Examples Of Odysseus 'Admirable Character In Homer's Odyssey'

Odysseus was a brave and strong man that got through unimaginable dangers, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have any failure that led to his success. Odysseus was a leader to all of his men, but his orders are not always followed. In the story, “The Odyssey” written by Homer, Odysseus was sent away,and he took many men with him along in his journey. They traveled long distances for a long time, soon they came across Helios's

Odysseus makes some substantial mistakes, thus leading to the failure to his men. Odysseus shows extremely inadequate leadership qualities throughout the story. When Odysseus is on the journey to Ithaka, he neglects to let his crew know how long they will be staying on each island. He also neglects to let them know of the journey that lies ahead. This is very poor leadership in the eyes of his crew members. The crew relies on their leader to be honest with them when it comes to situations such as these. They expect Odysseus to make decisions for the well being of the crew. When Odysseus receives advice, even if it is helpful he tends to ignore it. He thinks he is the most intelligent human being, even more so than the gods. A prime example of this is when Odysseus receives advice from Kirke about Scylla. Kirke tells Odysseus not to fight Scylla, yet he chooses to anyway. Another example of Odysseus’s ignorance toward people is when Eurylochus tells him not to go onto Kirke’s island because he knows the crew would be turned into swine. Odysseus again chooses to ignore the intelligent advice given by the gods, and finds out that hard way that Eurylochus was correct. After all that Odysseus has done to the crew, it is true to

One hundred eyes are staring at someone, judging their every move. They cannot give too many orders, but they also have to show authority. Trying to find this balance is what makes some people leaders, and others followers. In Homer's epic, The Odyssey, the reader follows the character, Odysseus, through his struggles to get home. While reading this epic, some may say he is a brave and selfless leader. Most will say he is actually careless, and unthoughtful in his decision making. Odysseus is a careless leader, one who only looks after himself and does not care about others feelings, even his own family members.

A common theme found in The Odyssey is a lack of communication, and this can often be seen between Odysseus and his men. Communication is a key component in effectively carrying out a mission. When they are in Polyphemus's cave, we see Odysseus knowingly putting his men’s lives at risk for his own greed and curiosity. “From the start my comrades pressed me, pleading hard, ‘Let’s make away with the cheeses - then come back, hurry...put out to sea at once!’ But I would not give way - and how much better it would have been - not till I saw him, saw what gifts he’d give.” (book 9, lines 262-268). He is unwilling to listen to their pleas to return to their ship before the cyclops returns, which results in many of them being killed.

He has loyalty, bravery, and courage. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is very loyal toward his men and will protect or rescue them if necessary. He’s brave and courageous when it comes to fighting and won’t hesitate to act. He’s also very clever. For example, Odysseus outwitted the Cyclops, Polyphemus, by giving a false name to disguise his identity. Amid all these qualities, there are still kinks in Odysseus’s character. His pride becomes evident after his confrontation with the Cyclops, where, after a narrow escape, he wished to bother Polyphemus again. His men had to plead to him, saying, “Godsake, Captain! Why bait the beast again? Let him alone!” Odysseus also struggles with selfish actions. For example, he feasts with Circe instead of rescuing his men first. The temptations got the better of him and in turn led him down the wrong

In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a bad example of a leader. First, Odysseus is not disciplined enough to discipline his crew even if not punishing them will cause them to ignore his orders again. For example, in the Epic of Aeolus, Odysseus asks Aeolus to put all the storms into a bag, “...curious and suspicious the sailors open the bag, thinking it contains treasure… hurricanes blow the ships back to Aeolus.”[Page 673; Line 535] This quote shows his crew not adhering to Odysseus’s orders to not open the bag. After, this happens he does not punish them instead he moves on. This shows him not wanting to control his crew instead let them do what they want. Doing so causes them to be more mutinous and ignorant towards Odysseus in the future. Odysseus does not show good leadership qualities because he himself if not strong enough to get on to his crewmates and tell them what's what.

