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Odysseus : A Modern Hero In The Odyssey By Homer

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Modern Zero Modern American heroes embody these qualities: hardworking, selflessness, intelligence, and confidence. Odysseus, the main character of The Odyssey by Homer, shows some similar traits to Americans’ perception of a modern hero. He is hardworking, witty, and strong. However, when compared to the values of a modern American society, Odysseus would not be considered a hero because he is selfish and cowardly. Firstly, Odysseus acts cowardly throughout the story, which is a key factor to avoid in being considered for a hero. Odysseus and his crew come upon an island with beasts eating and killing his fleets. This is Odysseus’s solution: “I had drawn my sword and cut my own ship’s cable”(169). Odysseus abandoned his whole fleet to save himself because he was too afraid to fight. This is extremely unheroic because he is responsible for many men who are out there, fighting for their lives, and his leadership decision was to leave and save himself. He was not trying to save some of his crew, the only thing on his mind was his own life. Later in the book, Odysseus knows that 6 men from his crew are about to be killed by a beast named Skylla, and instead of warning them, he sits back and watches. “Then Skylla made her strike, whisking 6 of my best men from the ship”(217). Odysseus is a coward to not tell his men about the great beast. Odysseus was smart enough to save himself, but he left his other men to panic in anguish. This is cowardly because he was too afraid to

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