The Obstacles Faced by Odysseus 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. Penelope was Odysseus’s greatest obstacle, testing his mental strength and loyalty to their marriage. However, his wife Penelope was the most challenging obstacle of all. She definitely tested his mental strength and loyalty on multiple occasions. For example, when Odysseus arrived on the island of Ithaca and was finally reunited with his beloved wife Penelope, it was imperative that he was to remain disguised. This was …show more content…
Scylla and Charybdis were extremely difficult for Odysseus to overcome, mainly because he was used to using manpower and wisdom to escape from dangerous situations. Furthermore, Odysseus knew he could not use his strength to conquer Scylla and Charybdis, instead he had to try and choose the lesser of two evils even though he knew he would lose men either way. It was a great pain for Odysseus when he had to leave his men behind. He heard their “voices come down to [him] in anguish, calling [his] name for the last time” and Odysseus had to fight the urge to turn back and try to save his men from their inevitable peril (Homer 838). To summarize, during Odysseus’s travels he met his second most difficult obstacle, Scylla and Charybdis who compelled Odysseus not to use his intelligence and
Pure determination and motivation are what carried Odysseus home. Odysseus always had strong words prepared for his men when they were in a frightening situation. “This is no greater evil than how it was when the Cyclops had us cooped in his hollow cave by force and violence,
Through the Odyssey, Odysseus faces many obstacles. Some of the most challenging obstacles Odysseus is faced with is when he ran into Circe, Odysseus journey back to Ithaca, and escaping Polyphemus.
Odysseus must go through many sufferings to make it home to his Penelope. He is stuck in a Cyclopes's cave, he is surrounded by Scylla and Charybdis, and he has to go through hell. He does all this because he hasn't seen his beloved wife, Penelope, in over ten years.
Instead, Odysseus did not look at the negative side of things and how he could’ve gotten brutally murdered along with his crew or his plan to slay the cyclopes would have been figured out Odysseus decided to take the risk because he knew that if he succeeded, then he could get home to his beloved family faster. Odysseus displays courage when it seems all hope is lost and the only outcome appears to be death but, he persisted and decided that he was never going to give up, no matter how much it
In Homer's epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus faces many different obstacles and challenges throughout his life. Although in my life there won't be monsters and mythical creatures. There will be many different challenges and temptations. Hopefully I will overcome my challenges just as Odysseus has. With the amount of strength and courage that he did on my way to becoming a vet.
This shows that even when Odysseus is feeling down he can get back up and regain motivation. Another time when Odysseus showed perseverance was when his shipmates were feeling down and everyone was losing hope but his peers had faith in his because they have come to trust he can get them out of any situation: "'Captain, shake off this trance, and think of home-if home indeed awaits us...'"(10:521-522). This demonstrates how Odysseus has left this effect on people that he can get out of certain situations and to inspire others to not give up and keep fighting. At the end of Odysseus’s journey he has learned a lot about what hope is and spreading it to others and knowing no matter how hard something is to just keep trying your
Most Greek heroes overcame obstacles by being strong, immortal, or powerful. Unlike most, Odysseus used his brain. One of the most important heroes in the world is Odysseus. Odysseus, King of Ithaca, is a hero that under several accounts uses intelligence to his advantage. Odysseus even won the ten year long Trojan War by sending in a “gift,” and then attacking everyone after they were inside Troy’s borders. After spending ten years at war, Odysseus starts his voyage back, starting the great novel, The Odyssey. Several times during his trip home Odysseus uses his cleverness to his advantage. During The Odyssey, Odysseus uses strategy instead of strength to overcome many obstacles. Two examples include when Odysseus kills the Cyclopes, and when Odysseus finally reaches his homeland after 20 years of being away.
