The Redemption of a Trickster

Odysseus is tested for his loyalty by Calypso and his crew members, who are victimized by the lotus plant. The protagonist practically

Odysseus is not only a brave, strong, and smart man, but he is also caring.

In the latter, however, some of his more ignoble traits are revealed: he is a braggart, he almost dishonorably uses poisoned arrows, and he shows conceit in his victory over the Cyclops. It is sometimes difficult to reconcile this man with the one who willingly gives up eternal life for the moral condition and the chance to return to his wife. Largely, the problems with understanding the moral position of Odysseus stem from his immense experience and cleverness, which make him at once mortal and fantastic.

Odysseus is described as a god-like man. He is cunning, sly, suave, strong, confident and self-possessed. He accomplishes many great events like that of defeating the Trojans, slaying the suitors and travelling to and back from Hades. When on the beach in Phaeacia he confidently “stalked as a mountain lion exultant in his power strides through wind and rain and his eyes blaze and he charges sheep or oxen or chases wild deer” , and when he sees Nausicaa “He launched in at once, endearing, sly and suave” . Athena found him to be “so winning, so worldly wise, so self possessed!” . Neither does he lack in ingenuity, King Nestor said that “No one...could hope to rival Odysseus, not for sheer cunning–at every twist of strategy he excelled us all” . Odysseus has a large and gallant reputation to fulfil, but when he first makes an appearance in the book he is crying on Calypso’s island. Crying is often seen as a weakness in a man, but this makes Odysseus more endearing as it reveals the labour of his love.

Odysseus displays many examples of fatal flaws throughout The Odyssey, however, his most prominent is his hubris. Odysseus is favored by the gods, and he appears to have a strength and intelligence that are larger than life. As one may guess, he can be a bit proud. But Odysseus’ confidence can lead to trouble at times, especially when he gets trapped in Polyphemus’ cave. During this trial of his 20 year journey, Odysseus gets trapped with some of his men in a Cyclopes’ cave. Crafty as he is, Odysseus manages to escape at the cost of a few nights and some of his crew. By escaping on the Cyclopes’ sheep, Odysseus and his men make a hasty retreat to their ship; but Odysseus, proud of defeating the Cyclopes by blinding him and claiming that his name is Nohbody, shouts back at the Cyclopes instead of making a silent escape. In his ranting, Odysseus shouts at the Cyclopes, “if ever a mortal man

After arriving in the land of the lotus eaters, Odysseus reveals his arrogance to both his crew and Polyphemus. As Odysseus shouted to Polyphemus, “I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, known to the world for every kind of craft - my fame has reached the skies” (212) instead, of showing his crew he is a magnificent leader he shows to be a horrible one. Odysseus

In the Homer’s, The Odyssey, Odysseus has a very resilient view of himself and is exceptionally selfish. The book starts out with Odysseus on an island where he is “held captive” for 7 years. He really is cheating on his wife with Calypso, a persuasive nymph. Eventually Athena is sent to fetch Odysseus and return him to his Kingdom where he has been missing for 20 years.

Throughout the epic poem Odysseus displays the quality arrogance through the way he acts when dealing with difficult situations harm his men. For instance,

Fraud, con-man, and hustler are all modern day terms to describe the age old character in African American literature known as the trickster. Today’s working definition of a trickster is one who swindles or plays tricks; often a mischievous figure in myth or folklore, who typically makes up for physical weakness through cunning and subversive humor. In African American literature the role of the trickster is a reoccurring theme, especially in the time period spanning from post Civil War to the Harlem Renaissance. During slavery and the years that followed the image of a trickster changed from a humorous amoral figure to a cunning and socially conscious icon. Charles W. Chesnutt is a primary example of an author, who faithful employs the

      There are many ways a person can be a Hero! Sometime it is the main character of the book, or sometime it could be an average person. In Golding’s book “Lord of the Flies”, Ralph is being portrayed as the leader and the hero. In the story the Lord of the Flies it’s about a group boys on a island after their plane is shot down. Since they are alone, they are free from the rules of civilization and society. This will lead to slowly descending into savagery. Soon the boys start having conflicts and they split into factions. One faction members are peacefully and work together to maintain order and achieve common goals. While the other faction are rebels

A hero is something that society has formed an idea about the characteristic it should posses from history. Through the stories told from the past a hero is developed through their qualities and characteristics they value. When one views a hero from a different culture they can form an opinion on what matters to that culture. One will notice that through all these different heroes that they all share common features. In ancient Hebrew culture Moses represents a hero and for ancient Greek culture Odysseus represents heroic figures.

The first example of these transgressions in Odysseus’ journey takes place on the island of the Lotus-eaters. The fruit of the lotus is a tasty and tricky fruit that can tangle the mind so that one forgets about home. While Odysseus’ crew devours the fruit, he chooses not to partake. The discipline that Odysseus shows in this book is unlike that of the rest of the epic. This demonstrates that Odysseus does possess self-control, and that his focus is on reaching home. Although he proves he has the determination to resist temptation, he later falters in the epic. His submission to temptation is a flaw he needs to learn how to control. Odysseus proves that he has the power to overcome; he just doesn’t always have the self-control to resist.

            Odysseus is no god.  He is man, and with that comes the mistakes and errors in all of us.  In many situations Odysseus' mortal side is seen.  An example of the power of Odysseus coinciding with his human flaws is his battle with Polyphemous the Cyclops (son of Poseidon).  After escaping the lure of the lotus-eaters and their island, Odysseus and his men find themselves on another island, rich with food and shelter.  After feasting, the men grab a large container of potent wine and go off exploring the new island.  Later in their search they stumble across a large cave filled with food.  Curious where the owner's whereabouts are the men encourage Odysseus to steal the food.  Odysseus (showing his hospitable and genuine character) decides to instead wait for the

Archetypes are used in literature to portray a certain meaning, that helps create a better and more meaningful story. The archetypes used can be embedded in the characters, symbols, or even rituals involved in a story. These archetypes can help give deeper meaning to the story by giving a underlying reference to concepts that are used over and over again in literature throughout history. When an author uses an archetype in his or her writing, they link it to many other stories that use that same archetype. Some do this for a reason, to give an underlying meaning, to symbolized something of importance, or even just to make their story more interesting. Many readers may not notice the underlying archetype, but sometimes the author uses them because he or she knows that the reader will.

"True redemption is when guilt leads to good" (Khaled Hosseini). Not one person on earth is completely free from wrongs. Humans have lapses in judgement that can hurt them and others. Some people believe you can be redeemed and can put your wrongs behind you, these people are kind and generous. Others believe you have one chance to get it right, these people are often angry and judgmental. There are also those who believe that someone can't be redeemed, but begin to realize that people can change. By looking at the Bishop, Javert, and Jean Valjean and their actions it becomes clear that Les Miserables is a book about redemption coming to those who did wrongs in their past and the behaviors of those who believe and don't believe.