Odysseus Character Analysis

In stories there is always a character who is the hero of the adventure. They are strong, independent, and motivated. The hero Odysseus, from The Odyssey, is an epic hero, while Okonkwo, from Things Fall Apart, is a tragic hero. For Odysseus, his task is to sail back home after the Battle of Troy, while facing the fury of the gods. After many challenges with different powerful influences, Odysseus must use his master of schemes skills to find his way home. With the help of the god, Athena, and his son, Telemachus, Odysseus finds his way home and defeats the suitors who are trying to steal his wife, Penelope. However, for Okonkwo, his task is different. Growing up in his war-driven, fatherland called Umuofia, Okonkwo must help his family and religion survive. A white “albino” man comes into his land and threatens to change the life of everyone forever. With his new “All Mighty God”, this man begins to convert people to his new
Odysseus is not quite a human or a god, but he possesses characteristics of each. He is braver, stronger, and more intelligent than humans but has the trickery, boasting, and schemeful traits of a human. The chorus states in the beginning, “...help me sing of willy Odysseus, that master of schemes” (Homer 1). For Odysseus coming up with schemes to save his men came easily. After being trapped in the cave of the Cyclops, Polyphemus, Odysseus comes up with a plan to save his men. After blinding Polyphemus with a hot, pointed stick, Odysseus ties his men to the bottom of sheep, and as the flock goes outside, so do the men. However, Odysseus could not help boasting, “I could not resist a taunt...The men tried to hush me, but I was aquiver with triumph. If someone asks who did this, the name is Odysseus” (Homer 9). This shows how Odysseus possess the intelligence of a superhuman and the boasting of a