The Pride Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

First of all, Odysseus was very selfish during their journey back to Ithaca. For example,“We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and we took some cheese to eat; then sat in silence around the embers, waiting”(Homer 219-222). If Odysseus took the cheese and left, his men would not have had to dealt with Polyphemus. He put himself before his men because he wanted a gift from the cave owner. Odysseus was also selfish when he sailed near the lands of Sirens.“Steer wide; keep well to seaward; plug your oarsmen’s ears with beeswax kneaded soft”(Homer 669-671). Although Circe told Odysseus to steer clear of the area, Odysseus wanted to be known as the man who survived a Siren’s song. He put his own men in danger just because he wanted to become famous. Odysseus was also very arrogant to think that he could get past the Sirens.

To illustrate this point, one might raise Odysseus’ cockiness into light, claiming that heroes are supposed to be more humble. In fact, Odysseus is so cocky that after escaping Polyphemus’ land he taunts the Cyclops and reveals himself as “Odysseus, raider of cities…Laertes’ son” (Homer 227). Instead of leaving it at him being “Nobody” he decides to divulge his own life story, thus giving Polyphemus a person to blame. If Odysseus wasn't so prideful and cocky Poseidon (Polyphemus' father) would’ve never known to curse him. In spite of this, Odysseus does prove himself. Heroes are not perfect. They don't swoop in and save the day, if anything, one of the best qualities of a hero is that they have the ability to learn from their past mistakes. Odysseus demonstrates this once he returns back home to Ithaca. At the moment, Odysseus is disguised as a beggar, and Melanthius is constantly mocking and abusing him. He’s even “lurched out with a heel and kicked [Odysseus’] hip” (Homer 361). In this scene, Odysseus could have revealed himself to Melanthius as the great Odysseus. On the contrary, “he steeled himself instead” deciding against beating “the scoundrel senseless” (Homer 362). Moreover, Odysseus redeems himself in displaying his ability to act

Odysseus angirly exclaims at the cyclops,” Zeus will avenge the unoffending guest”( The Cyclops 260-261). Odysseus gets full of courage and pride when calling out that he could have Zeus come after him not even thinking of the destruction that could come from saying that to the wrong person. Odysseus second detriment from anger is shown when he attacks the Cyclops when he did not have to stop and get stuck in the Cyclops cave. In the story leading up to The Cyclops episode people know that Odysseus and Poseidon do not get along so his anger was taken out on the Cyclops. Odysseus tells the Cyclops,” Poseidon Lord, who sets the earth atremble, broke it up on the rocks at your land’s end.”(273-274). If Poseidon did in fact crash his ship then there has to be a dislike between the to leading the readers to believe he is going to harm the Cyclops out of anger. Odysseus third and final detriment through evil thoughts in the episode “The Cyclops” is shown through his boastful attitude when he puts his crew at risk. Odysseus tries to exclaim again across the ocean,“Now when i cupped my hands I heard the crew in low voices protesting.”(492-493). Odysseus is being very boastful wanting the Cyclops to know who he was and how he was better not even considering the fact that he could get his whole crew

As he finally outsmarts the cyclops, Polyphemus, he taunts him, letting his pride and anger take over instead of his mind. The narrator recounts, “I called back with another burst of anger, ‘Cyclops — if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so —say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!’” (9. 558-562). Odysseus has the chance to arrive home safely, but instead his emotion leads him to lash out. This results in Poseidon's fury, which is easily avoided. This prolongs his journey by multiple years, which draws out his journey to go back to his family. Once Odysseus finally arrives home, Athena disguises him as a beggar. Not being able to control his anger, when another tramp insults him, they start fighting which he could have abstained from doing. The epic states, “Tongue-lashing each other, tempers flaring” (18. 39). Odysseus could have easily stayed quiet and accepted his inhumane treatment, and yet his emotions take control and he starts a fight. Odysseus reveals himself as a greater threat than he wants them to know, and this causes the suitors to have mass amounts of anger and hatred towards the beggar. With the suitors multiplying fury, Odysseus is withheld of precious time he needed to fulfill his roles as a king again. An exceptionally vast consequence for Odysseus foolhardy actions

The first point to support this is that he is reckless and never thinks of the consequences his actions can have. After winning the battle of Troy he yells out that he does not need them. This is reckless especially when knowing how the gods react to minor indiscretions. Odysseus is also shown to be reckless in book nine when they reach the cyclops and when they are escaping the cyclops. When finding the land that the cyclops reside on his crew wants to leave but he wants to try and gain the hospitality of the people of the island. When escaping after blinding Polyphemus and getting to the safety of his ship Odysseus decides to taunt the blinded cyclops. He ends up saying who he is which makes the cyclops angry. He decides to pray to Poseidon thus making the journey home even worse for Odysseus. The last example of Odysseus being reckless is when they leave Circe in book 12 and go through the Sirens. He had everyone in his crew put beeswax in their ears and the only precaution he does for himself is being tied to a mast. One tiny slip up when his crew was tying him to the mast and

