In The Next Land Odysseus Character Traits

Odysseus. A name known by some as a glorious hero and known by others as a trickster who uses intricate schemes. During the story of The “Cyclops”, and many stories before it, Odysseus goes on a many adventures and creates many sticky situations for himself in which he finds ways to gets out of. “In the next land [what] we found were Cyclopes, giants, louts, without a law to bless them” (1050). Odysseus knows that the cavemen are uncouth and aggressive, yet he chooses to enter the cave- endangering himself and his men. A man who jeopardizes his crew's safety and does many other tricks, is a man who is not a true ideal. A true hero saves others. He does not look to start trouble but rather he finds trouble that is already happening and he fixes it. On page 1050, “A prodigious man… [is] remote from all companions, knowing none but savage ways… he
[seems] rather a shaggy mountain reared in solitude.” The giant does not go start disorder and unrest. He stays in his cave and farms in his field alone. Because the cyclops is not causing trouble, Odysseus has no right to go and mess up Polyphemus’s life just as he has no right to start difficulty or stay in the cave.
Odysseus's men know that it is not a good idea to stay in the cave for very long. “My men came pressing round me, pleading: ‘Why not take the cheeses, get them stowed, come back, throw open all the pens, and make a run for it?’” (1051). They, and Odysseus, know that to be in the giant’s dwelling would prompt a disaster. As the careless man he is, Odysseus endangers his crew by not listening to them and choosing to stay in the cave. Also, Odysseus says he wishes to see what the cave man had to offer (1051); Odysseus stays in the cave and risks his men just to receive a offering from the cyclops. When someone thinks of a paragon, one would not think of a man who does a courageous act just to be rewarded. Laertes’ son is selfish and un-hero like when he waits for a gift; he also creates danger for those around him.
Whilst scrutinizing any hero, it can be seen that they fight the monster, villain, or evil- head on.
They do not trick it or anything. The fight is fair and just; everyone has a chance. When Odysseus “fights” Polyphemus he does not give the cyclops any chance. “[S]leep took him like any creature. Drunk, hiccuping, he dribbled streams of liquor and bits of men” (1056). Odysseus tricks the giant into drinking the nectar and ambrosia so he would fall asleep. To add, Odysseus also tricks Polyphemus after he is blinded. “Blinded, and sick with pain from his head wound, the master stroked each ram, then let it pass, but my men riding on the pectoral fleece the giants blind hands blundering never found” (1059). When the cyclops is at his worst, Odysseus deceives him more and escapes. Another example of his cheating is when Odysseus says, “My name is Nohbdy…” (1056) by doing this Odysseus is lying and creating an unfair advantage against the giant so he cannot get help from the other cyclopes. All in all, Odysseus is not a true ideal and that is why he tricks the cyclops. He cannot fight without eluding someone or
something.
On the whole, if one selects any part of Odysseus’s many travels and stories, they find examples of him not being a true luminary. Odysseus may seem like one but in reality he is just starts trouble, ignores his fellow crew, and deceives his enemies. All of this does not add up to a hero but rather a coward. Seeing that Odysseus is not what he seems is relevant because in many tales and events there may be a certain person or thing that creates an illusion that is hard to see past.