One example of Odysseus being a bad leader is through him being oppressive. When Penelope tried Odysseus to his breaking point he said “Woman, by heaven you’ve stung me now! Who dared to move my bed?”(945). Odysseus got so angry about someone moving his bed that he yelled at his wife not really knowing who actually moved his bed. This quote shows that after what he has been through and yells at his wife about someone moving his bed makes him seem harsh. Another time he was being oppressive was when Odysseus was talking to two men about killing the

Odysseus was very arrogant when he and his men arrived at the Cyclops’ island. The Cyclops’ is a one eyed monster, son of Poseidon. Odysseus decided to stay at the Cyclops’ island and sack his cave. “There we built a fire, set our hands on the cheeses, offered some to the gods and ate the bulk ourselves”[The Odyssey:9.260-262] Odysseus was too arrogant at the Cyclops island because he thought he was above everyone, and did not listen to their inputs and suggestions. Instead of stealing a couple of sheep and wine to take with him on the ship, Odysseus raided into the Cyclops cave feasting on his cheese and drinking all of his wine. The Cyclops became mad and he started eating some of Odysseus’s men. After six of Odysseus’s men had died from the

American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated,” A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” Emerson is an english philosopher that uses intuition to peer into reality. Greek philosophers are looked upon for most of greeks history. Philosophers are knowledgeable and often right. A philosopher such as Emerson uses knowledge to determine what makes the average person a hero in the eyes of society.

Odysseus, the main character and the hero of the epic, The Odyssey, is the leader of a fleet of men who tend to get themselves in many wild shenanigans and setbacks. Although he does get and at his men, he understands the human nature of his men, and do want the best for them. This task of keeping his men alive is made easier by the fact that Odysseus is naturally a heroic person and leader. He is willing to do or go anywhere to ensure the safety of his men and a higher chance of arriving at their home, Ithaka. Thus, throughout the course of Book 10, Odysseus has shown to readers that he justifies the traits that originates from being a brave and caring leader.

There was a time when the goal of all good, great, and decent men was to obtain honor. Every motive, dictated by their sense of honor, was aimed at bolstering it or regaining some that had been lost. To fulfill their sense of honor, men of valor slay the dragon, overthrow an evil villain, or defeat the monster. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the hero Odysseus is considered honorable for his actions on his journey home to Ithaca.

He portrays this trait by fighting a Cyclops as well as being a prisoner to Calypso. His battle against the Cyclops Polyphemus is a perfect example of determination, “...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…” (Homer, 927). Odysseus and his crewman blinded Polyphemus with a spear, that was crafted by Odysseus himself. He continued to show his leadership trait as he commanded his crewman assist him in the defeat of Polyphemus. One other way Odysseus shows determination is while he becomes Calypso prisoner, ‘yet, it is true, each day I long for home, long for the sight of home” (Homer, 916). Odysseus has been a prisoner for 7 years. Through this long period, Odysseus continues to be true to himself and not falling under Calypso promises. Such promises to have immortality and to marry her. This struggle shows how he is determined and highly motivated to return to his home and his family. In order to achieve his personal goal, he must be intelligent in planning the appropriate

What goes around comes around. This is a worn out cliché everyone has heard. However, it’s more than that. This happens a lot in life, and you can probably think of more than enough instances of this than what is worth counting. Another term for this is reciprocity.

Hi brother. I hope you are doing well. I myself have been having some troubling ideas. We have discussed this before, but I would like to bring to your attention that Odysseus is not worthy of your assistance, or any of the God’s assistance. When we look back, we see that Odysseus was so proud of himself when he stabbed the Cyclops’s eye, which put him and his crew in dangerous situations.

The setting of the story helps develop the character, Odysseus, because of the fact that it helps us visualize the distance between the island of Calypso and Ithaca, his home. The setting also helps you learn more about the life status of a character. If a character is sitting on a chair in Mount Olympus, you can already assume that they have authority as a god or goddess. The setting also served as conflict between the character and where he is located. In the event that you limit a character to a certain location, or setting, it helps define the character in terms of how they handle situations and what they are capable of doing.