Odysseus commonly lets his pride or emotions get in the way of his thinking, resulting in more harm coming to him or his crew. This is shown in the book when Odysseus is leaving Polyphemus’ cave on page 14 when Odysseus exclaims “if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye”. This eventually results in Poseidon, Polyphemus’s dad, hating him and making his trip more difficult. None of what Odysseus said was necessary and his actions were influenced negatively by his pride. Odysseus is also blinded by his emotions when he arrives back from his journey to find multiple men trying to marry his wife, Penelope. After Odysseus kills Antinous, one of the other men says “Antinous was the ringleader, he whipped us on to do these things. He cared less for his marriage than for the power Kronion has denied him as the King of Ithaca”. This quote shows Antinous was forcing the men into the marriage, but Odysseus doesn’t care, he was filled with rage and killed all the suitors. These actions by Odysseus were not necessary and were simply acts of

Hero’s are eminent and cherished by the general public; they use their abilities to help others. A hero can be defined as many different kinds of people. A doctor who saved someone’s life for example, could be their hero. A hero sticks out to people, be that in a good way or a bad way. In Homer’s, “The Odyssey,” Odysseus is a character portrayed as a hero through his bravery, wisdom, and loyalty.

One of Odysseus’ heroic qualities is intelligence; his wit is what defines him as a hero. He demonstrates this characteristic when he has an encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. For Odysseus and his men to escape from Polyphemus’ cave, he comes up with a foolproof plan that will protect them from anything the Cyclops throws their way. He will first get Polyphemus drunk, as he states, “My moment was at hand, and I went forward / holding an ivy bowl of my dark drink, / looking up, saying: / ‘Cyclops, try some wine,” (246-248). After this part of the plan is complete, Odysseus stabs Polyphemus in his one eye, blinding him.

The Virtue of Odysseus We are a species of black and white. We take pleasure in sorting people into definite categories with little room for variation. In the arena of virtue, we are no different. Even though virtue may be difficult to define, people are considered either virtuous or unvirtuous depending on the trends of their actions.

Odysseus from “ The Odyssey” is a hero Heroes, when you think of heroes you think of strong noble men that fight the bad guys; but what really is a hero? In real definition of a hero from the dictionary is “A person who is admired is idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” In Homer’s “The Odyssey” the main character is Odysseus. Odysseus was a king of Ithaca who was also a Greek leader in the Trojan War.

One mortal man going under a lot of change can be the savior of the world. Odysseus goes through a lot of change throughout these adventures. He has many attributes that make him the dynamic character he is. His self control is key in the book and gets him what he needs without having to go out of his way. The charming side of him saves many people throughout the book and gets a few girls loving him.

Vanquishing enemies. Laser visions. Leaping tall buildings. Even though odysseus in Homer's epic The Odyssey has none of these abilities to the Greeks he exhibits heroic characteristic. Odysseus has strengths, weaknesses, and behavior flaws.

However, after this perilous and disgraceful encounter, Odysseus once more feels the need to strengthen his sense of pride by giving away his true name, his father’s name, and his homeland to Polyphemus. This is an incredibly poor decision for Odysseus considering that Polyphemus is the son of Poseidon, Odysseus’ archenemy. By doing this, Odysseus has insensibly endangered his crew, ship, and even family, which proves that he is a self-absorbed, problem-causing leader. After all, isn’t the job of a hero to protect and save his people, not jeopardize their safety? In addition, Odysseus once more shows his unbelieveable amount of pride when he blames the gods for “letting him fall asleep” on the island of Thrinacia. Instead of accepting his own fault, Odysseus puts the blame on the gods’ shoulders, proving not only that he is an irresponsible leader, but also that he views himself as too perfect to have done wrong. Only an egotistic, self-centered individual would do something this low. Finally, Odysseus’ weak sense of heroism is shown through his recurring unloyalty. Odysseus first shows

In the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner, struggled with homelessness for nearly a year as a result of a combination of bad luck and fate. Without either a home or a job, Chris Gardner remains undeterred. Rather than using it as an opportunity to give up, he perseveres. His pursuit for a better life for his son is what kept him driven and focused. This idea of seeking out one’s goals and dreaming big has been around for centuries.

Throughout his journey, Odysseus involves himself in many conflicts just to achieve glory. Although in hindsight most of his troubles could have been easily avoided. Odysseus could have avoided trouble if he had kept quiet after his ordeal with the cyclops. In allowing his pride to get the better of him Odysseus sealed his fate. If he had refrained from telling the cyclops who he was perhaps his story would have been less tragic. One of Odysseus’ major flaw is his pride. He just had to have the cyclops know. If he hadn’t given up the name to Polyphemus, in his vengeance would not have called out to Poseidon his father. Odysseus’ pride and need of glory show up many times in the epic. For instance, after he