Internal And External Conflicts In The Odyssey

The Odyssey written by Homer highlights the character development of Odysseus, the epic hero, in his journey of self-discovery. Odysseus is accredited with many strong traits including his nobility, smarts, and bravery. Having one tragic flaw, being his arrogance, was put to the test throughout his heroic journey. Homer stripped the protagonist of his arrogance as the story goes on, by giving him many challenges, giving dire consequences for his mistakes, and allowing him to continue to overcome obstacles. The main purpose of Odysseus’ journey was to reach his home as a humbled man. The hero’s journey can be used as a way to look at life’s morals. The reader is able to see the protagonist continue to make mistakes, because of his arrogance and continue to be punished by the gods. Once he overcame this, he is greatly awarded with the security of his home. This essay will analyze the arrogance of Odysseus along with his extraordinary traits, the molding of his identity, and his new found lesson of humility.

Since the cyclops’ vision is impaired, Odysseus “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/So three sheep could convey each man” (Homer 500). Odysseus possess the trait of cleverness which is demonstrated through his quick thinking and by only using using the resources available to free his men from Polyphemus’ grasp. He is a man to be revered because he uses his cunning skills to help others reach safety. Odysseus is also the last man to exit the cave because he puts their lives before his. He is also willing to take the responsibility and consequences of their actions. For example, if the cyclops were to notice him he would force his men escape and leave him behind to be devoured. Odysseus is a hero, for his willingness to put his companions’ lives before his own and use of his wits to save those around him.

Odysseus uses intelligence to guide him on his tricky journey home to Ithaca establishing that he is a hero. When Odysseus and his crew land on the land of the Cyclops, they get trapped in a cave with a human-eating Cyclops named Polyphemus. Polyphemus turns hostile and becomes a serious threat to Odysseus and his crews’ chance of returning home. Odysseus uses his intelligence to get out of the disastrous situation by getting the Cyclops drunk and then blinding Polyphemus by using a “stake with its fiery tip” (Homer 9.443) and thrusting it into the single eye on the Cyclops. Odysseus’ keen sense of intelligence allows him to predict that Polyphemus would try to get help from his Cyclops neighbors so he plans ahead telling Polyphemus, “Nobody--that’s my name. Nobody so my mother and father call me, all my friends” (Homer 9.410-411). Odysseus, although physically strong, understands that outthinking an opponent often leads to victory and in the incident with the cyclops this theory held true. Odysseus predicted that once he burned the eye, Polyphemus would scream out in pain notifying his neighbors that something was wrong.

When people think of a hero, they think of a tall, handsome, loyal, brave, and a type of man that could do no wrong. The “hero” that is portrayed in the Odyssey is a man named Odysseus. This “hero” may be tall and handsome, but he is often arrogant, disrespectful, conceited, and rude. Odysseus consists of positive and negative characteristics that is shown in the text by Homer. These characteristics impact the characters day to day, or in the book’s case, the quests. In the Odyssey, Homer values the characteristics hospitality and cunning, but he objects bad leadership.

Odysseus’s escape from the Cyclops is one of great intelligence. A Cyclops is a giant one eyed monster. Homer said, “The booming voice and the very sight of the monster filled us with panic” (IX, 256). From the first moment Odysseus and his men set eyes on the Cyclops they know they are in trouble and will not be able to get out easily. The Cyclops, Polyphemus, eats two of Odysseus’ men from the start. As soon as this happens, Odysseus

Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, tells the journey of Odysseus where he faces many perilous challenges. Throughout the challenges he displays the type of character he is within the episodes, "I am Laertes' Son" and "The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis." Homer uses indirect characterization to illustrate Odysseus' arrogant and loyal character. First, Odysseus is shown to be quite arrogant. After surviving through many perils Odysseus has finally come to a king's court and has begun to tell his tale and he is shown to think quite high and mighty of himself Odysseus says that, "Men hold me / formidable for guile in peace and war / this fame has gone abroad to the sky's rim" (127-129).

Appearing as an epic hero in The Odyssey, Odysseus is an iconic figure in ancient Greek culture and stories. He is portrayed as mighty, great, and powerful. However, what every one sees or thinks they see is just what’s on the surface. “Moralists grew angry in disputing whether he was a ‘good’ man or not-good, that is to say, according to the varying principles” (Stanford). Stanford is trying to explain that depending on people’s values they see or portray Odysseus in many different ways. It is hard to say whether he is bad or good because the author of The Odyssey, Homer, “ Is content to portray a man of many turns” (Stanford). Homer intended to portray Odysseus as this complex character that is not just one sided,

Homer’s The Odyssey is very much an epic tale of a man’s heroic quest. The protagonist, Odysseus, is a cunning, brave, strong, and tenacious character who is given the title of a hero. This “hero”, however, does not always show characteristics of a hero, which leads many to believe that Odysseus, is not a true hero after all. In fact, Odysseus cheats on his wife multiple times, is willing to sacrifice his men in order to get home, and slaughters all his maids even though he did not have to. In The Odyssey, Homer attempts to create a complex portrait of a hero, but fails at his attempt when making Odysseus unforgiving, self absorbed, and a philanderer.

