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Odysseus Characterization Paper

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Odysseus Characterization Paper
The Odyssey

Even when faced with adversity an exceptional leader continues to persevere to eventually reach an end goal. Leadership is to influence your followers and create a path to success. If our leaders do not have endurance in the face of opposition and are not willing to make personal sacrifices, we would not be able to compete in todays global environment. Today leaders develop talent by investing in education and equal rights. In The Odyssey, the protagonist is a leader named Odysseus who goes on a journey with his crew to get back home to Ithaka from Troy, after the trojan war. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, the poet Homer, suggests that Odysseus is a superior leader which is revealed by Odysseus's, bravery, intelligence, and perseverance.
Odysseus's bravery sets himself apart from other leaders. Odysseus has to display an example to his crew by inspiring them with his fearlessness. Odysseus illustrates his grit when he forces his crew to carry on with going to the underworld: “'We must go/ to the cold homes of death and pale Persephone/ to hear Teiresias tell of time to come'/ They felt so stricken, upon hearing this, / they sat down wailing loud, and tore their hair/But nothing came of giving way to grief/ Down to the shore the ship at last we went.'” Homer 10.623-625 . Odysseus showcases his hardiness when his crew does not want to go to the Underworld, but Odysseus presses on, while knowing that lost and terrifying souls await him. Odysseus’s fortitude spreads throughout his crew, if he is scared, his followers also feel fear. Without courage the team can not get home to Ithaka. In order to achieve his goal, the Odysseus needs to speak with Teiresias. Also Odysseus displays his fearlessness when he is trapped in the Kyklops's cave: “’Now, by the gods, I drove my big hand spike/ deep in the embers, charring it again,/ and cheered my men along with battle talk/ to keep their courage up: no quitting now/”(Homer 9. 406-409) . Odysseus exhibited

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