Tuesday, April 15, 2014
I'll Follow You to Hell and Back: Odysseus as a Leader
Odysseus leaves Troy with nine ships full of men. By the time he is rescued by Calypso, however, all his men have perished. His men are killed by Ciconians, Polyphemus and the Laestrygonians. Yet at the same time, he rescues his men from Polyphemus' cave and Circe's enchantment. Is Odysseus a good leader who is just cursed by the gods? A good leader with a mutinous crew? Or is he a poor leader who causes his own problems because of misplaced ideals, or reckless behavior or poor leadership skills? Or perhaps somewhere in between or none of the above? Explain your answer using examples from the text to support your point.
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Odysseus is a magnificent leader during certain occasions and is also a negligent leader. One should say this because Odysseus was one of the brightest men to walk the earth during his era. He had a great plan of entering Troy in a wooden horse filled with men to attack the city when night dawned on them to catch them by surprise. This plan worked very, very well and took a great deal of courage, intelligence, and leadership. But, on the other hand, Odysseus only cares about himself when it comes to surviving and becoming a legend that will be remembered in later years because of his stories such as the Trojan Horse, which will be told again and again. One would suggest this because he does not do a sophisticated job in the selection of his shipmates that he planned to have on his journeys. For example, when Eurylochus refuses to listen to Odysseus when Odysseus specifically says to not eat the well-nourished animals on the island because the gods would sin them for that action if they did. Eurylochus then rises up against Odysseus with the other men while Odysseus is asleep and they kill the animals, try to sacrifice them to the gods so they will not get frustrated with them, and then simply have a meal. “So he urged, and the shipmates cheered again. At once they drove off the Sungods’ finest cattle –… Once they prayed, slaughtered and skinned the cattle.” (12. 379-387) The gods then revolted on the men and Odysseus for harming the sacred animals proving that Odysseus one, should not have fallen asleep on his crew and two, the crew should have listen to Odysseus. This proves that Odysseus is very shrewd but also only cares for himself and may not always think plans through as thoroughly as he should.
ReplyDeletenice
Delete4/17/14
ReplyDeleteHumanities 9
I’ll follow you to hell and back: Odysseus as a leader
Virtues that a leader possesses, define the quality of the leader and whether or not they failed or succeed. A great leader will be brave, courageous, wise, and friendly and be a leader by example. On the opposite scale of the spectrum, a bad leader will be blind to his crew, selfish, and doesn’t think his plans threw. It is debatable if Odysseus the great teller of tales is a good leader, a bad leader or somewhere in between. Odysseus has moments of his bravery and wisdom, but at times his actions are fruitless and cause unnecessary danger for himself and his men. However, the Gods have made it out for him and curse him wherever he goes, which is an element he cannot help. One of the crucial parts of being a leader is picking your crew. Odysseus blames his men for stupidity and recklessness, but he was the one whom chose them to journey with him to Ithaca. ‘A mutinous crew undid me—that a cruel sleep./Set it to rights, my friends. You have the power!’(10.74-75). In this quotation, not only is Odysseus blaming his mutinous crew, but also his sleep. A good leader would take responsibility for his crew as well as himself. Several times in the Odyssey does he blame the gods or his crew, which is a trait a bad leader would have. However, Odysseus is a very brave and sneaky man, and if it wasn’t for him, more of his crew would be dead. The story of Polyphemus, the Cyclops, and the story of the Sirens, shows the wisdom and courage of Odysseus that helped save his crew. “
Never has any other man withstood my potion, never,
once it’s past his lips and he has drunk it down.
You have a mind in you no magic can enchant!
You must be Odysseus, man of twists and turns—(10.363-367)
This quote identifies Odysseus’s fame and power. These qualities must show a great leader, but between the two different characteristics Odysseus shows as a leader makes him an average leader. Although in my opinion he has a good leader because he shows more good attributes than bad, plus I give him the benefit of the doubt for being cursed by the Gods.
