Odysseus Research Paper

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Kristian Rodriguez
Leadership of Man What does it mean for a man to be a leader? Does he have to lead his men into war or wear an overly decorated outfit proclaiming that he is better than everyone else? Does he have to have the words "Captain" engraved upon his forehead in order to gain respect? There is more to being a leader then having a fancy title and outside recognition. Since the beginning of time men have had to play the role of being the leader whether it was within the family, a sport, politics, work, or any other type of environment. They had character traits of a self-made, self-assured man and the personification of the standards and morals of his culture. They were supposed to be very intellectual and favored and respected and admired by all of mankind. There was no sign of weakness and irresponsibility within a man. A leader infuses a sense of positivity and directs others to reach the specified goal. A leader is a motivation for others and inspires individuals to aim high and attain that aim. Both Odysseus and George Pollard contained some of these qualities. They compared the same in these ways but they also had their differences when it came to how they handled the situations they were put in. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is favored by the immortal gods and admired by the mortals. Even the wrath of Poseidon does not keep him from reaching home. He is confident that he represents virtue even when others might not agree with it. He also lives through a series of conflicts and is a much more complicated character than one would expect to find in the stereotypical epic hero. Odysseus is very assertive when it comes to evaluating a situation and shows his dominance through challenges that were laid upon his journey. He has great sense of knowledge and he is also a convincing, persuasive speaker and is able to win over his audience with ease. For example when he first addresses Nausica on the island of Scheria his smooth, comforting approach quickly wins her trust. Even though Odysseus is a true epic hero and a leader he also has one major flaw and it can best be identified as hubris. Hubris can be defined as excessive pride or self-confidence. As an example, when Odysseus was warned not to hear the Sirens, he told his men that they should plug their ears. However, Odysseus selfishly wanted to hear the song and to be the only to have heard the singing and lived. Also, the slaughtering of Helios's cattle despite being cautioned not to shows that he has a hard time dealing with self-pride. His adoration of glory encourages him to reveal his identity to the Cyclops which then brings Poseidon’s wrath down upon him. As the story goes on and Odysseus is put into more situations he seems much more willing to temper his pride with patience. In the novel, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, Nathaniel Philbrick talks about a character named George Pollard. He was a great listener unlike Odysseus, who seemed to make all the decisions rather than hear the input from his fellow mates. His highest priority was that he cared about the
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