The Odyssey Group

Question:


torso2
Student
High School - 11th Grade

What character trait does Odysseus display in "The Land of the Dead" that he does not reveal in his adventure with the cyclops?

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Posted by torso2 on Wednesday March 11, 2009 at 5:40 AM and tagged with characters, cyclops, land of the dead, odysseus, the odyssey.

Answers:

  1. joe30pl
    joe30pl Teacher
    Community / Jr. College

    eNotes Editor

    Odysseus, while in the Underworld, is almost a totally different character than the cunning trickster who blinded the son of Poseidon. Unlike the previous lands and adventures, Odysseus is not waylaid, but rather enters deliberately. In contrast to his boasting and bragging about blinding the monster, here we see him grieving. When he spies the soul of the warrior Ajax, he tries to apologize. Ajax refuses to speak, causing Odysseus to plead with the ghost. His grief at his failure to embrace his mother plays out in a similar fashion. Here, surrounded by the dead, we see a man confronting both his failures and the people he failed. He expresses great regret and grief, showing the reader a man that seems to feel sorrow and empathy, but only when it is too late to do anything.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/odyssey

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    Posted by joe30pl on Wednesday March 11, 2009 at 1:12 PM