A Tool of the Hero
The topic of my essay addresses how the wisdom of Odysseus is a tool he uses in order to complete his tasks as a heroic character. Without wisdom, which is not found in every hero or even heroic leader, this character would not exist; the poem would not exist. There would be in all essence no need for the story. This is why wisdom is so very important to the plot, character development and “moral of” the story.
It was Yu’s article that gave me the inspiration for this topic. When reading the article I was drawn to the words “independent mind” (Yue 229) and I immediately thought, “This is unique and reminds me of how I would describe someone who is wise.” As I continued to read, the next section takes about the development of “reason and intellect” in Odysseus (Yue 229). At this point, I was hooked on knowing more about the wisdom of Odysseus and how this helped “create” the hero he was.
I choose two other articles that I hope will support these questions I have. 1. How does Odysseus develop his personality to become a wise hero? 2. How is wisdom used as a tool in Greek Homeric poetry? 3. How is wisdom an underlying factor in the poem, raising Odysseus up as a hero? One text I chose is an oldie, but I am hoping it gives me a foundation to work from for looking at Odysseus’ charter traits. The second looks at journal article by Boone on Plutarch, but in it he raises some valid points that crosses over into Homer’s heroic character and his wisdom.
My thesis statement is: Odysseus’s development of wisdom is necessary for the hero’s success in Homer’s Odyssey.
In conclusion, I intend to investigate how Odysseus develops wisdom of character and how he uses this to create a strong successful hero in the Homer’s Odyssey.
Works Cited
Boone, Mark J. “Plutarch and Augustine on the Battlestar Galactica: Rediscovering our Need for Virtue and Grace Through Modern Fiction.” Imaginatio et Ratio: A Journal of Theology and the Arts, vol. 2, no. 1, 2013. pp. 18-30, https://books.google.ca/books?id=buRNAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=odysseus+used+wisdom+academic+journal&source=bl&ots=yienoSyuBN&sig=tZ-Bp6ljduQ2653pfe1XplYC- Dg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQ48TQ3PDRAhUsDZoKHeRLA8EQ6AEIQjAF#v=onepage&q=odysseus%20used%20wisdom%20academic%20journal&f=false. Accessed 1 February 2017.
Schaefer, William Charles. The Character of Odysseus. Master’s Thesis, Loyloa: University of Chicago, 1956, http://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2269&context=luc_theses. Accessed 1 February 2017.
Yue, Li. “A Study on the Heroic Traits of Odysseus.” International Journal of Science and Research, vol. 4, no. 12, December 2015, pp. 229-232, https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v4i12/NOV151674.pdf. Accessed 1 February 2017.