In some instances throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus exhibits attributes of a poor leader, and on some occasions he shows he is a brilliant leader. When Odysseus and his crew found the Laestrygonian Island, Odysseus, alone, docked his boat outside of the harbor. After Odysseus observes his crew docking their ships in the harbor, he explains, “’But I alone anchored my black ship outside, / well clear of the harbor’s jaws/ I tied her fast to a cliffside with a cable”’ (10. 104-106). This quotation uncovers Odysseus’ selfish side. Odysseus observes his crew making a poor decision, but he does nothing to stop them. He could have easily persuaded them to dock their ships outside of the harbor, but he decides to protect himself exclusively. Because Odysseus was inconsiderate, eleven ships were destroyed and over one hundred men were lost. Despite the fact that Odysseus loses numerous men on the Laestrygonian Island, he and his crew successfully escape from Polyphemus’ cave. After they escape from Polyphemus’ cave, Odysseus describes their escape, “’ But as soon as we’d got one foot past the cave and courtyard,/ first I loosed myself from the ram, then loosed my men, …”’ (9. 516-517). In this instance, Odysseus rescues himself and his crew. Although six men were lost in Polyphemus’ cave, Odysseus acts as a brave leader. They get out alive because Odysseus uses his crafty mind and shares his strategy with his crew. In this scenario, Odysseus cares for his men just as much as he cares for himself, which is an attribute of a good leader.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the epic, Odysseus has shown he has all the traits of a great leader, however has never been a truly magnificent leader. An extraordinary leader has the qualities of bravery, guile, intelligence and alertness. Odysseus has all of these qualities, however lacks the sound judgment that most natural leaders possess. One example of this is when Odysseus risked his life and sacrificed six of his crew members so he could obtain some fame by blinding the Cyclops.
ReplyDeleteCyclops—
If any man on the face of the earth should ask you
Who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus,
Raider of cities, he gounged out your eye,
Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca (9.557-560)
This clearly shows how he values his own image more than the safety of the crew. This remark also angered Poseidon the god of the sea who prevented Odysseus from reaching Ithaca for an extended period of time. A smart leader would not have caused trouble with someone related to the gods, learning from the past stories when mortals interfered with the gods. Another example Odysseus not being an outstanding leader is when he does not warn his men to dock their boats on the outskirts of the Laestrygonian Island. When the meeting with the native people turns into a massacre Odysseus’s entire crew is slaughtered while trying to escape from the harbor while Odysseus and his lone ship escape the mess. Odysseus is more interested in his self-preservation than caring for the well being of his crew. He instead uses them as scapegoats so he can escape and continue his journey home. These examples show that Odysseus is not a great leader.
Odysseus is a mediocre leader because he portrays characteristics of a good and a bad leader. The encounter with Polyphemus is a great example to look at these two distinct characteristics he portrays. During this specific “journey” there are mixed signs that make him a smart and strategic leader but also careless and selfish one. Odysseus’ first mistake is leading his men into an unknown cave and letting them use up the resources there such as cheese and drink. Common sense would explain not to take other people’s food without permission and expect them to be ok with that. Odysseus should have advised his men to stay outside and watch from a distance to observe and gather information about their surroundings instead of being selfish. On the other hand, an action that makes Odysseus an admirable leader occurs when Polyphemus returns to his cave and closes the opening shut. After the giant realizes the men are there, Odysseus devises a plan to injure the giant because if they kill him, Odysseus knew that no one would be able to open the cave. Odysseus makes the giant fall asleep with wine and the giant asks for Odysseus’ name. Odysseus exclaims that his name is Nobody. This enables Odysseus and his men to live when Polyphemus tells his neighbors that Nobody poked his eye out. This part of the story portrays Odysseus as an excellent leader who is very crafty with his way of words and a master at devising plans. But, when his men are all safe back onboard the ship Odysseus decides to tell the giant his real name, “If any man on the face of this earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus” (9.559-560). This portrays an extreme amount of selfishness and makes Odysseus a poor leader who cares more about fame than the lives of his crew who are willing to risk their lives for him. Odysseus is a mediocre leader who has successes and failures because of his bold actions and the price he has to pay because of them.
