Jonathan Anderson
Mrs. Diehl
English 9
3 February 2012
The Roles of Lies and Stories in The Odyssey
The Odyssey was written by the poet Homer. Many examples of lies in the poem show the reader how the outcomes change the plot. Each lie seems to have good intentions as to why it happened. The role of lies also shows the reader how the characters like Odysseus can be deceitful but also meaningful. Examples of roles of lies are when Odysseus disguises himself,
Odysseus’ stories of heroicness, and the suitor’s treatment to her husband. Odysseus shows his disguise as a beggar to show many thought out plans and actions. As the beggar, Odysseus tries to lie about his identity to show Telemachus and Peneolpe that his person wants to start war with the suitors. In order for him to accomplish this task, he first must have held his identity from the Cyclops. He accomplishes this by taking smart and clever turns in order that might have success. Odysseus roles past the Cyclops by saying his name is
“Nobody”. Evidence of his qualities is when the poem says, “He is a man of twist and turns” (891). This quote shows the reader Odysseus’ role in lying to the Cyclops. As he continues through his journey, he encounters Poseidon who transforms Odysseus from him- self to the beggar his job is to be as. He then goes to lie about his identity to the suitors in order to gain knowledge on their plans. He only accomplishes this act due to his disguise. During the same time however, Odysseus appears to his close family in the beggar disguise. He then begins
Anderson 2
to realize who actually is truly on his side or not. Before his family discovers the true beggear,
Odysseus finally declares war on those terrible suitors. Without the act of lying here, the family would never have been able to scout out and beat the suitors in battle. Odysseus also has many heroic stories that get him out of tough situations. First Hermes is sent by Zeus to save Odysseus from the evil Claypso. When he sails to his homeland,
Poseidon sends a storm to destroy him. But Athena saves him and takes Odysseus to the
Phaecians. Here, he describes his heroic stories to Athena and seems he is in paradise. But soon he must continue his epic journey with many stories to tell. After seven years he leaves to continue his mission. He continues until the stories end escaping Poseidon and defeating the suitors to end the poem. One important quote is when Athena describes Odysseus as, “Have come from afar, creating pain for many—…” (945). Athena describes his motive on all his adventures and story telling experiences. Throughout the poem, Odysseus seems too narrowly escape all of the events that transpire in his favor. His story telling can be very intriguing, but can sometimes used as trickery to the person he tells it to. Penelope is another major role in the lies of The Odyssey. She never gives up hope in not seeing him in over 20 years. The suitors try to convince her to remarry, but Athena and self confidence tell her otherwise. She continues to avoid the suitors and can only hope that
Odysseus will come home soon. Indecision and suitor lies continue to pound Penelope until finally Odysseus arrives from his adventures. When he comes back, he destroys the suitors and stops the lies for the rest of the poem. She even listens to all the stories and lies that Odysseus told to save himself and return home. The suitors still would have ruled over the palace if Odysseus would never have returned.
Anderson 3
Trickery helped Odysseus get himself out of trouble and continue his long journey home. In order to wrap up the poem, Odysseus and his family went to war with the suitors and defeated them, helping to put away the dishonest forever. Roles of lies in The Odyssey include the suitor’s temptations to Penelope and Odysseus’ trickery in stories and appearances. The
Odyssey reveals many forms of deception and adventure, but through deception, Odysseus finds a way to make it home with all the adventures.
Anderson 4
Homer. The Odyssey. Elements of Literature. Richard Sime. Austin, Texas: RR Donnelly & Sons Company, 2000. Holt, Rineheart, and Winston.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Odysseus, still disguised as a beggar comes into the dining hall where all of the suitors were and showed them off. Here’s what happened.…
- 384 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
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.…
- 667 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
I also did this question. Odysseus definitely lies to avoid conflict. The Cyclops proved to Odysseus that if Odysseus revealed his identity conflict would arise. Once Odysseus told the Cyclops who he was the Cyclops told Poseidon. Odysseus knew he could not trust anyone, which is exactly why Odysseus was disguised as a beggar. Good response,…
- 57 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
his wife. He slays the remaining suitors and defeats them. This shows how Odysseus fights for his power to…
- 716 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
When Odysseus returned to Ithaca he wanted to see his son so was dressed as a beggar all by himself looking poor hungry and like he has no hope but Telemachus found the hospitality and and respect to take Odysseus into the warmth of a shelter, gave him good, and offered him a place to eat and sleep. Telemachus was interested in talking with Odysseus so after a bit he learned the beggar was Odysseus and it was a special moment because Odysseus changed forms with the help of Athena and the two men had been finally reconnected with each other and they hugged for hours.…
- 466 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
After hastefully evicting the wrath of the Cyclops monster, Odysseus revealed his identity to him to fulfil his pride and ego, which subsequently endangered himself and his crew’s voyage due to being cursed. This shows…
- 327 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Odysseus embraces the idea of perennial referral in that he elongates conditions to continue a benefiting situation. His need for scheming leads to a prolonged revealing of himself in order for him to continue a disguise or plan. Even when he returns home to Ithaca, after ten long years of journeying, he still disguised himself as a beggar and formulated an elaborate story pertaining his background. Odysseus embraced his cunning and the art of storytelling within the epic. It was his special skill in which he took abundant personal pleasure. What may seem like craft to the average observer is actually an instinct and inherently sexy indulgence for the proclaimed king of…
