Overcoming Obstacles In Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

In The Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus must make it back to his home in Ithaca after the battle of Troy. Along his journey, he encounters obstacles that require the upmost perseverance and willpower to survive. Some of these obstacles include a giant cyclops who wants to eat him, lotus-eating peoples that drug his crew, violent storms that

In The Odyssey, Circe's character traits of intelligence and dominance over a situation change Odysseus’ way of thinking and the way he views his future adventures and endeavours. Interestingly, Circe, attempting to help Odysseus survive his future, advises him on how to proceed: “...there is a choice of two courses, and I will not lay down for you which to take; use your own judgement” (Homer 150). The reader sees Circe use her wisdom and begins to understand the overall instincts of Circe. This results in the changing of the way Odysseus acts in the future and alters the way the reader feels about the novel as Circe does not tell Odysseus which choice to make. In addition Circe,

Here he was willing to walk straight into danger and willing to sacrifice himself for his crew. Yes he had to give in to her desires and bed Circe, but this was all within the grand scheme of things, to show her that she could not do to him what she had done to his men, again with some help from the gods. Also, in exchange for him agreeing to sleep with her, she had to agree to undo the spell from his men. Mission accomplished, and they journeyed on, with the help of Circe even. However, For all of his great heroic feats, his accomplishments on the battlefield and his cunning ways, and his willingness to put himself in arms way to save his men, time and time again Odysseus showed us how earthly and human he was by the many temptation to which he succumbed. In book 12, prior to his departure from the island of Circe, Odysseus was warned of the Sirens and was told that he nor his men should allow themselves to listen to the song of the Sirens. However, Circe gave him an alternative so that he could listen to the song without succumbing to its effects. "but if you yourself have a mind to listen, have them bind you hand and foot upright in the mast-step and tie the end of the rope to the mast. then you can enjoy the song of the Sirens" (468). Upon hearing this Odysseus could not help himself, he had to exercise the option and heed to the temptation of hearing the songs of the Sirens.

Everyone faces struggles at some point in their life, no matter if you are a hero from an old mythical story or a modern day person living in Iowa. Even though the struggles faced by Odysseus and me are different, they have a common overlapping theme that ties them together. Which causes them in turn to be in fact very comparable. Both Odysseus and I face obstacles such as temptation, laziness, and distraction. Although his obstacles come from his want to go back home to Ithaca, mine are from my desire to live a happy and healthy lifestyle.

According to both Greek and Homeric values humans should have reason, but very often they express passion, which leads to contradictory emotions and obstacles in life. Odysseus, a man with a complex life, struggles with many internal, personal contradictions that have a collective impact on his decisions throughout his existence. The most important contradictions Odysseus faces are loyalty and betrayal; humility and hubris; and wisdom and folly,

Every person has both strengths and shortcomings. In Homer’s classic, the Odyssey, the protagonist, Odysseus from the Greek island of Ithaca, is forced to find his way home from the Trojan war. Throughout the span of this epic poem Odysseus uses his incredible wit and ingenuity to get out of situations mainly caused by his own weaknesses. However, it is also noticeable that Odysseus is changing, and eventually with the help of Athena he moderates his audacious and glory seeking ways. Throughout the Odyssey it is evident how the vitalities and vulnerabilities of Odysseus and his allies interplay with the strengths and flaws of the hero’s enemies in conflicts. There are two main conflicts to observe, the conflict between Odysseus and Poseidon and his son the Cyclops, as well as the conflict with Odysseus and Telemachus against Penelope’s suitors, which occurs later in the story.

Continuing with books 9-17, Homer directly characterizes Odysseus when he dares to change his outside image. Just as if one judges a book by the cover, he judges Odysseus by the way he appeared. One would wrongly assume he masks his emotions with confidence, rather than seeing his true character. After looking deeper within the great Odysseus, one discovers more than just a skeleton made of purely rules and values. In a pressing situation, he reacts and presents his emotions in a positive manner, as a repercussion he earned cooperation from his crew. A hero, always on his toes, sets an example. While at the island inhibited by many cyclopes he outwits and makes their race look inferior. Using intelligence to fight against the mighty cyclops, Polyphemus, our hero defeated the beast. “Nobody-that’s my name. Nobody-so my mother and father call me, all my friends.” (Homer 9.410) Setting mental limits for himself, Odysseus knows his strengths, which displays self-control and intellect. A conceited hero might leave their crew to die, and just save themselves. Odysseus, on the other hand, stuck with them through tough times. Assurance still exists when each crew member dies. For any to survive, the trust between shipmates and captain must remain unbreakable. Sophistication rubs off onto crew members and they do not get in the way, but rather aids him in his discovery. After sailing with

