How Does Odysseus Become Human

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A blinded cyclops, hiding under sheep, a huge water monster, a sea of dead bodies, islands of the gods, and the eyes of the gods constantly watching you. Sounds ridiculous, right? Not for the amazing Odysseus. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus was the most confident, brave, and smart king known to Ithaca. Odysseus was human, and had his flaws, like every human does, but Odysseus was different than just any human. He endured battles and journeys that nobody could have survived without him. Imagine being trapped in a cave with plates five times your size, and looking up to see one ginormous eye! Good luck escaping that monster, with a boulder blocking your one exit. Only Odysseus' cleverness could get him an his shipmates through situations like these. As Homer says, "he fought only/ to save his life, [and] to bring…show more content…
Similarly, the shipmates were like the dogs to Odysseus. Odysseus was the leader of his men and their lives were in his hands. Odysseus' goal since the beginning of the epic poem was to get his men home safely. Whenever Odysseus and his men prepared for the battles of their lives, Odysseus had some way of transferring his courage and confidence to his men to try and help them through it. When Odysseus' men were preparing to stab Polyphemus in the eye, he encouraged his men, "[I] cheered my men along with battle talk/to keep their courage up; no quitting now." (325-326) and told them exactly what they needed to do in order to survive and escape the cave. Odysseus portrays so much confidence and leadership toward his men, that they are extremely reliant upon him. Odysseus knew more about the journies the crew would endure than they did. Therefore, whatever Odysseus ordered was what the men did, and the information he gave his men, was all they knew.
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