Ulysses Condition In The Odyssey

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In Homer’s poem, the Odyssey, Odysseus faces a great deal of obstacles on his voyage home from the Trojan War. One such obstacle was the song of the Sirens, which was so enchanting that it lured passing sailors to shipwreck on their island. The enchantress Circe advised Odysseus and his men to deafen the power of the Sirens by plugging their ears with beeswax, but Odysseus still wanted to hear the mythical voice of the Sirens. Although the rest of the crew plugged their ears, Odysseus did not. Instead, he ordered his men to tie him to the mast of the ship and no matter how much he begged and pleaded, to not to let him go. Thus, Odysseus bound himself to the Ulysses Contract, named after his Romanized name, Ulysses. This contract is an agreement …show more content…
Sometimes, it might be better to break the Ulysses contract. For example, when people enlist in the army, they sign a type of Ulysses contract, binding them to service. Sometime during their service or when they return home, they can develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This affects their mental state of mind, making them believe they are on the battlefield, even if they are not. As a result, some soldiers act irrationally or erroneously in certain situations. This can earn them a dishonorable discharge from the military. But this makes soldiers feel cheated out of the recognition and respect that they feel they deserve. Odysseus’s men also felt like this when they were about to return home with nothing to show for their war efforts in Troy, while Odysseus received many gifts and even a bag of wind. The Ulysses contract that soldiers agree to when they enlist “binds” them in the army for a certain amount of time, but military officials are forced to break this contract when they see soldiers acting irresponsibly, possibly due to PTSD. If they don’t, they could threaten the lives of other soldiers and the success of military operations. Although this might be a good argument to break the Ulysses contract, following through with the contract actually allows soldiers to better combatants and eliminates the need to dishonorably discharge soldiers. PTSD is a big problem to veterans, but it really begins to surface once they return home; it has little effect in actual combat. Thinking they are on the battlefield when they actually are on the battlefield removes uncertainty from a soldier’s mind, making them much more effective in combat. Furthermore, if soldiers are not dishonorably discharged, they don’t lose their fame, their recognition, or their kleos. It ends up the case where not breaking the Ulysses contract is a win-win
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