Kerr 1 Kyle Kerr Dr.

Francis Euro Lit 13 November 2012 Odysseus is No Hero, He is an Asshole Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus was put in several situations where his cunning should have been more than enough to pull him from the depths of defeat, but each time he is either tricked, pulled in by lust, or overwhelmed by greed. Odysseus was painted as a character who longed for his return home, but often-times, home was a secondary objective to Odysseuss personal appetite for things which were unnecessary. His thirst for glory led him down paths which would have been otherwise left untraveled, and ultimately delayed his homecoming. The first example of Odysseuss pride getting the best of him can be shown during the tale of the Cyclopss cave. Odysseus had no reason to hang out in the cave, but his quest for glory got the best of him. After ignoring his crews warning to not stay in the cave, Odysseus decides he will hang out. To his surprise, the Cyclops, son of Poseidon, is the resident of the cave, and is less than happy about the intrusion of his home. The Cyclops eats a few of Odysseuss men and holds them in the cave. Although it is through Odysseuss cunning plan that they escape, it is hardly his wit that got him and his crew in the situation in the first place. If Odysseus could have swallowed his pride and just moved on, six of his men wouldnt have been eaten by the Cyclops and he wouldnt have pissed off Poseidon by blinding his son which led to so many more problems for Odysseus and his crew.

Kerr 2 During the telling of the story, Odysseus makes it very clear that he was the one who blinded the Cyclops when he says if any man on the face of the earth should ask you / who blinded you, shamed you sosay Odysseus, / raider of cities, he gouged out your eye (Homer 9.560-563). Odysseus, rather than looking to return home as quickly as he could, decided to go on more escapades of glory. Seeking glory through selfish means while ignoring all previous engagements of returning home makes Odysseus hardly a sympathetic character, but rather a trite man only looking to make a name for himself. Odysseuss tales of glory dont stop with the Cyclops. When Odysseus and his men are nearing home, rather than Odysseus being the one giving into the thought of temptation, it is his men who give in. They open up the bag of wind given to them by Aeolus thinking it is full of riches. Rather than approaching the end of the journey, the men were overcame with greed. Odysseus is partly at fault for the actions of his men for not properly guarding the bag of wind and to allow the bag of wind to be torn apart. He knew the value of the bag, and any sensible person in Odysseuss position would have guarded their ticket home with more vigor than Odysseus. The bag of wind incident led Odysseus and his men to the realm of Circe. After a bunch of Odysseuss men get turned into pigs and a daring rescue mission, Odysseus decides to hang out to seek glory once again. His men come to their senses and provide a voice of reason, but naturally Odysseus, full of pride, decides to hang out for an entire year to be Circes sex-toy and live in luxury. The men begin to question Odysseus, and Eurylochus begs Odysseus to abandon the quest so the crew can make it out alive. Odysseus returns with Eurylochus, stay right here, / eating, drinking, safe by the black ship. / I must be off. Necessity drive me on. (Homer 10.298 -

Kerr 3 300). This shows Odyesseuss pride as a feeling of necessity to him rather than something that should be kept under control. Odysseus, driven by pride, ignores logic and reason, even though the book tries to paint him as the voice of intelligence and cunning. Odysseus puts himself in peril and forces himself to come up with wonderful escape plans, but these plans would hardly be necessary had he thought his actions through in the first place. Odysseus is rarely put into these situations not under his own free-will, and his crew often-times offer a voice of reason. Even though he has failed his men many times over, he still has his sense of entitlement. As a leader, he believes his opinion is always right, no matter how fool-hardy his plans are, how reckless he acts, and how many times he loses. Even after Circe turns many members of Odysseuss crew into pigs and one of his men dies when falling off a roof during the stay, Odysseus decided to press on with his plan, no matter how many men die. Even after the trip to the underworld, he decides it would be a good idea to spend one more night with Circe. Odysseus, throughout the book, talks about how wonderful his wife is, and later Agamemnon comments on Penelopes good nature, even through his own distrust of women. Agamemnon said Not that you, Odysseus, will be murdered by your wife. / Shes much too steady, her feelings run too deep (Homer 10.44-45). Considering Agamemnon was murdered by his own wife, the compliments he gives Penelope carry much more weight than the average person. Agamemnon realized that Penelope was a strong woman who loved Odysseus deeply and wouldnt betray him. Even though Odysseus confirms his love throughout The Odyssey, and the mutual love is mentioned by other characters such as Agamemnon, one would think that Odysseus would again be trying his hardest to return home, but he doesnt even come close to doing that.

Kerr 4 For something reaching for home and in-love with his wife, Odysseus sure does love his escapades. Again, Odysseuss meandering led them to the land of the Sirens, where Odysseus wanted to be tied to the mast so he could hear the songs of the Sirens. Just another story for the glory of Odysseus. Instead of pressing on, Odysseus decides it would be a good idea to hear their song, even though he knows their song fills a man with endless temptation. For a man who is already prone to temptation, Odysseus should have just put earplugs in like everyone else and moved on with his life. While this situation didnt necessarily put his crew in a bad position, it was reckless and could have left them stranded. Next, Odysseus and his men pass through the isle in which Scylla has her domain. Odysseus knows the tales of Scylla and how she eats a man for every head she has, but rather than avoiding the area, he decides to sail right next to her lair. This is another situation in which Odysseuss pride and feeling of invincibility gets his crew eaten by a monster. First he fought the Cyclops, and now the six-headed monster, Scylla. One would think Odysseus would wake up eventually and see that he his killing his crew through arrogance rather than his crew dying of means uncontrollable by him. Instead, Odysseus, time after time, ruins the chances of returning home in a timely manner. His entire crew end up drowned at the bottom of the sea, and Odysseus comes prancing into his castle ten years later than he should have expecting everyone to welcome him with open arms. Had Odysseus not meandered around for ten years following the war, it would be conceivable for someone to feel bad for him upon returning home, but that is hardly the way things worked out. Odysseus through escapades of questionable intent delayed his return home by ten years. Not only did he go monster hunting for glory, he had sexual escapades with goddesses, killed his entire crew, and hung out with kings for extended periods of time to talk about how incredible he

Kerr 5 was while he was questing around the seas. Odysseus is one of the most self-important and hypocritical characters of ancient literature. He always complained about wanting to be home so badly, but took side-streets to delay his homecoming. His escapades seemed intentional, and when not intentional, they were down-right selfish and stupid. For a character labeled as cunning and intelligent, he sure was a dim-wit when it came to intelligent decision making. As the book progressed, Odysseus became less and less likable as a character and more and more obvious as an anti-hero. Even though he did glorious things, it was in delaying what he claims his real quest was: To return home to his family who hasnt seen him in twenty years.