Mortals are flawed beings, as such, even kind-hearted intentions can result in the deadliest of consequences. Society often aims to choose the most viable of opportunities, but rarely does a perfect plan come to fruition. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, many conflicts occur between Odysseus and his enemies, however the entirety of them have legitimate reasons. Odysseus injures Polyphemus out of necessity for the survival of his crew. Also, he kills the suitors as compensation for tarnishing his home. In a similar fashion, the servants and other such characters are killed for betraying Odysseus’s household and supporting the suitors. To begin, Odysseus drugs and blinds Polyphemus, not out of spite, but in order to ensure his crew’s survival. The cyclops could easily catch “two [men]
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He would make Odysseus’s men “his meal”(236) and kill all of them. Without Odysseus’s intervention, all of his men would have been slaughtered. His motive was just, as he was willing to fight a godlike creature in order to save his men. In this case, the violence was a critical part of Odysseus’s plan to escape. He was under pressure by the cyclops to make an immediate decision. As a result of his men being picked off, Odysseus had to blind Polyphemus to ensure that his men can escape. This shows the reader that Odysseus portrays the epic hero trait of being able to accomplish larger than life deeds. He was able to escape the habitat of an immortal being and still be cunning enough to injure him on his way out. In continuation, at his first opportunity, he could have killed Polyphemus as he went, “along his flank to stab him where the midriff holds the liver”(246). Instead, he prioritizes is crews escape because, “if [he] killed him [they] would perished there as well”(249). His intention was to escape with
He would make Odysseus’s men “his meal”(236) and kill all of them. Without Odysseus’s intervention, all of his men would have been slaughtered. His motive was just, as he was willing to fight a godlike creature in order to save his men. In this case, the violence was a critical part of Odysseus’s plan to escape. He was under pressure by the cyclops to make an immediate decision. As a result of his men being picked off, Odysseus had to blind Polyphemus to ensure that his men can escape. This shows the reader that Odysseus portrays the epic hero trait of being able to accomplish larger than life deeds. He was able to escape the habitat of an immortal being and still be cunning enough to injure him on his way out. In continuation, at his first opportunity, he could have killed Polyphemus as he went, “along his flank to stab him where the midriff holds the liver”(246). Instead, he prioritizes is crews escape because, “if [he] killed him [they] would perished there as well”(249). His intention was to escape with