The Deadly Flaws of The Odyssey Is humanity really doomed to repeatedly suffer from its genuine flaws? Yes, beyond any doubt, humans are flawed whether it be to fall prey to lust or be overtaken by greed; However, that is what makes one human, and one’s weaknesses are a staple to one’s life. In Homer’s The Odyssey, he perfectly composes perils and interlaces many flaws that change the course and lives of the characters and their journeys, yet they are still human from the start to the end. This inevitably means they will have flaws. In The Odyssey, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, and his battle-hardened crew face many challenges and perils, all while Penelope has problems to deal with herself. Penelope is crowded by power hungry suitors who
…show more content…
First, the arrogant suitors act unpleasantly selfish and take advantage of Odysseus’ absence, and they plague the castle. Their only interests lie in extorting Odysseus’ vulnerable house. This can be vouched for when Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, is giving a speech to some of the men in Ithaca, and he disappointingly states, “They'd sooner die than approach her father’s house /…/ They infest our house day and night…” (Homer 2.56,59). This shows that the suitor’s selfish actions do not go unnoticed and it is undeniably causing harm to Odysseus’ threshold, for instance, the food supplies are dropping and the farm animals are being butchered day by day. This also shows that common flaws of humanity are prevalent in the everyday society of Ithaca because many characters specifically declare that the suitors are only acting on selfish thoughts, henceforth the complete dismissal of any common courtesy shown by the invading suitors. Second, Odysseus’ crew act unbelievably selfish and clearly disobey their captain, Odysseus’, orders to not kill the protected, sacred cattle which belonged to Helios, the sun god himself. Even though every person there, including Odysseus who did not partake in the cattle killing, obviously knew they would be punished by the almighty gods. The mutinous crew mate named Eurylochus was the start of it all, as he insisted, “So up with you …show more content…
First, Odysseus, instead of leaving the cyclops' cave with some supplies, waited to see if he could see the owner and try to use unspoken hospitality rules to get more supplies from the host. This can be seen as a crew mate hurriedly informs, “Let’s make away with the cheese, then come back - / hurry, drive the lambs and kids from the pens / to our swift ship, put out to sea at once!” However, Odysseus insists, “I would not give way” (9.153-156). This shows that there is greed in The Odyssey, as seen, when Odysseus, clearly already having enough supplies from the cave, insists to overstay their visit and try to extort more from the supply-filled cave. This also shows that there are common flaws that affect people in The Odyssey because even the king of Ithaca can not abstain from his humanly impulses and leave with what he has got. Second, Odysseus’ crew, after a tiresome journey, become very greedy and paranoid. Wanting more wealth, they mistake the secret airbag in custody of Odysseus as a treasure bag that Odysseus is keeping for himself. Unable to trust their captain’s word, they eagerly open the bag. Thus, sealing their fate to roam the seas for more years to come. One greedy crew mate demanded, “Hurry, let’s see what loot is in that sack, / how much gold and silver. Break it open - now!” (10.49-50). This proves that greed is
First, the arrogant suitors act unpleasantly selfish and take advantage of Odysseus’ absence, and they plague the castle. Their only interests lie in extorting Odysseus’ vulnerable house. This can be vouched for when Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, is giving a speech to some of the men in Ithaca, and he disappointingly states, “They'd sooner die than approach her father’s house /…/ They infest our house day and night…” (Homer 2.56,59). This shows that the suitor’s selfish actions do not go unnoticed and it is undeniably causing harm to Odysseus’ threshold, for instance, the food supplies are dropping and the farm animals are being butchered day by day. This also shows that common flaws of humanity are prevalent in the everyday society of Ithaca because many characters specifically declare that the suitors are only acting on selfish thoughts, henceforth the complete dismissal of any common courtesy shown by the invading suitors. Second, Odysseus’ crew act unbelievably selfish and clearly disobey their captain, Odysseus’, orders to not kill the protected, sacred cattle which belonged to Helios, the sun god himself. Even though every person there, including Odysseus who did not partake in the cattle killing, obviously knew they would be punished by the almighty gods. The mutinous crew mate named Eurylochus was the start of it all, as he insisted, “So up with you …show more content…
First, Odysseus, instead of leaving the cyclops' cave with some supplies, waited to see if he could see the owner and try to use unspoken hospitality rules to get more supplies from the host. This can be seen as a crew mate hurriedly informs, “Let’s make away with the cheese, then come back - / hurry, drive the lambs and kids from the pens / to our swift ship, put out to sea at once!” However, Odysseus insists, “I would not give way” (9.153-156). This shows that there is greed in The Odyssey, as seen, when Odysseus, clearly already having enough supplies from the cave, insists to overstay their visit and try to extort more from the supply-filled cave. This also shows that there are common flaws that affect people in The Odyssey because even the king of Ithaca can not abstain from his humanly impulses and leave with what he has got. Second, Odysseus’ crew, after a tiresome journey, become very greedy and paranoid. Wanting more wealth, they mistake the secret airbag in custody of Odysseus as a treasure bag that Odysseus is keeping for himself. Unable to trust their captain’s word, they eagerly open the bag. Thus, sealing their fate to roam the seas for more years to come. One greedy crew mate demanded, “Hurry, let’s see what loot is in that sack, / how much gold and silver. Break it open - now!” (10.49-50). This proves that greed is