Greatness In The Odyssey, Beowulf, And Unbroken

Anyone can be great. Life offers many different paths in which people can take on the road to achieving greatness. Greatness gives people the power to have a large impact on certain situations. In the stories the Odyssey, Beowulf, and Unbroken, the authors illustrate the character's greatness and how they influenced the people around them for the greater good. The characters all posses different traits that made them great. Most of these traits shined the brightest when they were put through some kind of test. People are born with certain qualities of greatness, but only through development and life experiences can they achieve greatness. Greatness cannot be encompassed in a simple definition because it has no set standard. The idea of greatness has unlimited possibilities and can exist in so many different areas. People recognize when a great act or thing has been done. Furthermore, the person doing this act gains the
For Louis Zamperini, it was his determination. For Beowulf, it was his great strength in fighting. For Odysseus, it was his leadership and his adventurous spirit. All these characters have different traits that make them great. Most of their individual traits exhibit themselves during times of great stress or difficulty. For example, Odysseus' great leadership shined when he was at his worst. During his journey home he had to inspire his men who were in tough times too with these words, "My friends we have not been ignorant of the evils before this, and surely this evil is no worse..." (Homer p 240, 205-206). This quote speaks to his leadership role on the ship and how he could lift up those around him even though he was in dark place himself. His greatness was shown through his leadership at a very troublesome time. All of these characters unique traits stemmed from somewhere and saved them during a time of problematic