Odysseus: A True Epic Hero

Webster’s Dictionary describes a journey as “going from one place to another.” While I believe that this is a basic way to explain the context of the word, "a journey" could mean a lot of different things depending on the way it is being used. To me, journeys are adventures that people partake in to provide clear understandings and encouragement for themselves. Journeys could be in the physical, mental and/or spiritual sense. Not all journeys focus on one of the three, sometimes they could focus on all three. The thing that all journeys have in common are the lessons that they teach us. This, in my opinion, is the real reason why people go on these journeys. While journeys cannot guarantee a change within a person, I personally believe that …show more content…
While the two may correlate at times, adventures have a different objective to themselves. An adventure usually includes lots of action or fun, and while journeys can be fun, they are not always going to be that way. The purpose of a journey is to ultimately teach you something in the end. For example, let’s use Odysseus’ journey. The character Odysseus embodies what a true epic hero is. While this character may be smart, his curiosity is what sometimes gets the best of him. His story seems like that of an adventure, however it is actually a journey. In the book Odysseus says, “but if it is decided that he shall see his own people, and come home to his strong-founded house and to his own country, let him come late, in bad case, with the loss of all his companions, in someone else’s ship, and find troubles in his household.” ‘So he spoke in prayer, and the dark-haired god heard him.’” This quote is a perfect example of the difference between what fate and free will describes. Odysseus defeated the Cyclops, but his pride will not allow him to just accept his victory and move on. This is his complex. Victory motivates this hero. Everything he does is to make sure he can return to Ithaca and sometimes he has to endure multiple battles; mentally and/or physically. However, even though he is still stubborn, he does grow with each of his wanderings. His journey teaches him specific lessons that helps the readers to see …show more content…
The thought process of a living person is a little different. When people decide that they what to go on a journey, they always have a goal in mind, whether they realize it at the time, or not. I believe that all humans have experienced one of the three types of journeys: spiritual, physical and mental. Any one of the three types have their own stories behind them and these stories serve as the building blocks for the countenance or beginning of a journey. However, the journeys that we have to go on are not always ones that we choose for ourselves. In the last year my grandfather was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC). This is a type of cancer that is found in the kidneys. He has known since last year that his condition was worsening, but he still kept his head held high and went through life the exact same way. He went through his physical journey of pain and I could tell it was hurting him. My grandfather was the type of man to need assistance drastically, but if asked would always reply with, “I’m fine. I’m fine.” While watching him suffer in pain hurt me a lot, it helped to show me that while things may be gloomy and sad, there is always a rainbow on the other side. His death brought together a family which has been separated for a long time and while I am not happy about his death, I am happy about what it lead to. After his