Odyessey

In Homer’s epic story The Odyssey he has the main character Odysseus have a risk-taker personality. In part one he does not think before he does anything, but in part two he takes his time so the suitors do not kill him when he returns home. Odysseus has been on the sea for at least 20 years, and he looks different. He is not a young man anymore like he was before he left, but his goal to get home to his family and kingdom never changes. He has a lot of problems on his journey, and he also gets out of the problems somehow. Odysseus risk taking personality causes him to leave for the Trojan battle, step Cyclops in the eye, and kills all the suitors. Odysseus risk taking personality for the Trojan horse shows that he is not afraid of what might happen to him. He has the idea to build the horse and to trick the Trojans. Odysseus says to his men “build a big wooden horse on wheels / big enough for a bunch of Greek soldiers to hide inside it.” By being a risk taker Odysseus has changed his whole journey to get home. By building a horse and waiting in the horse until the Trojans are done celebrating, he attacks them at night, but first he lets the rest of the Greek soldiers into Troy so they can defeat the Trojans. After the long battle the Greeks win. Knowing that the battle is over Odysseus can go home to his family. Because now he has killed all the Trojans, he does not have to worry about them coming after him or his family and kingdom. Odysseus is being a risk taker leads to him getting in the situation and getting out of it. Another risk Odysseus took was walking into Cyclops’ cave without permission. Odysseus walks into the cave and starts to look through the Cyclops’ stuff. Odysseus knows that something or someone lives in the cave and he stays there anyways. When the Cyclops returned to his cave he sees Odysseus and his men and starts asking questions. Odysseus and his trembling crew gave the Cyclops a drink and stabbed him in his only eye. Odysseus takes the risk to go into the so his crew can rest and eat something, but once he leaves the cave, after telling the Cyclops his name is Nohbdy, he yells his real name to the Cyclops. Now the Cyclops’ father Poseidon can come after Odysseus One more risk that Odysseus takes on when he returns home is when he goes undercover so the suitors do not recognize him. He takes his wife’s challenge to string the bow that only Odysseus can do: “And Odysseus took his time, turning the bow, tapping it, every inch, for borings that termites might have made while the master of the weapon was abroad. ”By Odysseus taking this challenge, he has blown his cover now the suitors only see Odysseus, not an old beggar. Odysseus takes the challenge because he heard about how the suitors have treated his family. As Odysseus takes the bow he points straight to the leader of the suitors: “He drew to his fist his cruel had of an arrow for Antinous just as the young man leaned to lift his beautiful drinking cup…” (Homer 1206-1209). Odysseus kills the leader, and battles the rest of the suitors. His risk by fighting the suitors pays off because he gets his family and kingdom back, rather than gaining something new like his past risk. It works out the way he wants it to. By being a risk-taker Odysseus gets his family and kingdom back,but he is so mad about what his maids and every other helper has done and treated his family so he has to kill them for being disrespectful to his family while he was gone. Now that Odysseus is home he can reconnect to his family and take back his kingdom.