Odysseus

“The Odyssey” is one of literary pieces that make reading entertaining, engaging and absorbing. For hundreds of years, “The Odyssey” did not lose its power to amuse and engage the reader. Homer skillfully interrelates adventures, feelings and experiences of his characters. The vivid description and expressive language make the reading understandable to any age and social group. Even though the story is mythical, filled with ghosts, monsters and giants, the main themes can be interrelated with today’s issues. The subjects embedded in the text have deep and powerful meaning.

This paper will attempt to evaluate and analyze Odysseus, the main character of Homer’s “ Odyssey”. Odysseus is portrayed as clever, noble, loyal and yet not without human faults character. He is loyal to his people, clever and yet has human blemishes, such as curiosity and boastfulness. Homer uses Odysseus to convey several important themes to the reader, themes of bravery, leadership, loyalty, dedication, hospitality, and disguise.

Bravery is one of the best virtues displayed by Odysseus. If nothing else, Odysseus is brave. The evidence can be found throughout the book. One of the best examples of Odysseus’ courage is presented when Odysseus enc

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

He was is a land of savages, but he behaved as a civilized man. The first unconscious denial of his identity is traced to the cave of a Cyclop when he calls himself Noman. The fact that he is greatly outnumbered does not scare him. Once brave and fearful soldier, now helpless man ruled by whimsical goddess, Odysseus can only dream about his home. To some degree, his courage can be substantiated by Athena’s support.

Boastfulness is not one of the best qualities of Odysseus. However, he probably realizes that he can not fully depend on a favor of gods. This can be interpreted as a pick moment of this theme. As a result, Greeks lost six men from each ship in fight with Cicones and Odysseus keeps

losing his men throughout the story. Not only his physical appearance speaks of great intellect but his deeds as well. When he appeared in front of Nausicaa, naked “frightening sight, disfigured with brine”(288), she him as a good and intelligent man. Surprisingly, in the Book 12, Homer describes burial ceremony of one of Odysseus man. He wanted a world to know that this strong brave man was Odysseus. Odysseus did not just leave the body behind, although he certainly could.

Approximate Word count = 1425
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.