Odysseus and people in society today learn to only take credit for what they are responsible for. Odysseus demonstrates this after defeating many people when he explains that “men hold [him] formidable for peace and war: this fame has gone abroad to the sky’s rim” (896). Odysseus later regrets saying this because in reality, the gods helped him and he hasn’t gave them any praise. This behaviour causes the gods to be very mad at Odysseus and they promise that he will have a very difficult time getting back to Ithaca. Another example is when Circe, a goddess, warns Odysseus and gives him advice about how to journey past the sea monsters. When Odysseus is traveling across the sea he commands, “heads up, lads! We must obey the orders as I give

Along the journey home, Odysseus and his men are presented with many situations that act as tests of their personal character and self-control, which they ultimately fail. The men lack enough wisdom and judgment to see how their actions could lead to destruction for themselves and others. Comparatively, Odysseus becomes a prime example of what qualities to possess to avoid these mistakes. Through his self-discipline and prudence, Odysseus can realize how certain actions may cause harm and ultimately refrains from bringing trouble upon himself and his men when tempted by revelry, escape, and hunger. But sadly, for Odysseus, “he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove” (Od.1.7).

Excursion of Odysseus The Great Heroes as depicted in literature, often undertake the most difficult tasks and place themselves in mortal danger in order to bring back, for themselves. In the Odyssey by Homer same thing happen to Odysseus. I am going to compare the Odysseus journey to Hero journey. The Hero journey is used as a framework for both Odysseus’ physical and mental journeys.

Another journey that was taken in the literary works I read was one by the speaker or narrator in Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson. The speaker is taking the journey of death to her gravesite. Even though Odysseus did not experience death himself in the novel, he saw a lot of death and experienced many close calls. Just like the speaker was not prepared for death, Odysseus was not prepared in for many of his obstacles and had to come up with solutions very fast. Both characters go along with whatever is coming their way and accept their

In the ultimate story of love and hate one man was torn between two lives as he watched the shores of the mighty world get swept away in a swift act of fate.  With only destiny on his side to return home, he pushed on and tried to leave the life he had lived for so long.  In order to achieve his destiny Odysseus had to first achieve loyalty, overcome temptation, and take revenge upon his enemies.  Plagued by constant attacks of self-doubt and reinforced by guile, Odysseus conquered what became to be known as a one of the greatest odyssey’s ever written.

For instance, in the stories, there are a number of times where Odysseus has to resist his temptations. In fact, throughout books, Odysseus had to refrain from doing things he wanted to do. For example, he “has shown great restraint and discretion in his dealings with [Nausicaa] and in his approach to the court” (Public.Istate). Today, it’s important for people to learn how to stop themselves from following their desire, since there are many addictive temptations people have and no matter how badly they want to follow their desire, it is crucial that they refrain from it in order to go around potentially bad situations. Lastly, it shows the theme of overcoming hard obstacles. For Odysseus, he had to overcome many obstacles “including angry or deceitful gods and treacherous monsters” (Boa). Overall, several themes can be found in The Odyssey and they can be used in today’s modern life.

Ironically, none of his friends rescue him because Polyphemus says that Nobody is attacking him, and they think that nobody is hurting him and figure that Polyphemus’s suffering is from the gods so they cannot do anything to help him. By lying about his name, Odysseus uses his guile to keep his crew and himself safe from the perilous Cyclops as he suffers a painful injury. It is clear that Odysseus has a distinctive feature of making up creative lies, especially when protecting his crew. Here, Odysseus is able to trick the powerful Cyclops, Polyphemus, through his name, which later guarantees him safety of any of Polyphemus’s friends. Through this lie Odysseus, shows his heroic side by doing whatever it takes to protect himself, and most importantly his crew. A true hero always cares about their crew and finds any way to keep them safe. Odysseus’s clever and intellectual character keeps his men protected, which demonstrates his heroic abilities. Still stuck in Polyphemus’s cave, Odysseus comes up with a plan on how to escape the cave and return back to his ship. Odysseus’s plan is to attach each of his men with one of Polyphemus’s sheep by “twisting willow-twigs”(9.477) to them. When it

Drastic trials have drastic outcomes on those who persevere through them. One of the greatest trials in Homer’s Odyssey involves a hero, Odysseus, and his journey home. He is taken to the limit of his skill and expertise facing trials that immensely surpass his mortal imagination. Journeying home, Odysseus faces monsters, the god’s rage, and his own pride and his true identity was forged through these trials; he came back to his land as a transformed person who has a new identity.