polyphemus then prayed to Poseidon, his father, to get revenge on Odysseus. Poseidon ended up killing Odysseus’ entire crew and delaying Odysseus for 10 years. None of those terrible consequences would have happened if Odysseus had suppressed his enormous pride. Odysseus’ hubris resulted in a lot of suffering for many people. Odysseus’ hubris prevents Odysseus and his crew from getting back to Ithaca again when Odysseus did

Broderick Caragher Mrs. Brzycky Sophomore English Honors, P.8 11 March 2024 Tales of a Man and his Arrogance Selfishness corrodes trust, and leaves behind a trail of crumbled relationships with it. In the great story The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus shows how arrogance and selfishness affects the entirety of those around him. The Odyssey tells the tale of a brilliant man named Odysseus, who shares the story of his travels back to his home island. On this journey, he encounters many obstacles, some of which consist of the consequences of his own actions.

We All Make Mistakes In the epic poem The Odyssey, we are introduced to Odysseus and told the story of his adventures from his home, Ithaca, and back. The trip he takes introduces him to many new scenarios that he has to evaluate and plan to get the desired outcome. However, sometimes he and his crew make mistakes, and these mistakes cost them dearly. So, they overcome them, making an impact on the narrative.

Arrogance is an unheroic quality which often brings harm to others. This quality is evident in Odysseus when he reveals his identity to Polyphemus just when he and his men are about to escape the Cyclops’ island. As Odysseus is about to board the boat, he yells to the Cyclops, “Cyclopes, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raiders of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca” (Homer 908). Odysseus felt that it was necessary for him to boast to the Cyclops after he had blinded him. This caused him and his men to get into great trouble with Poseidon. Poseidon made sure to make Odysseus’s journey back home as difficult as possible. As a result, Odysseus’s men all ended up dying, and their ship didn’t survive.

“Cyclops- if any man on the face of the Earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so- say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer, 227). This act puts him and his crew in danger because the Cyclops is the son of the god Poseidon. Polyphemus then offers a prayer to his father to take revenge on Odysseus. “Hear me, Poseidon who circle the earth, dark-haired. If truly I am your son, and you acknowledge

The Odyssey gives a great outlook on how a person can develop through time as well as how one’s actions can cause the trouble later and lead to unfortunate circumstances. In the book, there are several cases when Hubris, an excessive pride and arrogance as characteristic of a particular, is shown by different figures. Consequently, this is often followed by Nemesis, as justice has to be determined by the gods for the actions taken to maintain a heroic status, most of the time in form of a punishment. In “The Odyssey” by Homer, Hubris is exhibited by the main character and hero, Odysseus, in the Ancient Greek world, who proves it by his self-confidence in his adventures. Homer uses inter alia alliterations, similes, concrete details, and vivid imagery throughout the

The sum of all human traits is defined as human nature, meaning the excuse for our vices, and the flaws of mortal life. In Homer's The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus demonstrates these flaws throughout his journey, constantly struggling through the eternal fight for realization of life and death, and is weighed down by the never ending power struggle of nature versus mankind.

The Odyssey is an epic poem that showcases the heroic actions contrasted with the grave disasters of Odysseus, a tragic hero on his way home from the war in Troy. The author, Homer, shows through Odysseus’ actions that even a hero such as he, has flaws. Flaws that if not acknowledged and learnt from, can spell grave disaster in the journey yet to come. Many Greeks recognize Odysseus as the most renowned hero of the Trojan war, thanks to his own accounts of his years away from Ithaca. Following the Greek beliefs, many believe that Odysseus couldn’t have kept himself away for so long, for only the gods can do something like this, and Odysseus can’t be the cause of the crew’s deaths, only the gods could be so cruel. While

Odysseus left Calypso’s Island and began his journey back home. His odyssey might be described as one’s own life struggles. There are ups and downs to every situation, and through reading The Odyssey, readers can connect parallels between Odysseus’ experiences and lessons learned in their own life. Human weaknesses can still prevail through even the strongest men you may think of; examples of this are shown in this epic. Even though there is a large gap in space between Odysseus’ travels and the present, human nature and weakness still share the same obstacles.

During his journeys Odysseus often makes the mistake of bragging to his enemies but learns that doing this gives his enemies a chance to seek revenge against him. After leaving Troy, Odysseus attacks the

Odysseus describes this incident himself “I called back with another burst of anger, ‘Cyclops--if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so--say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Homer 227). This is a clear representation about how his overconfidence in himself has gotten the better of him. This causes Polyphemus to bellow out what Odysseus did to his father, Poseidon, “Hear me -- Poseidon, god of the sea-blue mane who rocks the earth! If I really am your son and you claim to be my father-- come, grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca never reaches home. Or if he’s fated to see his people once again and reach his well-built house and his own native country, let him come home late and come a broken man-- all shipmates lose, alone in a stranger’s ship-- and let him find a world of pain at home!”(Homer 228). This is the reason that Odysseus came home late, the reason why he was alone, and the reason why he had such a rough, terrible, journey back to his homeland

Odysseus’ ego was so big that he did not listen to his men but yelled to the Cyclops his name, which then the Cyclops prayed, to his father Poseidon to curse Odysseus, which Poseidon does.

According to both Greek and Homeric values humans should have reason, but very often they express passion, which leads to contradictory emotions and obstacles in life. Odysseus, a man with a complex life, struggles with many internal, personal contradictions that have a collective impact on his decisions throughout his existence. The most important contradictions Odysseus faces are loyalty and betrayal; humility and hubris; and wisdom and folly,