- 1192 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Odysseus is gone from Ithaka for many years, and his hall is now teeming with suitors who wish to marry his wife, Penelope. Odysseus learns of this comes up with a clever plan with his son to reclaim his household. Odysseus and his son are outnumbered, and they know they cannot reclaim their house with just weaponry. With the help of Athena, Odysseus is disguised as a beggar. wearing “an old tunic, a foul cloak, upon him, / tattered, filthy, stained by greasy smoke, / and over that a mangy big buck skin” (XIII.543-546). This disguise greatly contrasts what is associated with great Odysseus, fooling everyone, and “the swineherd later on will take me down the port-side trail--a beggar by my looks; hangdog and old” (XVI .322-324). He infiltrates his home unnoticed, and this allows him to find out who is loyal to him through the words they speak. For example, he learns the cowman is devoted to him, saying that “tears came to my eyes, remembering / Odysseus: rags like these he may be wearing” (XX.225-226). The thought of his old king in rags, away from home causes him to tear him up, revealing that he is loyal. Odysseus also tells his son to “round up all armor, lances, gear of war / left in our hall, and stow the lot away” (XVI. 337-338) and to “put aside two broadswords and two spears / for our own use” (XVI 352-353). Odysseus is shrewd, knowing that he must hide away the weapons so the suitors cannot fight back when he strikes. Odysseus’ plan allows for him to take back what he lost, showing that Book XVI, where Odysseus introduces his plan, should be in the subsection, “Nohbdy’s…
- 687 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Similar to most Homeric heroes, Odysseus wants to obtain glory and recognition for his courageous deeds. Though he would often take it too far and become arrogant, confidence is hugely important in leadership. At certain times, however, he would pompously ignore someone’s advice or act how he wanted, regardless of the consequences of his choices. The best example of this is when he intentionally hollered back to the Cyclops who he was as he was leaving. The result of this is that he brought calamity on himself as well as his men due to the relationship that Poseidon and the Cyclops had. However, once he reaches Ithaca, the way he bides his time and disguises himself as a beggar shows how he has developed and changed. Instead, he could have simply rushed home and declared himself before the extremely hostile suitors (“change”). “He is not the same glory-hungry individual who often committed rash and rather vacuous actions in order to gain kudos(“change”).” More recently, the texts have proved that Odysseus has come a long way, learned a lot from past mistakes, and developed accordingly during the route of these…
- 575 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Furthermore, Odysseus lathers his story with drama, thus further increasing his chances for a safe journey home. While a more modest man would have given a straight forward account of his plight, Odysseus creates drama by elaborating on his schemes to free himself of his troubles. One potent example is where Odysseus provides great detail of the sacking of Troy to Polyphêmos, yet he fails to mention in much detail why he is not home yet. Furthermore, early on in Book Nine, Odysseus makes it a point to add to his already burgeoning masculine identity: "Men hold me/formidable for guile in peace and war" (19). While not completely false, Odysseus manages to create for himself a falsely strong…
- 629 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Cunning is a human characteristic that is hard to come by. It can be used to evade and deceive to get to an end goal. In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus leaves Troy to get back home to Ithaca. This journey takes ten years, and he uses his cunning to fight many obstacles placed by the gods. Odysseus’ cunning was portrayed by Homer as his greatest trait because it let him evade death, and deceive people.…
- 448 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
While many may argue that Odysseus is using lies for a good reason it seems obvious that he is not using lies to help anyone but himself and that his lies are putting others in danger. Odysseus’s deceit and lying caused negative outcomes, which can be seen when Odysseus decides to tell his crew about the fact that they would die and when Odysseus and his crew encounter the Cyclops.…
- 1027 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Odysseus was clever after he tricked the cyclops, Polyphemus, to drink Odysseus’ wine. This caused the cyclops to become drunken and fall asleep. This allowed Odysseus to stab and blind Polyphemus. This was a both, clever and smart decision because if Odysseus killed Polyphemus, Odysseus and his men would be trapped by the massive boulder that Polyphemus put to block intruders from entering and exiting his cave. The Odyssey describes the sabotage as a bloody and gory event, “... straight-forward, lifted it, rammed it deep into his crater eye,’ ( Homer Pt. 1). The steps of the hero’s journey show similar insight, “ The hero's progress through a series of tests… obstacles that make them stronger,” ( Campbell 3). In the Odyssey the tests were an example of the fight with Polyphemus.…
- 452 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The Cyclops in the Odysseus gets tricked by Odysseus. Michael stated “Thanking Odysseus, Polyphemus (cyclops name) ask him his name. Odysseus told him his name was No man… Than the other cyclops who lived on the island came running but when they asked Polyphemus who had done this to him, he replied no man”.…
- 386 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Odysseus is a greek hero because he faced a lot of obstacles trying to get back home to Ithaca from the trojan war. Odysseus faces all the obstacles that he comes upon be using his intelligence and bravery. One of his obstacles was when he went to land of the Cyclops and one of the Cyclops named Polyphemus ate some of his men. So Odysseus gives Polyphemus the strong wine he brought him. “ Tell me, how are you called”(906) Polyphemus says and Odysseus says “ Cyclops, you ask my honorable name? Remember the gift you promised me, and I shall tell you. My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy” (906). When Odysseus and his men took out the Cyclops’ eye and he started screaming. The other Cyclops went running to check if Polyphemus was ok and asked who harmed him; when Polyphemus says that Nohbdy did it so the Cyclops left. Odysseus did everything to get to his family and that’s what helped him overcome his obstacle know that he would be able to see his family once…
- 818 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays