Examples Of The Hero's Journey In The Odyssey

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The Journey of a True Hero A true hero is someone who is larger than life. They inspire others with their courage and fortitude, but they are not perfect. They have human flaws and make mistakes. Odysseus is one such hero. He is cunning and often wins renown for his guile and courage. However, Odysseus often makes terrible decisions that cost him years of hardship and the lives of those around him. The path of Odysseus as he travels home is a perfect example of the Hero’s Journey monomyth. A true hero must possess heroic qualities and go through the Separation, Initiation, and Return of the Hero’s Journey, and Odysseus from the Odyssey by Homer is an exemplar of a true hero. One of Odysseus’s greatest attributes is his guile. It makes him …show more content…
In the Separation, Odysseus uses his courage while fighting for Troy. Menelaus told Telemachus, “No Achaean labored hard as Odysseus labored or achieved as much”(127.119,120). Menelaus is saying that Odysseus had the fortitude to fight harder than anyone else. Odysseus’s courage allows him to end the war and begin his trip home. Odysseus travels to the land of the dead as one of his trials during the Initiation, and this shows his courage. Circe says Odysseus must go to the land of the dead, and Odysseus follows through with it. Odysseus tells his men that they go, “down to the House of Death” (248.621). The House of Death is a terrifying and dangerous place, and Odysseus gravely leads his men there in order to get home. This shows that Odysseus has the courage necessary to defeat the challenges that face him in the Initiation. In the Return, Odysseus uses the courage he has used before to vanquish the suitors that plague his household upon his Return. Odysseus tells Telemachus he, “will keep these brazen suitors crammed in the hall, for all their battle fury” (444.179-180). Odysseus decides to take the suitors head on, even though here is clearly and greatly outnumbered. This is the culmination of all the courage Odysseus has gained through his voyage, and he uses it to protect his family when he returns. This is also the abyss of Odysseus’s journey. The …show more content…
Odysseus may be brave and cunning, but he often only uses his tremendous skills to save himself from his own mistakes. Odysseus is lost for so long primarily because of his failure to please Poseidon. After Odysseus has dealt with the repercussions of his own mistakes, he comes home. When he arrives, he rids his home of the suitors. While killing the suitors may not be the right thing to do, Odysseus does it with the intention the redeem himself from his mistakes. People today can learn something from the redemption of Odysseus. When one fails, they should not give up. They should push past the failure and use what they have learned from it to make change and grow into a better person. Being a true hero not only means going through the Hero’s Journey, but also being a lesson and an example to
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