ReplyDeleteOdysseus may possess all of the qualities necessary to be a great leader, but he often shoots himself in the foot due to his selfish tendencies and insatiable desire for fame. His encounter with Polyphemus provides a perfect example of this pattern of sensational leadership either prefaced or followed by an incredible act of stupidity. After venturing to shore with a small section of his crew, Odysseus enters the cave of the Cyclops, Polyphemus. The Cyclops is not there, so Odysseus permits his crew to ravage Polyphemus’ home of all the cheeses they had found drying. This act, despite being despicable, could have been forgiven had Odysseus decided that they had had enough and that it was time to return to the ship, but rather than making their escape Odysseus got greedy. He forced his crew to remain in the cave because he wanted to be showered with gifts by the Cyclops, “But I would not give way—and how much better it would have been—not till I saw him, saw what gifts he’d give” (9.257-9). This decision led to the deaths of most of his crew at the hands of Polyphemus, all because the great leader Odysseus wanted gifts in addition to the cheese they took from the Cyclops. Although he had made this great mistake, Odysseus does manage to lead his men to safety with a great showcase of his potential leadership. He uses his wits to get the best of Polyphemus and lead his men to safety by blinding the giant so he could still open the giant door to his cave, and by telling Polyphemus his name was Nobody so when the beast called for help, all he could say was, “’Nobody, friends’—Polyphemus bellowed back from his cave—‘Nobody’s killing me now by fraud and not by force’” (9.454-5)! This cunning plan allowed Odysseus and his remaining crew to escape Polyphemus’ cave and return to the sea and their journey back to Ithaca. However, after somewhat salvaging his reputation as a strong leader and brilliant tactician, Odysseus, in his heightened sense of self, recognizes that “Nobody” will go down in the history books as the one who defeated Polyphemus rather than Odysseus. Knowing this, as he and his crew depart from the island of the Cyclops, he must inform Polyphemus of his true identity, “If any man on the face of this earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so – say Odysseus” (9.559-60). This cry from Odysseus shows that no matter the circumstance, he values himself and his legacy over any of his crew mates. The revelation of his identity sparks Polyphemus to beg his father, Poseidon, to destroy Odysseus, placing his innocent crew in harm’s way all for the betterment of Odysseus’ name. From his encounter with Polyphemus, it is clear that Odysseus has the ability to be a great leader, but to reach his full potential; he must learn to put the safety of his crew before himself.
ReplyDeleteThis is really great!! I agree with you.
DeleteOdysseus is a flawed leader due to the fact that his positive leadership traits are merely intangible next to his selfish, stubborn, and arrogant qualities. Even though Odysseus exhibits the wise and crafty behavior of a great leader at times, such behavior is only evident in instances after his selfish and arrogant actions endanger and even take the lives of his men. For example, when Odysseus’ ship reaches the land of the Cyclopes, Odysseus and a selection of his men set out to explore the unknown territory. Once they come upon an empty cave belonging to Polyphemus, a Cyclops, “from the start my [Odysseus’] comrades pressed me [him], pleading hard” (9.252) to “put out to sea at once” (9.255). Yet, Odysseus “would not give way” (9.256). Odysseus ignores the desires of his crew and enters the cave, displaying arrogance and stubbornness. This results in Odysseus having to heroically and artfully rescue all but six men from Polyphemus’ cave with his cunning and crafty tactics. Even though he shows outstanding leadership in creatively saving himself and his men, his careless decision to enter the cave of the “violent, savage, [and] lawless” (9.195) Cyclops in hopes of a kind welcome in the first place was a foolish act of a poor leader. In another instance, subsequent to instructing his crew to sail away from the land of the Cyclopes in an efficient and crafty manner, Odysseus’ arrogance and selfishness shine. Odysseus, despite his crew pleading, “’Why rile the beast again?'” (9.550), enrages Polyphemus who is standing ashore as Odysseus and his crew sail away. Polyphemus being the God, Poseidon’s, son, requests that his father curse Odysseus with a curse that would later be responsible for the death of his entire crew. Although he saved his crew’s lives in instructing them how to successfully set sail away from the land of the Cyclopes, if Odysseus had not been so selfish as to entirely ignore the desires of his crew, they would not have been cursed by Poseidon. Therefore, Odysseus is a poor leader due to his inadequate leadership qualities outweighing his positive ones.
