Odyssey vs. Finding Nemo

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.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus decides that him and his crew should stay and see who owns the cave. As Odysseus says, “I wanted to see the owner himself.”(p.77). If Odysseus would have just left none of his men would have been killed. This shows Odysseus is not a hero because he let his pride get the better of him and stayed in the cave. Also in the Odyssey, Odysseus expects food and gifts from almost everyone he meets. This is one of the reasons Polyphemus gets upset with Odysseus.

Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” True heroes are those who do something for others rather for themselves, Odysseus doesn’t exactly show this trait in The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Odysseus along with his men try to go back home to Ithaca but due to Odysseus nature, only he actually returns alive. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus proves he is not a hero because he is arrogant, secretive, and unfaithful; resulting for readers to believe that every action has an consequence.

The Lord of the Rings and Odyssey are two very weird stories in my opinion. The two stories include several similarities. The most noteworthy similarity of the two that were in common was the use of themes. Both included similar themes such as, life, death,power, brotherly love, myth, temptation, and journey.

Father and son relationships in The Odyssey are very important. This novel tells us the story of the hero Odysseus and his journey back home after the Trojan War. His complications start after the fight when he is on his way back. On his journey home, he encounters multiple challenging obstacles. However, Odysseus and the gods are determined to get him back home to his son. In The Odyssey by Homer, we see the importance of father and son relationships between Poseidon and his son Polyphemus and Odysseus and his son Telemachus and we can see which aspects of the relationship that the Greeks valued.

Heroes in real life have supernatural abilities. People also find characteristics of heroes in regular people, like parents, famous people, or just who have made a big impact in their life. The main character of The Odyssey, Odysseus, is shown as a hero because him and his story fit the epic hero cycle. However, just because he is an epic hero, means that he is automatically a hero. He shows us throughout the collection of books that he lacks humility and is unfaithful, proving that he is not a hero in any sense. In Homer’s The Odyssey Odysseus’s lack of boundaries throughout his voyage back to Ithaca show that he is not a true hero.

A hero is one who sets a goal in which takes bravery and dedication in order to achieve. The book The Odyssey written by Homer reveals a story of a true hero. The main character is a man named Odysseus who displays hero characteristics throughout the book. Odysseus is a hero because he returns home with a changed perspective which reflects his heroic abilities, such as his bravery and dedication to return home.

Odysseus is the genius tactician whom Everett is modeled after. In the movie O’ Brother Where Art Thou, Everett is extremely similar to Odysseus. Everett is comparably much smarter than those around him, like Odysseus, and believes in his own power. He is also surrounded by people who want to betray him or hurt him, and uses similar methods of not being caught. Also, they both fully believe they are better than and don't need others. Everett and Odysseus also both only want to get back to their wives while they still hold slight concern for their companions. Everett in the movie O’ Brother Where Art Thou is made to be like Odysseus because they are both intelligent, narcissistic and have the same goal.

The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.

In Narnia, a change in character could clearly be seen from the beginning to the end of the story. Each of the kids had learned their own lesson from their journey, and became better, wiser people from this journey. However, in The Odyssey, Odysseus did not show any change. He continued to make the same mistakes of getting his crew into trouble, and did not come home a changed man with different morals than he had left with. Furthermore, the children in Narnia did not want to return home from their journey, it had happened by accident. In The Odyssey, Odysseus had been working on returning home for 20 years and wants to return home as soon as possible. The differences between these two stories were made to differentiate between the different tales, instead of having each story be the exact same setup. These differences are what allow the Hero’s Journey to be used as a basis for each story, but still allow the stories to be different and have their own characteristics. Ultimately, the two pieces follow the same structure, but still have their own differences within this structure.

An epic is an extensive narrative poem celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero. There are several main characteristics that make up an epic as a literary genre. First is that, it contains an epic hero, its hero searches for immortality (but doesn't find it physically, only through fame), it delivers an historical message, it is a long poem that tells a story, and the gods or other supernatural beings are interested and involved. The Epic of Gilgamesh is classified as an epic because it fits all the characteristics of an epic as a literary genre.

This constant use of the loom is a motif. The use of motifs makes a piece of literature a classic because they create a sense of continuity and security, and they get the reader to react. The themes of revenge and hubris, and the use of motifs allow The Odyssey to be a timeless classic.

An epic is a long, episodic narrative poem that recounts the adventures of a historical or mystical hero. Episodic narratives have a larger story broken down into closely connected, but individual and separate sections. Some important qualities that distinguish an epic are unrealistic antagonists, the Gods and Goddesses playing important roles, and a story involving the re-establishment of a proper leader. “The Odyssey”, by Homer, is an epic because Odysseus (the hero) faces supernatural antagonists, the gods and goddesses play an important role, and Odysseus is being restored as a rightful leader.

Odysseus, Beowulf, Achilles, or maybe Gilgamesh all come to mind as archaic examples, but they are not the only works fit the criteria of an epic. Many modern day storylines such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Moana are based on the ideas of an epic legend. The phrase “epic” denotes a type of long, narrative poem, one that celebrates a heroic achievement and/or holds themes of cultural significance. There are six defining characteristics of an epic: an outstanding hero, a large or vast setting, an action requiring superhuman courage, supernatural forces, a versed writing style, and an omniscient and objective author. These legends are generally mythologized histories often of oral origin that are loosely based on the region's history. In the case of Moana, the story takes place in Ancient Polynesia where a terrible curse of the Demigod, Maui, reaches Moana’s island, Motunui; she goes on a quest to answer the ocean’s call to seek out Maui and make things right. Moana’s journey, in the form of an epic, involves her taking on a daring mission to save her people, and though she faces many tests along the way, with supernatural aid and other assists she successfully conquers this task.

Epic heroes are a type of familiar character to most readers, and they are also considered essential to early literature. Because they are so common, epic heroes are often dismissed as bland characters. However, epic heroes warrant a closer look, as they are able to show us the values of cultures vastly different from our own.