Odysseus becomes a much wiser man throughout his epic journey

by qwertw1 (student)

Joe Goodwin

Brett Griffin

Narratives 101

October 9, 2012

The Odyssey- Prompt #2

The Odyssey, written by Homer, is the story of Odysseus and his troubled journey back home to Ithaca from the Trojan War. Odysseus faces many challenging obstacles and terrible misfortunes during his long journey home. Each of these obstacles or misfortunes transforms Odysseus into a much wiser man from the beginning to the end. From the many obstacles and misfortunes he endured he learned not to boast too much and to respect and listen to the gods. This new found wisdom allows him to finally regain his place in his homeland of Ithaca.

One of the ways Odysseus learns from his mistakes and changes are in learning to be more humble and not bragging as much. Many times during Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca he uses his positive qualities as a hero to wiggle out of problematic situations but then he throws himself back into the trouble he just escaped because of his uncontrollable ego. It seems almost a necessity for Odysseus to boast about himself in the worst of times. Odysseus does this after his victory over the Cicones and after expertly escaping the Cyclops.

After Odysseus begins his journey home to Ithaca from Troy he and his men attack the land of the Cicones. Instead of leaving the land after their victory, Odysseus’ men convince him to stay and celebrate because they are starved. The Cicones rally a force together and attack Odysseus and his men. Upon the attack Odysseus and his men must flee but they lose many men because they stayed to celebrate the victory. Odysseus’ men cause the trouble they get in with the Cicones. Odysseus’ man could have left after the victory over the Cicones and suffered no further casualties. Odysseus learns from this experience. This incident begins his transformation into a more controlled and humble hero.

In Book 9 Odysseus lands on the island of the Cyclops. On his arrival to the island Odysseus and his men immediately find a cave filled with sheep and many crates of milk and cheese. Odysseus’ men advise Odysseus to take only some food and run, but he decides to linger in the cave. The inhabitant of the cave promptly returns and it is the Cyclops Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon. Polyphemus is not too violent to Odysseus and his men at first, but soon turns very hostile. Polyphemus devours two of Odysseus’s men just there in front of Odysseus and imprisons Odysseus and the rest of the men to eat later. Upon being captured by Polyphemus, Odysseus wants to kill him but he knows that Polyphemus is the only thing strong enough to move the boulder that keeps them trapped in the cave. Odysseus comes up with a plan to free himself and his men. The next day, while Polyphemus is with his herd of sheep outside the cave, Odysseus finds a large stick and hardens it in the fire. When Polyphemus returns, Odysseus gets Polyphemus drunk on wine from his ship. Then Polyphemus asks Odysseus what his name is. Odysseus replies to Polyphemus with “Nobody-that’s my name.” (9. 410). When Polyphemus passes out due to the wine, Odysseus and some of his crew stab Polyphemus in his eye with the flaming hot stick. Polyphemus leaps up and yells in pain. His neighbors rush to find out what the problem is, but they leave in confusion when Polyphemus says, “Nobody’s killing me now by fraud and not by force!” (9. 455). The next morning, Odysseus and his men escape from the cave, unseen by Polyphemus, by holding on to the bellies the sheep as they go outside to eat. When Odysseus and his men are safely out of the cave and on their ship Odysseus starts to taunt Polyphemus and declare his victory over the Cyclops. This is when his pride comes out and causes problems that should be avoided. Odysseus is so proud of himself, he tells Polyphemus his real name and where he lives. With this information Polyphemus calls to his father, Poseidon, “But at that he bellowed out to lord Poseidon, thrusting… and let him find a world of pain at home!”(9. 584-595). Upon hearing this Poseidon sends a storm to wreck Odysseus’ ship but Athena helps Odysseus evade it and lands him on the land of the Phaeacians. Odysseus’ bragging brings more hardship and obstacles to his journey home but this is a major scene that transforms Odysseus from the boasting idiot that has gotten himself in trouble to a humble man who is patient in the act of taking back his house on Ithaca. His new humble self remains unknown to the people of Ithaca until he takes back his house and is back in control of Ithaca.

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Through these two encounters during Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca Odysseus learns a lot about the malice of his pride. When he reaches his home of Ithaca he uses his new knowledge to learn of the state of his household without revealing his true identity. He does not boast of his conquests on his journey home. Instead he does not tell anyone that he is in fact Odysseus. This helps him ultimately kill the suitors and rescue his house and his family. Odysseus’ change in character from the beginning of the epic, when he would boast of his greatness without thinking of the ramifications, to the end of the epic, when he controls himself and expertly executes a plan to rescue his house, causes him to learn that his pride is hurtful to his goals in life. This change in character is one of the most important throughout the epic.

