Odysseus
Heroes have always been characters unequivocal in nature: strong, selfless, humble, and generally awe-inspiring. The term has been brought up countless times in literature and human history, and yet the title is often not deserved. This, in particular, is the case with Odysseus, the main character from the epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer. Odysseus is a man who, through trickery and deceit, managed to make his way home in an arguably unheroic manner. Due to his selfishness, arrogance, and lack of loyalty, he is undeserving of the title.
One of his many shortcomings is his selfishness. A hero should not only think of himself, but rather of those around him as well. Right off the bat, Odysseus fails to do that. Before the …show more content…
This is another thing where Odysseus is lacking. This can be clearly seen when he first beds Circe, even though he is a married man. He gives into his physical desires and sleeps with her, even though she had tricked his men and could have potentially been dangerous. Interestingly enough, the Greeks did not see it as a shortcoming since adultery used to be no big deal. However, nowadays, Odysseus is clearly wrong and has little self-control. Not only does he sleep with her, but he also stays with her for a full year. This clearly shows his lack of loyalty. He has a wife, Penelope, waiting for him at home, fending off suitors, and yet he chooses the easy route and stays with a goddess whom he has slept with. This not only results in a one year delay in his own journey, but makes his wife suffer just as well. His mother also takes her own life out of grief since he has been away so long, and this could have possibly been prevented if he just hurried up and didn’t forget about them. This unloyalty is abominable, and shows that he doesn’t value other people. Finally, when he doesn’t tell his men about Scylla, he is once again being unloyal. These are the men that have fought and died for him, and are humans with their own lives. They deserve to have the loyalty that they have shown him. However, he made the decision to sacrifice their lives, pretending to care about them even when he knew he was leading them to their deaths. Fighting for him meant nothing to him, since he just threw their lives away to preserve his own. This trait effectively prevents him from being the hero that he was meant to
Heroes have always been characters unequivocal in nature: strong, selfless, humble, and generally awe-inspiring. The term has been brought up countless times in literature and human history, and yet the title is often not deserved. This, in particular, is the case with Odysseus, the main character from the epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer. Odysseus is a man who, through trickery and deceit, managed to make his way home in an arguably unheroic manner. Due to his selfishness, arrogance, and lack of loyalty, he is undeserving of the title.
One of his many shortcomings is his selfishness. A hero should not only think of himself, but rather of those around him as well. Right off the bat, Odysseus fails to do that. Before the …show more content…
This is another thing where Odysseus is lacking. This can be clearly seen when he first beds Circe, even though he is a married man. He gives into his physical desires and sleeps with her, even though she had tricked his men and could have potentially been dangerous. Interestingly enough, the Greeks did not see it as a shortcoming since adultery used to be no big deal. However, nowadays, Odysseus is clearly wrong and has little self-control. Not only does he sleep with her, but he also stays with her for a full year. This clearly shows his lack of loyalty. He has a wife, Penelope, waiting for him at home, fending off suitors, and yet he chooses the easy route and stays with a goddess whom he has slept with. This not only results in a one year delay in his own journey, but makes his wife suffer just as well. His mother also takes her own life out of grief since he has been away so long, and this could have possibly been prevented if he just hurried up and didn’t forget about them. This unloyalty is abominable, and shows that he doesn’t value other people. Finally, when he doesn’t tell his men about Scylla, he is once again being unloyal. These are the men that have fought and died for him, and are humans with their own lives. They deserve to have the loyalty that they have shown him. However, he made the decision to sacrifice their lives, pretending to care about them even when he knew he was leading them to their deaths. Fighting for him meant nothing to him, since he just threw their lives away to preserve his own. This trait effectively prevents him from being the hero that he was meant to