Decision Making in The Odyssey

A detailed Summary of Decision Making in The Odyssey

The Odyssey, a Greek tale of fate written by Homer, tells the story of a warrior that is determined to return home and is willing to go to any extreme to achieve his goal. The story takes place over a period of approximately ten years and begins after much of the action has already occurred. The device of starting a work in the middle and returning to the start is called Ain medias res@ from the Latin (in the middle of things). Odysseus is faced with many challenges, but no matter what he is faced with, he finds a way to overcome his problems. Homer was telling a tale for people who read his work, but at the same time, he was teaching a lesson to those who studied his work. Man should not succeed by deceit and Homer was displaying the fact that such a way of life should not be chosen by those who study his story. The Odyssey is a great adventure story and is very entertaining, but it demonstrates the life of a man that lives based on immoral and immature decision making.

Book One of The Odyssey may very well be the only book wherein the warrior, and main character, Odysseus displays sound moral decision making abilities. He is stranded on an island with the nymph Calypso who is intending to persuade Odysseus i

The trail of lies, deceit and bad decision making that Odysseus has plagued himself with throughout his journey eventually catch up to him. Odysseus, a warrior, is forced to fight a battle knowing that the only way he can win is to cheat. He locks up all the weapons that the suitors have and is therefore at an advantage when he chooses his moment to release his wrath upon them. This warrior, known for his physical prowess, is now at the point where he is taking away the defense mechanisms of his opponent. Odysseus was a Trojan War hero and is now slithering to the depths of fighting unarmed men in his own palace. The life that Odysseus led on his journey home eventually funneled and shaped him into the man that he was when he stole their weapons; he is now a con artist, deceitful and shameless man.

The daily routine that one engages in will eventually shape the way that they are when it comes down to the time of judgement. It is impossible for a man to live a life of a coward and in his dying moments be a hero. Similarly, it is more than unlikely that a hero would be fearful in his dying moments. AIn medias res,@ in the middle of things, is used in this tale for a reason; Odysseus was a great warrior in the Trojan War. He was still a warrior of firm content during his fist years away from home. He did, however, begin to wither in this sense as time progressed. The story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca and a Greek epic hero, is one that teaches its students a lesson in pride.

Aeaea was the island where the remaining sailors and Odysseus found solace and protection from the man eaters. Here, Circe trapped and transformed several of Odysseus= men. After hearing of the misfortune dealt to his crew, Odysseus took a potion that protected him from the curses of the evil Circe. Although he saved his men by his valor, Odysseus once again allows immoral decisions to delay his trip home. He falls in love with the evil Circe and stays on her island for quite some time. While Penelope was at home fighting the forces to marry one of the many men that inhabited Odysseus= home in his absence, he found comfort in the arms of another woman. After a short trip and return to Aeaea, Odysseus prepared his crew for the travel past the Sirens and Scylla and then through the whirlpool named Charybdis. Odysseus knew of the danger that could come about from hearing the beautiful singing voices of the Sirens, but he insisted on hearing them even though he refused to let his crewmen do the same. It was fortunate for Odysseus that he was tied down, because they safely passed the Sires without a single casualty. The six-headed monster, Scylla, did kill many of the men aboard the ships unfortunately. The remaining men safely avoided Charybdis. Although Odysseus was not directly responsible for the death of any of his men on this leg of the journey, he once again displayed poor decision making tactics by allowing himself the temptation of the Sirens.

A stroke of the power of Zeus, the god of gods, destroyed the remaining members of the crew and the ships. Odysseus was the only one to survive

Some common words found in the essay are:
Trojan War, Naval Academy, Odyssey Greek, Charybdis Odysseus, Book Odyssey, Book Eight, Luckily Odysseus, Odysseus Ithaca, Ithaca Greek, Aeaea Odysseus, trojan war, decision odysseus, immoral immature decision, odysseus home, true identity, ain medias, medias res@, evil circe, bad decision, immoral immature, bad decision odysseus, ain medias res@, dying moments,

Approximate Word count = 2094
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

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