Critical Essay
ENGL 214- 01
Dr Thomas
The Courageous Will of Odysseus
During the poem the Odyssey Odysseus’s character was challenged in so many ways, but his strong curisma and will for survival kept him destined for success. In the story Odysseus faces many obstacles and manages to overcome them all and eventually return home to his land of Ithaca. Odysseus also has sharp intellectual skills that help him throughout his journey. Odysseus is courageous , displays many leadership qualities, and has keen sense of self control.
In book nine of the Odyssey, using his keen sense of knowledge Odysseus is able to outsmart Polyphemus, the Cyclops. In this section of the poem Odysseus character can be characterized as very intelligent, and also very clever because of the strategic plans he comes up with to solve the current problem he was in, and that was to escape from the cave of Cyclops successfully. Initially when Odysseus and his men arrived at the land of Cyclops Odysseus did not realize his current surroundings and him and his men began eating away. This really upsets the Cyclops so he then begins to eat away at Odysseus men, but throughout it all Odysseus still manages to come out on top and escape from the cave in book nine. This also made Odysseus a hero because it displayed his sense of bravery because his men that were with him would always wait for him to act on things, and if he would not have built up enough courage to stab the Cyclops in the eye so that they could escape the cave, then Odysseus and his men would have still been in the cave where they would have eventually died. Another thing that gave Odysseus the will to survive was his initial goal and that was to safely return home to his land of Ithaca, where he could be reunited with his family , his lovely wife queen Penelope and his son prince Telemachaus. Just the thought of being reunited with his son and his wife gave Odysseus the will to