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The Negative Effects Of Curiosity In Homer's The Odyssey

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While curiosity is projected to be a beneficial way of learning, it can also lead to dangerous situations. The protagonist, Odysseus, experiences the negative effects of curiosity in Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, as he embarks on a life changing journey. In the story, Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, is returning from the Trojan War, and instead of going straight to his home, his curiosity takes him on a variety of detours, risking not only his life, but the lives of his crew. When Odysseus finally returns home, his curiosity disappears, and he becomes very focused and determined to remove suitors that have overrun his kingdom. Throughout the epic, Odysseus behaves curiously and wanders with no clear goal of returning home, but later, when he is faced with the task of removing the suitors from his palace, he becomes driven to achieve his goal in order to restore control over his kingdom and be reunited with his wife, Penelope.
Earlier in the epic, Odysseus frequently abuses his role as captain of his crew because of his curious nature. He makes several stops on their journey home in search of more opportunities to prove his skillfulness, even though he is already a king and has won a major war. One of these stops is at the Island of Polyphemus, home to the cyclops famed for eating all humans that enter his cave. Even though Odysseus is well aware of the danger ahead, his curiosity tempts him to …show more content…

Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, teaches that in order to get work done, one cannot just go off task; they need to be determined and finish. In Odysseus’s case, everything he achieved happens after he loses his curiosity trait and begins to focus. Even though one may become distracted, they must focus on what they set out to achieve originally if they want to accomplish

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