Compare And Contrast Mccandless And Odysseus

Hero Essay
A hero is different to every person. However, societies normally have similar views when it comes to a hero. Two American heroes, Edward Bloom and Chris McCandless are to some extent viewed the same way the Greeks viewed their own ancient Greek hero, Odysseus. These 3 heroes all have characteristics, traits, and projected ideals admired and pursued by their societies and for this very reason when both are compared, Chris McCandless is the better American hero when compared to Edward Bloom. The strive to become the great, powerful ancient Greek empire we came to know reflected in the choice of their heroes. Take Odysseus for example, he fought hard during the war of Troy, ultimately coming up with the master plan to win the war. But that wasn’t it, Odysseus faced even greater dangers and
The author states: “So they spoke, (…) Cyclops, if any mortal man ever asks you who it was that inflicted upon your eye this shameful blinding, tell him that you were blinded by Odysseus (…) ”.(Book 9) All the obstacles overcome by Odysseus were really for the prize of coming home to glory and power of his kingdom. This is similar to the rise to power of Greece after the Dark Age in which they faced many difficulties. Greece often found itself in wars. (most among themselves) This included wars such as the Greco-Persian war, Peloponnesian war, and the Corinthian war. Greece overcame these conflicts and later reached success, becoming a global empire. Ancient Greeks also believed that everything in their life was being controlled by the Greek gods, so it was no wonder that they tried their best to honor and obey them. Odysseus did his best to obey Helios the sun god by not eating his sacred cattle. Odysseus states: “Let us mind, therefore, and not touch the cattle.” (Book 12) Even though in the end his men DID eat the cattle, Odysseus stayed obedient and was spared. In a