Odysseus In The Cave Analysis

“Now shrugging off his rags the wiliest fighter of the islands leapt and stood on the broad door still, his own bow in his hand” (Homer 557). In epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a hero because he makes a clever decisions by gaining a close connection with Circe, he is cautious for he built his bed out of an olive tree, protecting his family from imposters, and he is cunning, for he allows his men to successfully escape Polyphemus’ cave.

Around the 1200 B.C., Odysseus was sailing the Mediterranean Sea for the purpose of reaching home. In his long narrative poem, The Odyssey, Homer conveys how Odysseus desperately wishes to go home to Ithaca. However, he faces brutal treatment and obstacles from several different antagonists, and more obstacles appear when he reaches home. Odysseus came across many external conflicts, which he dealt with intelligence, determination, and loyalty.

Although Odysseus is one of the most well known greek heros in the world, he is also very controversial among the people as well. In the book, “The Odyssey” written by Homer, Odysseus made some choices that makes the readers question his role as a leader. In “The Odyssey”, it tells the story about Odysseus’ long journey home from the Trojan War. Along the way, Odyssey has extended his times away from home by making unintelligent decisions that led him to encounter one disaster after another. Although Odysseus has some positive attributes, he is a poor leader for the following reasons: he is too cocky and overconfident, he make careless decision, and finally, he is very selfish.

Tenacity, determination, dedication: these are some other word that describe what it means to preserver. Both went through pain and suffering to get to their goal. In the Odyssey with Odysseus, he was sent on a long change long to extensive - he was sent on an extensive journey away from home he was asked to make hard change the word hard to challenging decisions that would test his character and his decision making. The other man goes by the name of Jackie Robinson who was mocked and ridiculed for the color of his skin. Jackie just wanted to play a sport that he loved but instead he had to earn respect the long way. Perseverance is necessary for success in all aspects of life; it reminds us that things we want must be worked

In The Odyssey- Part II, Odysseus with the help of his son and loyal servants. They slaughtered all the suitors and maids for the following: they tried to take advantage of his goods, they tried to marry his wife continuously, and destroyed his house. The slaughter of many of the suitors may have been brutal, but it was necessary.

“Are you flesh and blood, Odysseus, to endure more than a man can? Do you never tire? God, look at you, iron is what you’re made of” (12.162-164). In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, the focus is on the journey of Odysseus, the island of Ithaca’s king, after he defeated the Trojans in a war that spanned ten years. He travels far and wide in an attempt to get home to his wife and son, but is repeatedly blocked from doing so by gods, nymphs, and monsters alike. He’s a skilled warrior that fears next to nothing and this poem follows him as he uses these facts to his advantage. Odysseus is persuasive and clever and refuses to shy away from a challenge that requires either one of these characteristics.

Odysseus is shown to be uncivilized through his interactions with Polyphemus. Although Odysseus was originally a very civilized king of Ithaca, the Trojan War brutalized him. In the midst of constant bloodshed, Odysseus transformed from a civilized king who always respected the hospitality rules into an uncivilized man who disregards the rules of hospitality when it does not benefit him. Odysseus ends up acting more uncivilized than the Cyclopians, who are known for their lack of society. The Cyclops lack culture, agriculture, and community. Odysseus explains, “These Cyclopians have no parliament for debates and no laws, but they live on high mountains in hollow caves; each one lays down the law for wife and children, and no one cares for his neighbours” (108). As Odysseus and his crew arrive at the cave of Polyphemus, they do not wait for him to return home; instead, Odysseus and twelve of his men enter the cave, uninvited. While they do bring gifts, something important to hospitality, they cannot resist all of the food and end up helping themselves “to as many cheeses as [they] wanted to eat” (111). By eating Polyphemus’s food, Odysseus disobeys the rules of hospitality by not waiting for Polyphemus to return. While the cyclops defies the hospitality rules by eating several of his guests, he only does this in response to the crew’s violation of hospitality. Hospitality is considered one of the cornerstones of civilization. By disobeying hospitality before Polyphemus even has a chance to follow its rules, Odysseus acts even more uncivilized than the monster who lacks civilization.

