Examples Of Obstacles In The Odyssey

There are always going to be a moment in life when it feels like giving up is the only solution. Sometimes if one digs a little deeper like Odysseus did, goals in life can be achieved. Odysseus was faced with multiple obstacles that were difficult to overcome. However, the toughest are Penelope because she tested Odysseus’s loyalty and mental strength, Scylla and Charybdis kept Odysseus from being capable of using his physical strength, and Calypso tested Odysseus’s honor to his loving relationship with his wife Penelope and his ability to separate greed from his goals in life.

Polyphemus is startled to see Odysseus and his men. Polyphemus snatches two men and makes his meal. Odysseus wants to take his sword to Polyphemus but knows if he kills him now he won’t be able to escape because of the giant boulder. The next day while Polyphemus is pasturing his sheep, Odysseus finds and hardens a wooden staff. When Polyphemus returns, Odysseus offered Polyphemus some wine. “‘Here, Cyclops, drink some wine after of human flesh, and see what sort of liquor our ship held. I brought it as an offering thinking that you might pity me and send me home. But you are mad past bearing. Reckless! How should a stranger come to you again from any people, when you have done this wicked deed?’ So I spoke; he took the cup and drank it off, and mighty pleased he was with the taste of the sweet liquor, and thus he asked me for it yet again:

Selflessly Overcoming Obstacles Contrary to popular belief, seemingly devastating hardships motivate people to push themselves away from those very difficulties and fight against them. Far too often, one exhausts all the vitality he finds within himself, struggling to stay afloat on the verge of hopelessness. But just when he almost surrenders, an unexpected wave of inspiration secures him, giving him hope to carry on and eventually start a fight against the misery that once confined them. Throughout both the literary and the real world, this pattern emerges regardless of the time or context. Consider Odysseus, stuck on Calypso’s island, who faces the choice of fighting temptation or remaining faithful to his wife and returning home.

Odysseus faces many challenges throughout the events of The Odyssey. However, it is through these challenges that Odysseus proves himself a courageous and intelligent person. He fights bravely in the Trojan war and puts himself in danger to save his men from Circe. He outsmarts the Cyclops, Circe and the suitors Although Homer puts Odysseus in a god-like light, he allows Odysseus to feel human by showing his flaws. He puts all his men in danger by shouting at the Cyclops and failing to properly warn them about the dangers of Helios’ cattle.

In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is on a journey home. Along the way, gods and goddesses, creatures and monsters make his journey either easier or harder. His own human strengths help him in his journey. Likewise, his human failings halt his progress. Even through all of this he kept his goal in sight.

Odysseus’s journey in many ways can be compared to someone’s life or an allegory. Odysseus and I are similar in some ways also, we both have one big goal that we want to achieve. One of the possible hidden meanings in the story could be not giving up and really wanting to achieve your goals, even with all of the distractions or obstacles that you will face. Odysseus’s goal is to get home to his wife and son home in Ithaca. My goal is to go to college and become a successful businessman or engineer.

After Odysseus and his men are on the boat, he calls out to Polyphemus, “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”(IX). His pride from escaping the Cyclops’s lair gives him a rush which causes him to tell Polyphemus his name. By telling the Cyclops his name, Odysseus seals his fate for the rest of his journey home. Once Polyphemus learns the name of his attacker, “,,,[Polyphemus] prayed and the god of the sea-blue mane Poseidon heard his prayer”(IX). Polyphemus is able to curse Odysseus’ journey home, because he knows his name. Once he curses Odysseus, the man’s way home becomes distorted, drawn-out, and difficult. Because Odysseus lets his pride get the better of him, his simple journey home becomes years of twists and

Through the eyes of Odysseus it may seem wise to seek out challenging obstacles because of an overpowering

“ I drew it from the coals and my four fellows gave me a hand, lugging it near the Cyclops as more than natural force nerved them; straight forward they sprinted, lifted it, and rammed it deep in his crater eye”, (12). Odysseus came up with the brilliant idea to blind the Polyphemos, instead of killing him. He knew that if the men were to kill Polyphemus, they would never be able to remove the boulder from the opening of the cave. While under stress Odysseus was still able to think clearly and come up with an outstanding idea. Blinding the Cyclops wasn't the only good Idea the Odysseus came up with under pressure in the cave, when Polyphemus asked Odysseus for his name, Odysseus said, “ I shall tell you. My name is Nohbdy”, (12). Odysseus thinks about the effects of his actions.

Odysseus in The Odyssey displays a strong sense of loyalty and perseverance, maintaining these strong moral characteristics despite the suffering he endures throughout his journey to return home. After being absent for twenty years, held in the city of Troy as “Helios, the Sun God, took away the day of his homecoming” (27), “that very year came in which the gods had spun for him his time of homecoming” (27) and Odysseus is faced with the task of returning to his home in Ithaka. However, this challenge is not an easy one and Odysseus must use strength, determination, and courage in order to make a successful return, keeping that perseverance upon his return.

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and the main character in homer’s The Odyssey, was gone for twenty years before finally returning to his family and his homeland. He struggled through many hardships and lost many loyal companions. The King of Ithaca would not have made it home without the assistance of the Greek gods. Despite all of the help and advice that Odysseus receives from the gods, he is a very brave man because his courage and daring in the cave of the Cyclops, his inability to give up and abandon his men on Circe’s island, and his flawless following of the gods instructions are acts of bravery that is uncommon in most men.

The other Cyclopes hear his cry and ask why he is hollering. They ask if some man is killing him by some kind of trick. Polyphemus shouts back, “Noman is killing me by some kind of trick” (Homer

In The Odyssey, Odysseus portrays an important trait to the story, perseverance. His perseverance really stands out as something that he has and always will have. On his long journey home, he never gives up and just stays where he is, no matter how tempting. He always manages to push through and keep getting closer to his goal of returning home. An example of when he does this is when he is faced with the challenge of getting past Skylla and Kharybdis. He knows that either path will kill at least some of his men and possibly him, but he knows he has to keep going. "And all this time,/ in travail,

The one-eyed giant asked the men where their ship was. Right after the leader responded by saying it sank, Polyphemus did not reply nor show even an ounce of pity. In one swift movement, he took two of the men and devoured the flesh off their bodies. The Cyclops hoped he had shown the strange man and his crew that he would not help them or deal with them for any longer. The leader’s face was filled with shock with a mixture of disgust. “That’ll teach him!” Polyphemus said to himself.

He also grew from these obstacles by overcoming them and learning to be less of a prideful and selfish man to more humble and wise. “Obstacles are put in your way to see if what you want is really worth fighting for.” Odysseus was fighting to get back to his wife and son. Odysseus fought to get home and to never stop trying which pushed him to make better decisions which helped him through his journey. This is how Odysseus would fight to accomplish things that he had a desire for and this will lead me to my