Characters are similar to people in real life in that we all have good and bad qualities. A character without any real personality traits is boring and will not keep an audience hooked. Throughout literature there has been a focus on finding and exposing flaws of characters. A good character is one that has many flaws but many good traits to balance it out. However, how bad should a character be?
The myth of Odysseus and the cyclopes from The Odyssey gives insight on Odysseus’ character. While he is described as clever throughout the story, the episode with Polyphemus the cyclopes is the first time we see him in action. After the murder of his men by the cyclopes, Odysseus decides to take revenge. Knowing he would be a difficult opponent to beat, he decides to get Polyphemus drunk, after which he promptly stabs him in the eye. Homer reveals Odysseus’ thinking through action, rather than telling the audience of his unique way of conquering problems. The episode also shows the recklessness of Odysseus. He decides to check out the cave of Polyphemus and meet him simply because he wants to see what would happen. The consequences of the endeavour going wrong don’t even …show more content…
At first he seems like a normal hero. He is a champion of the trojan war simply trying to go back to his family. He mourns for the loss of his crew members and rescues them from the land of the Lotus-Eaters. However, Odysseus and his crew raid cities, kill all of the men and steal their women and food. He casually describes how he divided the women amongst his crew. The incident with the cyclopes could have been entirely avoided if Odysseus didn’t feel the need to blind him. A lot of the morally questionable things could be explained by the culture of ancient greece, but that doesn’t mean it’s not morally wrong. Reading about the things Odysseus and his crew did is very jarring in the 21st
The myth of Odysseus and the cyclopes from The Odyssey gives insight on Odysseus’ character. While he is described as clever throughout the story, the episode with Polyphemus the cyclopes is the first time we see him in action. After the murder of his men by the cyclopes, Odysseus decides to take revenge. Knowing he would be a difficult opponent to beat, he decides to get Polyphemus drunk, after which he promptly stabs him in the eye. Homer reveals Odysseus’ thinking through action, rather than telling the audience of his unique way of conquering problems. The episode also shows the recklessness of Odysseus. He decides to check out the cave of Polyphemus and meet him simply because he wants to see what would happen. The consequences of the endeavour going wrong don’t even …show more content…
At first he seems like a normal hero. He is a champion of the trojan war simply trying to go back to his family. He mourns for the loss of his crew members and rescues them from the land of the Lotus-Eaters. However, Odysseus and his crew raid cities, kill all of the men and steal their women and food. He casually describes how he divided the women amongst his crew. The incident with the cyclopes could have been entirely avoided if Odysseus didn’t feel the need to blind him. A lot of the morally questionable things could be explained by the culture of ancient greece, but that doesn’t mean it’s not morally wrong. Reading about the things Odysseus and his crew did is very jarring in the 21st