The epic, The Odyssey, centers around Odysseus, whose disposition can be controversial. Like all heroes, Odysseus displays both positive and negative characteristics, which determine whether he is a admirable figure or not. In my opinion, the parts of his character that are commendable outweigh his lesser qualities, making him an honorable role in the poem. Odysseus’s three main favorable attributes are his cleverness, his determination, and his leadership.

Odysseus might’ve been a very strong mortal, but throughout the story he learns that cunning overpowers physical strength. In some parts of the story Odysseus knew that with his strength, he wouldn’t be able to defeat the obstacles by with his physical strength so he used his cunning powers and outsmarted his opponent. Just like in the passage The Cyclops, Odysseus states, “Cyclops, try some wine, there is some liquor to wash down your scraps of men,” (Line 296-297.) That explains that Odysseus knew that he couldn't out strengthen the cyclops with his physical strength, so what he did was that he gave the cyclops some wine to get Polyphemus drunk and stabbed his eye so then Polyphemus wouldn’t be able to see and they could escape with the sheep with no problem. Also in the story, The Challenge, the narrator says, “Penelope says she will marry the man who can string Odysseus’ bow… the suitors try and fail.

In Epic Poem “The Odyssey” Odysseus is the protagonist. Odysseus’ over-the-top ego caused him to lose his men and his son’s childhood, but taught him a valuable lesson about humility. The Odyssey, written by Homer, tells the story of Odysseus and how he faced misfortune in his attempts to return home after the Trojan War. Odysseus is not famous for his great strength or bravery, but for his ability to deceive and trick. To his friends, he was a brilliant strategist. To his enemies, he was a deceiver and a manipulator of the worst kind.

Odysseus’ men plan to blind the cyclops, Polyphemus by stabbing him in the eye with a sphere. “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, and I leaned on it turning it as a shipwright turns a drill in planking, having men below to swing the two-handed strap that spins in the groove” (904, 374-381). Homer uses vivid language to describe the sense of sight. The quote specifies how the Cyclops was blinded by Odysseus and his men. Homer uses words and phrases such as “rammed it deep,” “crater eye,” “turning it as a shipwright turns” etc. This allows the reader to envision (see) what is happening during the scene. There is so much detail, that the reader feels as if they are able to be in the scene themselves, with the characters. As the story progresses, Odysseus wishes to “regain his kingdom” back in Ithaca. He did this by killing all of the suitors. First, he killed the ringleader of the suitors, Antinous. “Odysseus’ arrow hit him under the chin and punched up to the feathers through his throat. Backward and down he went, letting the wine cup fall from his shocked hand. Like pipes his nostrils jetted crimson runnels, a river of mortal red, and one last kick upset his table knocking the bread and meat

In life, a lucky few will face a calling that leads them on the hero’s journey. Many conflicts will test them throughout their journey that reveal the best and worst parts of themselves. In the Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus faces his calling when he leaves home to fight in the Trojan War and embarks on a journey home that tests his character. Because of this, Homer characterizes Odysseus as being intelligent, strong, and loyal through the use of both internal and external conflicts. Through Homer’s use of external conflicts, he reveals Odysseus as being intelligent, especially on the island with the cyclops.

Sing I me, Muse, and through me tell the story of the lady nymph goddess Calypso. Oh so beautiful and immortal who lives in the sea- hollowed caves on the island Ogygia. She craved the hero of Troy, king of Ithaka, son of Laertes, a mortal and took him as her own. Nine long years they spent on the island together.

With the almost no recognition of classical studies in the last part of the 20th century, most educated individuals know almost nothing about the Ancient Greeks. One exception to this general ignorance, however, is the near worldwide knowledge that the Ancient Greeks had a powerful love of competition and sporting events to test the strength and power of the individual. The Ancient Olympic Games are normally dated to 776 B.C.; but we know that Greek athletic competition had a long history before this recorded date. Homer devoted much of the Book 23 of the Iliad to an account of the games played at funerals, really sporting events that Achilles gave in honor of his dead friend, Patroclus.