Odyssey Cause and Effect
Odysseus’s Ego
Rhetorical Situation
Writer- I am a college student and a high school senior who has studied the odyssey many times. This example stood out to me when I thought of cause and effect topics.
Audience- Anyone who has a general knowledge of the story of the The Odyssey and will understand the essay topic and relate, or is interested in cause and effect analysis.
Topic- I will be writing about how Odysseus’s actions in The Odyssey caused many unfortunate events to unfold because of a decision he made.
Purpose- Analyze how Odysseus’s actions created a chain of consequences that affected himself and his entire crew to practice analyzing and writing about cause and effect situations.
Context- I believe Odysseus bragging is a very good example of how an ignorant decision can so intensely affect his and his crew’s life.
Odysseus couldn’t stand to just walk away. He couldn’t help but gloat about what he’s done to Polyphemus. In the Odyssey, Odysseus encounters many dangerous creatures, one of them being the Cyclops, Polyphemus. After blinding Polyphemus, Odysseus’s gloating caused him and his crew some misfortune. Bragging ultimately causes their deaths in the story. He subsequently put his crew in danger, made Poseidon angry and upset, and cursed their entire journey from that point on furthermore lengthening his journey.
One of the first effects of Odysseus’s gloating was that he put his entire crew in danger of being hurt or killed by Polyphemus. They could have just sailed away unharmed, but Odysseus made Polyphemus angry. “How do you like the beating we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!” It was after this insult Odysseus shouted at Polyphemus, that Polyphemus tore off the top of a hill and hurled it at Odysseus’s boat in his rage, nearly killing all the men on the ship with the tidal wave it created. This made the men
Rhetorical Situation
Writer- I am a college student and a high school senior who has studied the odyssey many times. This example stood out to me when I thought of cause and effect topics.
Audience- Anyone who has a general knowledge of the story of the The Odyssey and will understand the essay topic and relate, or is interested in cause and effect analysis.
Topic- I will be writing about how Odysseus’s actions in The Odyssey caused many unfortunate events to unfold because of a decision he made.
Purpose- Analyze how Odysseus’s actions created a chain of consequences that affected himself and his entire crew to practice analyzing and writing about cause and effect situations.
Context- I believe Odysseus bragging is a very good example of how an ignorant decision can so intensely affect his and his crew’s life.
Odysseus couldn’t stand to just walk away. He couldn’t help but gloat about what he’s done to Polyphemus. In the Odyssey, Odysseus encounters many dangerous creatures, one of them being the Cyclops, Polyphemus. After blinding Polyphemus, Odysseus’s gloating caused him and his crew some misfortune. Bragging ultimately causes their deaths in the story. He subsequently put his crew in danger, made Poseidon angry and upset, and cursed their entire journey from that point on furthermore lengthening his journey.
One of the first effects of Odysseus’s gloating was that he put his entire crew in danger of being hurt or killed by Polyphemus. They could have just sailed away unharmed, but Odysseus made Polyphemus angry. “How do you like the beating we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!” It was after this insult Odysseus shouted at Polyphemus, that Polyphemus tore off the top of a hill and hurled it at Odysseus’s boat in his rage, nearly killing all the men on the ship with the tidal wave it created. This made the men
Cited: Homer. The Odyssey, translated by S.H. Butcher and A. Lang. Vol. XXII. The Harvard Classics. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1909–14; Bartleby.com, 2001.www.bartleby.com/22/. [11/14/12].