Duality in “The Odyssey” Essay

Odysseus exhibits a certain duality in his nature that defines his persona and controls his actions. In Book Nine of The Odyssey, both oppositional sides of Odysseus are affectingly illustrated the tactful, crafty leader who uses reason, and the rash warrior in search of home and credit who acts impulsively. From the opening scene, Odysseus uses his cunning and charm to win the respect and honor of the Phaeacians and their king, Alcinous. This is shown when he states, What a fine thing this is, to listen to such a fig up/as we have herethe man sings like a god./The steer of life, Id say Clearly, Odysseus is trying to flatter and win the favor of his hosts in enjoin to secure their help for passage to his beloved Ithaca. In order to hit them further, Odysseus declares that he is known to the world/for every kind of craftmy fame has reached the skies (21-22). Odysseus creates an two-bagger of being an incredibly strong leader. However, for a man of great ingenuity, Odysseus mak es some(prenominal) imprudent mistakes.Among the gravest of his faults is acting without caution. Upon sighting the land of the cyclops, Odysseus feels a sense of foretaste in the upcoming events. He states that he knew that hed soon come up against/some giant clad in power like armor-plate/a savage deaf to justice, blind to law (238-240). Although he gets this feeling, he acts without reason. However, he irrationally leads his men into the cave of the Cyclops anyway. As a result, Odysseus guide some of his men to a horrendous death. Long after the Cyclops is utterly defeated, Odysseus taunts Polyphemus.Odysseus allows his haughtiness to surpass his wisdom and ridicules the blinded giant thereby, jeopardizing the lives of his integral crew when the Cyclops hurls a boulder at his boat. Odysseus could not restrain there he had to take the credit for Polyphemus defeat and shouts his true identity, inauspicious to his mens pleadings. He had previously instigated the monster, who in turn, could now seek revenge upon him. These instances shew how Odysseus rash behavior overtakes his wiliness.BibliographyThe Odyssey by Homer