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Why Is Odysseus A Hero

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A hero, a person who is admired because of they complete goals, they are clever thinkers and possess various noble qualities. As the text begins readers are informed that the story is a flashback of his long journey back to his home of Ithaca to King Alcinous. The main character Odyssey is working to return home after 20 years of traveling to islands, battling monsters, and facing challenges no one could think of just to realize he had to lose more than he received. In the Epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus undergoes the hero’s journey, but, because he makes poor decisions that cause all of his shipmates death, chooses needlessly complex paths to return home, and provokes innocent creatures; therefore, he is not a hero. Odysseus was “called to the adventure” at the end of the Trojan War when he was required to lead the armies in battle. Even though he could have just lead the armies and returned home Odysseus decided to take different paths. Throughout the story, Odysseus …show more content…

Others feel as if through Odysseus is a hero because he stayed loyal and faithful to his family. These accusations are far from true despite his loyalty to his crew his actions also caused them all to die, not to mention the fact that he cheated on his wife while he was on Circe's island as well as Calypso’s island. The fact that he can cheat on his wife without guilt shows that he is extremely selfish he thinks about only himself, similar to when he decided to take an unnecessary trip to discover the unknown. Despite the fact that he is able to come up with brilliant plans at an instant he does not think about the bigger picture. Since he continuously makes these instinctive decisions, Odysseus is the direct opposite of what is a hero is thought to be. Instead of saving lives, he jeopardizes them which is the main reason why he should not be classified as a

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