Throughout The Odyssey, the audience often feels sympathy for Odysseus and his men: our idealistic minds want to root for the long lost king to make it home to his true love and his kingdom. His return home takes priority in our minds, causing us to root for the fall of anyone and anything that may come in between him and his happy ending. At a closer glance, however, it seems that Homer does not want us to blindly root for the human adventurers. It may be his intention to reveal the humanity and redeeming qualities of the so-called monsters in the epic. In Book 12, lines 251 to 256 of his epic, Homer demonstrates this point with the following simile, describing sea monster, Skylla, capturing six of Odysseus’ men out of their ship:

In Sophocles' play, Oedipus, the King, there are various instances where Oedipus tries to escape his destiny—enlightenment—only to discover the truth that he cannot. Similarly, in Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" the prisoner travails to understand and adjust to his newly visited environment. In both works, the men first had to realize their ignorance before they could begin to acquire knowledge and true understanding of the complexities of the human condition. Specifically, in Oedipus, the King, it was Oedipus' illusion of himself as a man unequaled in leadership whereas in "Allegory of the Cave" it was the prisoner's initial refutations of enlightenment being shown him until he realizes its intellectual, spiritual, and social significance.

1. Odysseus kept his true identity from Telemachus at first, because he did not want Eumaeus to know about his return. Since he would be likely be killed if the suitors found out about his return, he wanted as few people as possible to know about his homecoming. He did not tell his wife, Penelope, about his return, because one of the workers in the palace could share this information with the suitors.

Because of their curiosity, Odysseus and his men were lead to the cave of the cyclops, Polyphemus. As soon as the men entered the great cave they were not welcomed with the "god's courtesy" that they were expecting but with the harsh rudeness of the cyclops (260). Odysseus knew that the only way to defeat the menacing beast was to outsmart him because they "could never move his ponderous door slab" and would perish in the cave (295). So, odysseus deceived a intricate plan to blind the cyclops which then leads the cyclops to move the cave rock and "set up a howl for cyclopes" who lived near by (395-396). The cyclops thought by just using intimidation and brute force that he could over power the, in comparison, feeble men. Conversely, Odysseus knew that he could out smart the monster and defeat him. In this instance, Odysseus grew as a character because he thought about his actions and overcame a daunting task. This not only affected Odysseus but it allowed him to save his crew, further revealing that Odysseus' wisdom was much more powerful than the brute force of the cyclops. By making the cyclops odysseus' other, Homer was able to display how odysseus developed as a character and how he over came his weakness of acting without

He was often displayed with heroic qualities, facing each obstacle head on with little fear. However Odysseus was flawed, with emotional constraints of a human he often took risks just to please his pride, this lead to disasters that could have been avoided. An example of this occurred after blinding Polyphemus, Odysseus and his crew paddled off to sea but Odysseus could not leave without taunting his victory. He yelled out to the Cyclops, which made it even angrier. Polyphemus took a mountaintop and hurled it at Odysseus and his crew, nearly beaching them. In response to this Odysseus yelled, “Cyclops, if a mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider if cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!” (Page 13). Polyphemus then prayed to his father Poseidon dooming Odysseus to never be able to return home. Occasions like this showed Odysseus’s imperfections. But his bold fearless character was quite prevalent for an immense amount of the story. When talking to Polyphemus clever as he was he told him his name was nohbdy. As a result when the Cyclopes got stabbed in the eye he cried out, “nohbdy, nohbdy’s tricked me, nohbdy’s ruined me!” (Page 13) this did not alarm anyone to come and help him. By doing this Odysseus saved most of his crews lives and helped them return back to their ship safely, which showed a high amount of valor and also his

Odysseus exhibits numerous positive personality characteristics throughout the epic poem, The Odyssey, but his foremost attribute was his determination. Odysseus demonstrates his determination during each hardship that he is confronted with, including monsters, the death of comrades, destruction of his ships, and the wrath of the gods. Odysseus’ determination is driven by his desperate desire to reach Ithaca and be reunited with his family before dying; he demonstrates this while struggling to travel past Charýbdis and Scylla, after all of his crew members have been killed. ‘All through the night the wind did not relent… she [Charýbdis] drew my mast and keel to her deeps. But reaching up and toward the great fig tree, I [Odysseus] gripped

If I was Odysseus I would have stayed with Calypso on her island. Mainly because I would have to travel past Poseidon's domain and that would've been suicide because Poseidon hated Odysseus. Another reason why I wouldn't go back to Ithaca is because I would rather stay on an island of luxury. It would have been foolish to risk my life and put my shipmates in danger.

In Homer’s notable epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus, gifted with incredible physical strength and power, is traveling back home to the island of Ithaca. Over the course of his decade long journey across boundless and precarious waters, he learns that though, physically strong, he must use his mind and not rely solely on his physical attributes. He opposes many obstacles that he must overcome, the most important obstacle being temptation. His journey back to Ithaca is riddled with temptation that will test his physical, emotional, and mental capabilities. Through this journey he learns to overcome these weaknesses and temptations to make it home.