Similarly, Odysseus begins his tale explaining how his journey is to return home. Having finished fighting in the Trojan war he begins journeying home when he is held captive by Calypso, a nymph for a number of years. Odysseus faces many obstacles and problems trying to reach Ithaca, “...the voyage fraught with hardship...homeward bound from Troy...” (ll 43-44, p357). Not only was he captured by Calypso, but he face troubles with the Lotus-eaters, the Sirens, the cyclops and much more. Coupled with the constant setbacks, Odysseus must also deal with suitors that have taken over his palace. Oedipus and Odysseus are both faced with large underlying conflict in addition to the significant presence and influence of the Greek Gods.
While on on the island of Ogygia, he is trapped and seduced by the nymph Calypso. She tried to get him to stay on the island with her by promising immortality. Even though all of this happened, Odysseus was still concentrated on getting back to Ithaca and his wife Penelope. In facing alternatives to his quest -- death, discouragement, pleasure, and the simple acquiescence of just giving up -- Odysseus remains focused on his goals.
In book five Odysseus is presented with a very great and tempting barrier. Calypso confronts him with this statement, “But if you only knew, down deep, what pains are fated to fill your cup before you reach that shore, you’d stay right here, preside in our house with me and be immortal.” She promised him that he would possess a trait that no other human in the odyssey has, immortality. Even though her offers are very tempting and would be self fulfilling, he promptly rejects because all he wants is to go home and the love of his life, Penelope. This act alone shows that he was willing to give himself and up for a greater cause. He showed great discipline and faithfulness to reject Calypso’s offer and to continue on his journey home. At the beginning of the epic, Odysseus did have one flaw that could have been detrimental to his homecoming journey and that was self-glorification. By the end of the Odyssey, Odysseus overcame his pride and tempered it with patience because at the end of the day he didn’t really know that Penelope would be waiting on him, but he was willing to put in the effort to find out what was at the end of the road.
Odysseus’ encounter with the monstrous Scylla showed how all journeys eventually require sacrifice. The hero allows six of his men to be devoured by Scylla for the sake of the others. Could he have avoided this? Certainly not, as his other choice was to go straight through Charybdis, the “dire gorge of the sea,” who would have destroyed him and all his men (682 ll. 804-805) Circe herself says that it is “better to mourn six men than to lose them all….” (679 ll. 705-706) Odysseus had to think of his men as a whole, rather than pity a few, in order to guarantee success, and so he once again followed Circe’s advice, and allowed those six men to perish for the sake of the majority. A similar decision was once made by former prime minister, Winston Churchill,
Scylla was a monster with six heads and charybdis was also a monster that created a whirlpool with its mouth to trap ships and eat them. Odysseus would have to go in a straight line between the two monsters. Odysseus was being heroic here because he didn't tells his men so they wouldn't panic, and he faced to to monsters, and even though he lost six men he didn't get his whole ship wrecked and was able to get the rest of this men out of there
The most important development of Odysseus' character is his journey,The thing that defiant him as a men and even as a hero,His journey back home would be the biggest aspect of his life. Throughout his whole journey,Odysseus has been nothing but patient,enduring,confident,strong and believe or not,even responsible particularly for his men at first he cares for his men but then everything changed once they proved to him that they not trustworthy and at the end Odysseus was alone at his journey. Odysseus is not god like or larger than life character we first imagine,He is nothing more than human who has emotions. His love for Penelope proved to be his only hope, as
Odysseus’s motivation for making it home through such trying circumstances was his love for his family. Among his many trials and tribulations include three that were difficult to get through. These three examples are Circe’s Island, Calypso’s Island, and the
¨He weathered many bitter nights and days at sea, while he fought only to save his life, to bring his shipmates home”(Book 9, 8-10). Odysseus journeys home to Ithaca, his kingdom, after plundering Troy in the Trojan War. Odysseus faces many challenges and tribulations along the way. He escapes the cyclops- Polyphemus, Calypso the nymph, Scylla- a monster, and Charybdis, a water funnel. After he makes it home to Ithaca, he kills the suitors that had taken his land. Once he proves he is himself and not a trick by the gods, he reunites with his wife Penelope. Through his words and actions, it is evident that Odysseus is smart, strong, and compassionate.