Sunday, February 17, 2008
In the book The Odyssey by the famous Greek poet Homer, an epic hero named Odysseus undergoes many challenges and faces incredible monsters. The characterization of Odysseus portrays him as a brave, determined, adventurous, wise man, who's only flaw is cockiness. His first trait, bravery, is displayed many times throughout the book. One example of this is when he, along with his men, stabs the Cyclops in it's one eye and flees from the island. Odysseus shows that he is determined because he never gives up on trying to reach Ithaca, his home land. He endures unbelievable hardships for twenty years, but never gives up on reaching home. His adventurous trait is quite obvious, for the entire poem relates his adventures, however horrible, on the Mediterranean Sea. Odysseus proves he is wise when he constructs an escape plan for him and his men from the island of the Cyclops. He tells them all to hold onto the bottom of the Cyclop's sheep, that way they are unseen as they exit the cave. However, this epic hero does have a flaw; cockiness. He endangers himself and his entire crew when he shouts his real name back at the Cyclops, after having safely escaped the island. Of course, the Cyclops, Poseidon's son, tells his father about what Odysseus and his men did to him, and Poseidon rages, using the sea as his weapon. Clearly, Odysseus has most of the traits an epic hero would have, but his one flaw could possibly lead to his ruin.