Courage, nobility, and bold deeds - the perfect package for a hero. Fictitious or not, a hero is usually defined by these statements, including two men, Odysseus and Louie Zamperini. In the epic poem by Homer called The Odyssey, a resilient and bold man named Odysseus faces a ten year journey filled with many obstacles. He constantly faces problems and has to always find a way to solve them. Not only does he have to stay out of trouble, but he also has to keep himself and his men alive in order to go back and regain his kingdom. While Odysseus has to worry about regaining his kingdom, Louie Zamperini has to worry about the Japanese planning to steal his beloved land: America. In WWII, Louie gets captured by the Japanese and is tortured
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In The Odyssey, Odysseus has to solve a problem in which the suitors were the main cause. They sought the hand of Penelope, Odysseus ' wife, forcing her to marry one of them and were plotting to kill Odysseus ' son, the future king. Odysseus decided to make a plan to get rid of the suitors. He said to his son," I came to this wild place...so that we might lay plans to kill our enemies," (920). He then kills the suitors, succeeding in his plan. Because of this courage and audacity, all that threatened the kingdom is now gone and Odysseus gains everything back. Unlike Odysseus, one courageous act by Louie is not enough to solve everything. Nevertheless, Louie still gained something by getting information about the captive network in Japan. Even though the two men were in a terrible condition, Louie and Harris wanted to get crucial, life threatening information from the Quack 's office to help their country. While Harris was on the lookout, Louie "...snatched the paper, stuck it under his shirt, and then crawled out," not attracting any attention from the guards,” (227). After obtaining this information, the paper was put back so no suspicion would be raised. On the thin line between life and death, Louie still made a bold effort to get information from the Japanese for his country. The courage of both Odysseus and Louie is one of the main qualities that a hero …show more content…
The two men consistently show acts of nobility throughout their stories. For example, as Odysseus and his crew reach the cave of Scylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis, the crew flew into a state of panic. Odysseus, seeing this, decided to “put heart into them,” (601). He encouragingly said, "Heads up, lads!” (609). Soon, the men bravely passed Scylla, oblivious to the men being snatched off of the deck. Without this nobility, most of the men may have not made it through Scylla. Because of Louie’s nobility, the other POWs made it through the winter. In the camp of Ofuna, many POWs were struggling to live through the barbarous conditions. Even though the Japanese had pounds and pounds of good food given to them for the POWs (Prisoner Of War), only a fist-sized portion of noxious food accompanied by maggots appeared on the prisoners’ plates. Louie will seize any opportunity available to him to get food for his emaciated body. He even went to Jimmie Sasaki, a Japanese man, to beg him for some help. Sasaki gave “an egg and a tangerine at the most, which Louie shared with other captives,” (207). Louie also risks his life by shaving and giving haircuts to Japanese soldiers, in exchange for a small ball of rice for him to share with his friends. If it were not for this nobility, some of the men held in the camp by the Japanese would have died. Odysseus and Louie may have accomplished many great feats,
In The Odyssey, Odysseus has to solve a problem in which the suitors were the main cause. They sought the hand of Penelope, Odysseus ' wife, forcing her to marry one of them and were plotting to kill Odysseus ' son, the future king. Odysseus decided to make a plan to get rid of the suitors. He said to his son," I came to this wild place...so that we might lay plans to kill our enemies," (920). He then kills the suitors, succeeding in his plan. Because of this courage and audacity, all that threatened the kingdom is now gone and Odysseus gains everything back. Unlike Odysseus, one courageous act by Louie is not enough to solve everything. Nevertheless, Louie still gained something by getting information about the captive network in Japan. Even though the two men were in a terrible condition, Louie and Harris wanted to get crucial, life threatening information from the Quack 's office to help their country. While Harris was on the lookout, Louie "...snatched the paper, stuck it under his shirt, and then crawled out," not attracting any attention from the guards,” (227). After obtaining this information, the paper was put back so no suspicion would be raised. On the thin line between life and death, Louie still made a bold effort to get information from the Japanese for his country. The courage of both Odysseus and Louie is one of the main qualities that a hero …show more content…
The two men consistently show acts of nobility throughout their stories. For example, as Odysseus and his crew reach the cave of Scylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis, the crew flew into a state of panic. Odysseus, seeing this, decided to “put heart into them,” (601). He encouragingly said, "Heads up, lads!” (609). Soon, the men bravely passed Scylla, oblivious to the men being snatched off of the deck. Without this nobility, most of the men may have not made it through Scylla. Because of Louie’s nobility, the other POWs made it through the winter. In the camp of Ofuna, many POWs were struggling to live through the barbarous conditions. Even though the Japanese had pounds and pounds of good food given to them for the POWs (Prisoner Of War), only a fist-sized portion of noxious food accompanied by maggots appeared on the prisoners’ plates. Louie will seize any opportunity available to him to get food for his emaciated body. He even went to Jimmie Sasaki, a Japanese man, to beg him for some help. Sasaki gave “an egg and a tangerine at the most, which Louie shared with other captives,” (207). Louie also risks his life by shaving and giving haircuts to Japanese soldiers, in exchange for a small ball of rice for him to share with his friends. If it were not for this nobility, some of the men held in the camp by the Japanese would have died. Odysseus and Louie may have accomplished many great feats,