The Hero's Journey In The Odyssey By Joseph Campbell

“A Hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” - Christopher Reeves. In The Odyssey by Homer, a mythological story is told about a twenty-year long journey a mortal named Odysseus-King of Ithaca-undergoes. Odysseus and his men first left Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War. During their journey home from Troy, their ship was set off course by Poseidon, making their journey longer than planned.

Martin Luther King often seeks inspiration from the Bible as well as from notorious philosophers of the Ancient Greeks such as Socrates, Plato and Odysseus. MLK was mostly inspired by how they guided their actions, making them harmonic with its justice. He will employ similar themes that pertain to lack of power and its relationship with freedom and justice: doing what is right ethically. It is very astonishing to observe how Antigone and Letter from Birmingham Jail are akin, despite being written at two different decades. In both cases, they fight for the good of society.

Martin Luther King Jr. – He is undoubtedly the most famous African-American minister of all-time. Time Magazine honored him as Person of the Year in 1963 and named him as one of the Top 10 People of the Century. King started as a Baptist minister in 1948 and began to develop deeper teachings. His strong beliefs led him to study Mahatma Gandhi’s approach of nonviolent protest.

The word hero has had many meanings throughout history. The modern definition of a hero states that they are a person who is idolized for their courage or noble qualities. Whether Homer’s protagonist, Odysseus, from the Odyssey is actually a hero has been up for some debate. Yet, Odysseus is a hero since he shows loyalty to the gods, family, and crew, courage in the face of numerous perils, and leadership in challenging times. During the duration of the Odyssey, there were several instances where Odysseus’s loyalty was tested.

When you think of heroes, Superman, Batman, and WonderWoman come to mind. When you think about war heroes, a different picture comes to mind: successful battles, weapons, glory. Homer’s character Odysseus may not fly, but he is considered both. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus gradually develops from a boastful war hero into an epic hero through the stages of the Challenges, the Transformation, and the Atonement.

The Odyssey, one of the world’s most famous stories, has been under debate on whether on whether or not it conforms to be a hero’s journey, a type of pattern theorized to be at the core of many myths. To understand its potential monomyth-hood, the story has be understood, as well as the different phases of a hero’s journey. A hero’s journey, by definition, must include a few characteristics: a phase where the hero leaves their home and decides on a quest, a period marked by a discovered conflict, an all-out struggle, the development of the hero, and the hero bettering the lives of those back at home. In The Odyssey, Odysseus, the protagonist, journeys to his home, in Ithaca, from Troy, where he waged and won a war. Along the way, Odysseus

Martin Luther King Jr. as the leader of the black, heroically and wisely led them against racial discrimination risking his own life. He states, The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy -Martin Luther King Jr. His words tell us that in a time where discrimination was everywhere he stood up when people needed him the most, as a hero, showing his own heroic courageousness. Many people describe Martin Luther King Jr. as “One of the most lauded African-American leaders in history” (Biography.com).

Marina Gorbenko HRS 119-Classical Mythology M. Pinkerton 16 May 2016 Bonus Reading Response: Homer’s Odyssey In Homer’s Odyssey, the hero, Odysseus, is introduced as a classic hero. However, through his odyssey, the audience finds Odysseus to be much more than an everyday hero. While other heroes relied on their strength and ability in battle, Odysseus, while also having the skill of all of the other warriors, relies heavily on his cunning when faced with obstacles.

Martin Luther King. King argues for integration and loving one’s enemy. His vision is not to harm the oppressors, but to love and pray for them. His goal is to get African-Americans to forgive white people who have brutalized them. Furthermore, King is a dominant figure who believes in non-violent resistance.

A variety of different archetypes play a significant role in The Odyssey. Initially, we see the ally role come into play when Aeolus gives Odysseus and his men a boost. He gives them wind that would take their ship back to Ithaca smoothly without any trouble. ‘’The gentle west wind that would take the ships home to Ithaca’’ (Cross 52). We can see Aeolus being an ally because he gives them a substance that could potentially take them back to Ithaca.

Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, displays the frequent literary tool known as a hero's journey shown through Odysseus and Telemachus, often drawing a comparison between the two. A hero's journey is defined as a hero who journeys on an adventure, along the way learning a lesson and winning the overarching conflict of the journey. Odysseus’ hero's journey starts in Homer’s epic, The Iliad, which depicts Odysseus’ call to adventure with the start of the Trojan War. On the contrary, Telemachus’ hero's journey is fully shown in The Odyssey, with his call to action being to find his father, Odysseus, who has been gone 20 years. Both Odysseus and Telemachus learn a lesson throughout their journey.

The hero's journey is a popular form of writing that involves a hero who embarks on an adventure, quest, or journey where in the climax they win a victory, then comes home transformed or changed. The book, “The Odyssey” is a prodigious example of the hero's journey. Odysseus is the hero of “The Odyssey”. All heroes in a hero's journey display particular traits. Odysseus displays perseverance and fortitude, two specific characteristics that all heroes should display.

Heroism, tends to be difficult to define and remarkably ambiguous in literary works. In the Odyssey, however, Homer clearly defines a hero as a humble, determined, and loyal individual; thus, according to Homer, it is not enough to claim to be a hero, but it is also important to exhibit those qualities that Homer values as heroism. Odysseus, despite claiming heroism, upholds these traits inconsistently, as seen in his taunting of Polyphemus. In contrast, Telemachus, Odysseus’ overlooked son, dramatically grows up over the course of the epic and ultimately reveals his truly heroic qualities by the end of the poem. Thus, because Odysseus claims to be a hero, but fails to remain humble, determined, and loyal throughout the epic, he is not a hero.

earned him to be recognized as the face of the Civil Rights movement. Therefore, Malcolm X should have changed his leadership style to work with Martin Luther King Jr. because his way of fighting for civil rights was strategically thought out and ultimately effective. Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights movement. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Martin Luther King Jr. came from a line of pastors in his family, and from the beginning he was on his way to becoming one himself (Martin Luther King Jr.).

The Epic Hero of The Odyssey The Odyssey is a tale of a great hero trying to get home. An epic hero. An epic hero is a courageous and honorable person. Homer’s character Odysseus exemplifies this in many ways.