The Odyssey Essay

Many stories are passed down from generation to generation. A very popular story is the Odyssey. In this story Odysseus has to face many trials. In these trials he has to use some of his heroic characteristics, but some he chooses the wrong thing to do. The 3 main characteristics Odysseus shows in The Odyssey are that he is brave, smart, and arrogant.

Odysseus is really brave. He shows he is brave by trying to fight off the Scylla instead of running away and hiding. This is very brave of him because he knows that 6 men are going to die, but he tries to fight it anyway. Odysseus also didn't tell any of his men about the Scylla before they got to it. So he had to be brave and act like nothing is wrong and everything is normal. Another way Odysseus showed his bravery was when he went onto circe's island to save his men that she ahd turned into guinea pigs. He took a very big risk going onto her island to save his men because he could've been turned into a guinea pig also and then they never would've gotten home. He could have just left his men and gone home but once again he risks his life for them. So because of Odysseus most of his men lived longer than they would've.

Odysseus is very intelligent. He shows that he is intelligent by coming up with the Trojan Horse idea, which was to build a giant horse as a "gift" to the other side, and everyone hide inside it. When everyone fell asleep that night the whole army popped out of the horse and over took the city. Coming up with this idea made it so his side defeat the others in the war. It got them home faster than he would've gotten home if he didn't have any ideas to win the war at all. Another way Odysseus showed his intelligence was when they were stuck in the Cyclopes cave and he figured out a way for him and his men to escape. He got the Cyclopes drunk then poked him in the eye with a burning stake. Then he tied all his men underneath some of the sheep and they got out safely. This was a smart thing to do so that no more of his men died. Also, if they wouldn't have gotten out they would be stuck inside the cave forever. So because of Odysseus' intelligence, he got them all out of a lot of sticky situations.

One of Odysseus' bad characteristics is that he is very arrogant. In the beginning of the story after they won the Trojan War he tells the gods that he is the best and that he doesn't need them. This was not a very good idea because now the gods make it so he goes way off course. Also now he wont get home for even longer than he would just sailing home. Another way Odysseus is arrogant is when they escape from the Cyclopes island he turns around and yells back to the Cyclopes his real name and where he is from. This makes the Cyclopes really angry and so he asks his father, who happens to be Poseidon, to curse Odysseus that he won't get home for a very long time and that he will return home with nothing.