Another way Odysseus changes his character to become a better hero and help him reach his home of Ithaca is to pay close attention to the instructions of the gods, or he would have to pay a terrible price. He and his men do not heed the warnings of the gods a few times and these incidents cause major problems for the forward progress of their trip home. These times are when Odysseus receives the bag of winds from Aeolus and when Odysseus and his men land on the island of Hyperion and his men kill the cattle.

Odysseus and his men land at the island of Aeolus, the god of the winds. Odysseus and his men are given a parting gift, a gift that would have benefited them greatly if they would have listened to the warnings of Aeolus. Aeolus granted Odysseus with a bag filled with the bad winds that would keep Odysseus and his men from their home of Ithaca; Aeolus only leaves out the west wind, the wind that will push the ship towards Ithaca. Odysseus does not tell his men of the contents of the bag or the danger of opening it. After sailing away with the bag of winds Odysseus and his men are in eye’s sight of Ithaca, the land they have waited so long to see. Odysseus, tired from steering the ship the whole way, falls asleep. With Odysseus asleep some of the men, suspicious the bag contains treasures Odysseus is not sharing with the crew, open the bag creating a great storm that blows them all the way back to the land of Aeolus. When Aeolus witnesses this happen he is shocked. Aeolus believes that Odysseus is cursed by the gods and in fear banishes him and his men from the island. Aeolus had warned Odysseus of the dangers of opening the bag but Odysseus chose to not share his knowledge with his crew and in the end paid for his mistake. Although Odysseus is not the one failing to pay attention to the instructions of the god this time he does not warn his crew of the dangers as well. He is responsible for his crew and since he did not warn the crew he pays the price of a safe journey home. Odysseus learns from this though. When he finally makes it to Ithaca he follows the instructions he receives from Athena to remain unknown to the citizens of Ithaca. This helps him greatly in rescuing his household and family.

When Odysseus and his men land on the island of Hyperion, Odysseus forces the men to vow not to touch the cattle. He does this because Teiresias, the dead blind prophet, warned Odysseus of terrible consequences. After a vote Odysseus and his men plan to stay there for a night’s rest. It storms for a month and they can not leave the island in the storm. During this time all of their food runs out and the cattle they have vowed to not touch surround Odysseus and his men. Odysseus leaves to go pray to the gods and during his absence Eurylochos persuades the men to kill the biggest cattle there. To justify their actions they promise to build a big temple to Hyperion when they get back to Ithaca. The men kill the cow and begin cooking it. Odysseus soon returns to find the roasting cow and knows there is doom pending for them all. In his anger, Hyperion asks Zeus for revenge on Odysseus and his men. Zeus promises to destroy their ship and he does killing all but Odysseus in the act. This disobedience again does not come directly from Odysseus but from his men. They pay with their lives and Odysseus loses his men and his ship. Odysseus keeps learning the importance of paying attention to the warning of the gods. This experience helps him understand the importance of obeying the gods and he learns to do so before he reaches Ithaca. This change helps him greatly in achieving his goal of reclaiming his house from the suitors.

Odysseus learns that the gods must be respected and obeyed in order for any man to succeed in life. This holds true especially for him. His men disrespect the gods after Odysseus has been warned and they pay the price every time. In the beginning Odysseus does not understand the importance of respecting and obeying the gods but by the time he reaches his homeland of Ithaca he has learned it very well.

Odysseus uses what he has learned during his journey when he reaches his homeland of Ithaca to kill the suitors and reclaim his house. From his encounters on the island of the Cicones, and with Polyphemus, Odysseus learns that his boasting and bragging can be very malicious to his cause and create avoidable obstacles on his road to Ithaca. On Ithaca Odysseus never boasts to the suitors and is able to come into his own house without the suitors being aware of his true identity. Odysseus takes the cruel punishment of Antinous and the others without revealing his identity and observes the suitors who have invaded his house. Odysseus is able to identify who is loyal and who is not and take his revenge on the suitors without them ever knowing who he is until the final moment. Odysseus also learns to respect and listen carefully to the gods. When he lands on Aeaea, the island of Circe, he follows the instructions of Hermes so that he can conquer Circe and free all of his men. Odysseus very carefully follows the instructions Circe gave him by entering and exiting the Underworld without any misfortune and putting wax in all of the ears of his men to make it past the Sirens safely.

Odysseus becomes a much wiser man throughout his epic journey and is able to ultimately return safely back to his homeland of Ithaca to restore his name and rescue his household. Throughout Odysseus’ wanderings from Troy to Ithaca, Odysseus transforms into a humbler and more respectful man. The once majorly boastful Odysseus learns that his bragging can turn many people against him, and becomes a quieter man than he was when he left Troy.

Works Cited

Homer, Robert Fagles, and Bernard Knox. The Odyssey. New York: Viking, 1996. Print.

"The Odyssey Book 11 Summary." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <http://www.shmoop.com/odyssey/book-xi-summary.html>.