Maybe it's because of the group presentations this week, which all hilariously summarized Odysseus' wanderings quite sarcastically, but I'm a little disappointed with Odysseus as a hero so far. It's clear that to the people of Greece during this time period he is an epic hero because he has survived so much hurt and he is favored by the gods. I know it's not really fair to judge him by today's standards, but I can't really help it, he just kind of annoys me. While he is humble enough to reject other peoples comparison of him to the gods, he's still somewhat fond of his own strength, especially in requesting songs be sung about himself when he's with the Phaeacians. Odysseus receives tons of help from Athena, and while that's apparently super cool back then, it doesn't make him very heroic in my eyes especially as he doesn't do much to thank her for being the only reason he's still alive. In general, anytime the Greeks want to thank the gods all they do is kill a bunch of animals, which doesn't seem to be a very sincere or personal display of gratitude (I know, I know, historical context). To me Athena is the most heroic character in the book at the moment, and that's not really fair because she's a goddess.
One of my least favorite things about Odysseus right now is his concern for Penelope being faithful to him while he's off sleeping with Circe for a whole year. I mean obviously this is a sexual double standard of the time period, but I think Calypso points it out pretty clearly when she argues how men are allowed to have all these affairs and women aren't. It's just irritating when Odysseus claims he's being faithful to Penelope just because he misses her... kind of a loose definition of faithful.
The main heroic trait Odysseus seems to have is his insane physical strength. It's definitely pretty awesome that he can swim for days and fight off giant monsters, but he's also getting power boosts from Athena and it doesn't really give him a satisfying heroic character. Odysseus is supposed to be known for his "twists and turns," his wisdom and cunning tricks, and a big part where he displays this is in his defeat of Polyphemus. However after our class discussion I'm not even finding that very heroic. Odysseus did what he had to do to get out, but he also bragged about it and could have avoided the whole situation by not taking advantage of the cyclops. While I can understand why he seems very noble and god-like to the other people in the book, to me he is just not very likable.
The only thing that changes my mind a little about Odysseus's character is reading the passages where he is distraught and pleading to go home, because then I do feel sorry for him and can see his pain and feel how terrible it would be to be lost for 10 years with no family and all your friends being constantly killed or eaten. Reading the actual text does make me pity him more and perhaps I would like him better if I had read all of the books in the "Wanderings" section. As of now I admire his strength and his cunning, but in general I do not like him and I wish he would actually say something sincere instead of just pretending to be faithful.
I would agree with your opinion that Odysseus isn't much of a hero. I also have another reason to add to your list: he's lazy. Many of the times he boards a ship, he doesn't take an active role, he just sits (or sleeps there) while the real heroes, the crew, do all of the work. Odysseus doesn't even navigate, he literally watches someone else's gift do all of the work for him.
ReplyDeleteI think you have a point here, but his overcoming of his laziness might represent the emergence from an unmotivated, uncertain state that many everyday people experience. I think his time on Circe's island is the clearest example of this; Odysseus is finally given time to rest after a grueling journey, and loses his will to continue for an entire year. While this may seem excessive when considered literally, it's quite plausible metaphorically.
DeleteI see where you're coming from when you say that you don't believe that Odysseus is much of a hero. He's more of a lucky hypocrite than anything else imo. He was lucky that a god looked at his story of being stuck and got help. This same god constantly helps him at every turn on his way home. Athena even makes him look physically appealing to get help. He didn't really do much on his own except complain that his wife should stay faithful, which he didn't do himself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Odysseus hasn't really seemed that "heroic" so far in the book, but I still think that he deserves to be recognized as a hero. It seems to me like he was a pretty big hero at the Battle of Troy, and that's really where he's made his reputation, and we don't get to see that in the Odyssey. The only reason that Athena helps him in the first place is that she admires him for his heroic actions and his intelligence from earlier, and he is able to just sort of let Athena do things for him and be unheroic because he has done heroic things in the past that make him worthy of this help. I also think that now, when he's back on Ithaca, we'll begin to see more of his cunning that made him famous in the first place in action.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your annoyance at Odysseus about his concern for Penelope's faithfulness! Even if he didn't sleep around, I would still be annoyed because it shows his lack of respect and trust in Penelope. But he DID sleep with two goddesses (one for a year!), so I feel like he is not justified to be worrying about Penelope. I was quite annoyed with this double standard he imposed on his wife, and it made me like him substantially less as a character.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has their flaws. Especially Odysseus. I don't think that it is fair to judge him only on those, which you seem to be doing to some extent. Odysseus' character really paints him in a good light if you look at all his qualities. Its not that he's just super strong or tactically brilliant. He is definitely a family focused man whose one goal in life is to get back. He forms emotional attachments to his crew members and is always upset when even one of them dies. Maybe it is because the presentations didn't really highlight his good points, but I don't think that Odysseus deserves the negative opinion that you give him.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's entirely possible to see Odysseus as a complete asshole, but I kind of cherish that about him. I love how flawed he is--and how dependent his flaws are on his strengths and vice versa. This, to me, makes him far more interesting than a more likable protagonist. I mean, if we were reading an epic about a perfect individual who was essentially condemned to 20 years of suffering on his way home from a pointless war, we'd be having far less fun than we are following Odysseus through his mess-ups and wiley escapes. I don't know. I like him.
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