Summary: Cyclops In the story, Odysseus is still speaking to the Phaeacians, but is now telling them of his encounter with Polyphemus, the cyclops. Strong winds blew Odysseus and his men to Polyphemus’ island, where they unloaded and entered a cave that Polyphemus happened to live in. When he entered the cave, he closed the entrance with a large boulder that only he could move, trapping himself, his sheep, and Odysseus inside. After he ate some of Odysseus’ men, Odysseus devised a plan to get the cyclops to move the boulder so that the men could escape. He gave Polyphemus liquor, making him drunk, and shoved a massive makeshift spear into his the cyclops’ only eye. Polyphemus immediately moved the stone, but then blocked the entrance with …show more content…
Odysseus does this because he is prideful and haughty and wants Polyphemus to know who Odysseus was and that Odysseus defeated him. However, by doing so, he alerts Polyphemus of their location, and the cyclops hurls a massive boulder at the men, causing, “a giant wave that washed the ship stern foremost back to shore” (III: 484-485). This shows that Odysseus’ pride and honor which causes him to boast to others about his victories and their losses, is very dangerous to him and his crew. Instead of taking the easy way out, Odysseus decides to show off to the cyclops, who nearly washed them back to shore and kills them because of Odysseus’ foolish arrogance.
Figurative Language:
1. Personification - “Dawn spread out her fingertips of rose” (III: 433). This example of personification explains the rising of the sun, which spreads red sunlight across the Earth like fingertips, gradually reaching forward over the horizon and onto the island of Polyphemus. It gives the sunlight (“Dawn”) the human-like quality of reaching out with fingertips.
2. Simile - “Like a charm the name deceived them” (III: 410). This simle compares the way that the false name, Nohbdy, that Polyphemus thought belonged to Odysseus, tricked the other cyclopses into believing that nobody harmed Polyphemus to a charm, which is extraordinary and amazing. By saying this, Odysseus is
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By singing beautifully, Circe attracted, and tempted, all the men to herself except for, “Eurylochus, who feared a snare” (IV: 563-564). This demonstrates how Eurylochus resisted temptation, which in turn, saved all of his men who were tricked by Circe’s enchanting sorcery and turned into pigs. Eurylochus stayed strong and ran to tell Odysseus, who stayed with and talked to Circe, eventually saving his men. If Eurylochus had fallen into the temptation like the rest of the men, they would all have been doomed and turned into
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
As they keep going forward they come across the home of one of the cyclops named Polyphemus. Polyphemus asks why he and his men are here and how many more there are. Odysseus makes a smart move just in case of an emergency and says “Our ship was broken up on the rocks, I replied, thinking quickly. “We are the only survivors.” He says this just in case something goes wrong the cyclops would think that Odyyseus has nowhere
Throughout Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, exhibits multiple signs of cunning behavior, which therefore drives the plot and aids in characterization. One instance where Odysseus exemplifies his role as a cunning character is when he tricks Polyphemus in an effort to escape the Cyclops’ cave. He develops a plan in which he and his men blind Polyphemus and use the Cyclops’ sheep as a form of escape. This plan is comprised of a series of steps, including the development of a weapon, intoxicating Polyphemus, gouging out his eye, hiding on his sheep, and ultimately, escaping his cave. In an effort to keep his identity a secret, Odysseus tells Polyphemus that his name is “Nobody.”
Another great example of Odysseus’ cleverness is when Polyphemus asks for his name. Odysseus responds, “Nobody- that’s my name. Nobody- so my mother and father call me, all my friends.” Odysseus’ quick thinking pays off later when he and four of his men stab Polyphemus in his eye.
While Odysseus and his crew are slowly moving away from Cyclopes Island, Odysseus tells Polyphemus that he is “Odysseus, Laertes’ son,” whose home “lies on Ithaca” (Homer 459 and 460). Because of his arrogant decision to tell Polyphemus the truth of his origins, he essentially dooms him and his crew. Polyphemus, who is Poseidon's son, asks of his father to punish Odysseus for his arrogance, whom grants his prayer. In cessation, Odysseus’ haughty decision to tell Polyphemus his whereabouts leads to his utter
When Odysseus is leaving the cyclops cave, his egotistical behavior is shown when he tells Polyphemus who hurt him. Odysseus screams to Polyphemus, “if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus, raider of cities, he
Odysseus met Polyphemus and claimed his name was “No man”. During Odysseus’ escape he felt a little proud and arrogant and told him it was not “No man” who had blinded and fooled him, but rather “the cunning”
When they get back to the boat and Odysseus yells out to the Cyclopes his name. Which means a harder journey for Odysseus and his men because Polyphemus is Poseidon's son. In this book Odysseus shows his pride when he yells from the boat and almist gets him and his men killed. In the movie Odysseus pride is most shown when he blames her situation solely on his men.
On the Cyclopes' island, he was interested in meeting the owner of the cave who had such fine cheeses. However, his men only want to steal the cheese and leave hastily because there was an uneasiness about the cave. Nevertheless, he fixes upon staying and not soon after, the cyclops Polyphemus returns. He and his men are now in peril because of Odysseus' recklessness. The consequence of his decision is that shortly after Polyphemus devours most of his men but this bolsters him to conjure a plan to escape.
Throughout the stories of the Odyssey the main character, Odysseus, is known to have a major flaw that almost gets him killed numerous times. One example is shown in the story Cyclops. As he is fleeing from the island he can’t resist the jest of calling Polyphemus to the edge of the cliff and flinging taunts at him from the assumed safety of their boat, in the ocean. Polyphemeus responds by flinging a boulder that narrowly misses the boat. Shortly after, Odysseus decides to test his luck yet again by revealing his true identity to the angry Cyclops.
In book nine of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus displays his intelligence, patience, and hubris when killing the Cyclops, Polyphemus. When Odysseus meets Polyphemus he introduces himself as “outis” meaning nobody. Lying about his name shows Odysseus’ intelligence. When Polyphemus fell asleep, Odysseus stabbed him in the eye and he woke up screaming “Nobody’s killing me”. (9: 455)
This is called “The trick of Nobody”. Odysseus, tell the cyclops,“Nobody is my name. My father and mother call me Nobody as do all others who are my companions”(146). Odysseus then intoxicates and blind the cyclops. Polyphemus cries out “Nobody is killing me by force or treachery”(147).
Odysseus and his men had gotten stuck in Polyphemus’s cave with no way out and unluckily for them, this cyclops liked to snack on men. Odysseus needed to think of a way to get them out of there and fast before they all became lunch to Polyphemus. Odysseus’s plan was to offer him wine and to get on his good side before he had gotten drowsy and went to bed. After the cyclops had fallen asleep, Odysseus started putting his plan into action. He had taken the trunk of an olive tree and started carving away at the edges to make a spear shape.
In the book of the Odyssey, Odysseus’s lied at times, but I think they all were an important part of this book. First reason, the Cyclops if Odysseus hadn’t lied to him, then what will happen? Maybe Odysseus will die there. Also, Odysseus’s crew, if he doesn’t omit the truth, they were already reaching their homeland. Finally, he reached his homeland Ithaca and disguised as a beggar and he lied his wife and the suitors.
The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey have been a part of human literature for several years. Both poems are from the category of epic poetry and have a time difference of at least one thousand years apart. Their themes explore different aspects of human cultures and ideologies. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a poem from early Mesopotamian culture while the onset of the Greek civilization inspired The Odyssey. The main characters for these epics are Gilgamesh, a demigod and ruler of Uruk, and Odysseus a great warrior returning home to his wife from war.