ReplyDeleteOdysseus shows multiple examples of being a superior and exceptional leader, although, he also demonstrates inadequate leadership at other times throughout his journey. When Odysseus and his crew are stuck in Polyphemus’ cave, Odysseus is able to come up with an innovative plan to get the remaining crew out safely. Only a great leader could have gotten his group out alive. Here, Odysseus shows that he is capable of being a great leader, by getting his group out in a creative way and by using strong communication skills. At the same time, Odysseus also demonstrates an unacceptable tendency to be a poor and ineffective communicator in other circumstances. In the situation with the bag of winds, Odysseus feels like it is not necessary to share valuable information about the consequences of opening the bag with the rest of his soldiers. Then he blames his crew for the disaster that he has caused by being overprotective and secretive of the bag, causing the crew to be curious. “A mutinous crew undid me— that and a cruel sleep./Set it to rights, my friends. You have the power!” (10.74-75) By not sharing critical information with his group, he sabotages himself and his group as his ship is blown back to where it started, making their journey home longer and harder than it needs to be. A good leader would have taken responsibility for this mistake. Odysseus shows his selfishness and self-centeredness by not trusting his group enough to share the information that would have had them home by now. He thinks he is the only trustworthy and wise person on the ship. This suggests that Odysseus feels he is superior and this might make his crew feel that they are not part of the team. A good leader would include all of his crew members and make sure they were equipped with the information that they needed to feel fully confident with their team and their leader to be successful on their mission to return home safely. This leadership flaw leads to more trouble and danger for the group and ultimately negatively affects them. Looking at Odysseus’ lack of trust in his crew, one could wonder if Odysseus is setting himself up to be the only man that returns to Ithaca and gain tremendous amounts of fame and admiration and would be considered a hero. On one hand he wants be heroic and save his crew but on the other hand he wants to return to Ithaca gaining all of the fame for himself. If he returns alone, he is also the only one who gets to tell the whole story.
ReplyDeleteOdysseus has qualities of a good leader, but he does not have his priorities in check, causing him to not rise to his full potential as a leader. Though Odysseus has good intentions and wants to return home with his men, he sometimes loses sight of his goals and forgets the importance of his entire crew’s safety, which is what causes problems on his journey. Odysseus is brave, strong, smart and crafty: all attributes of a good soldier, sailor, and leader. When faced with the task of escaping the cave of Polyphemus alive, Odysseus is able to contrive a plan:
ReplyDeleteMy wits kept weaving, weaving cunning schemes—
life at stake, monstrous death staring us in the face—
till this plan struck my mind as best. That flock,
those well- fed rams with their splendid thick fleece (9.472- 9.475)
When his men need him, Odysseus quickly comes up with a clever plan that allows most of the men to escape. Though Odysseus is often able to devise cunning plans that save himself and his men, it is his own foolish and selfish actions that continue to bring trouble to the crew. Odysseus is so concerned with his personal fame and image that he repeatedly jeopardizes the journey home. After executing his clever plan of escape and barely avoiding death, Odysseus continues to make senseless decisions to heckle and taunt a Cyclops that could kill him: “So they begged/ but they could not bring my fighting spirit round./ I called back with another burst of anger, ‘Cyclops—“ (9.556- 9.558). After barely escaping the Cyclops’ wrath, a situation that should have taught Odysseus a lesson about decision making, Odysseus’ judgment is still clouded by his desire for the fame and glory he could win by defeating a Cyclops. After surviving Polyphemus, Odysseus does not learn from his near death experience, but continues to make poor leadership decisions, showing his lack of concern for his crew. Odysseus does not share his tactics for escaping Laestrygonia, tell his crew about the bag of wind from Aeolus that can take them home, or avoid fighting Scylla to keep his men safe: all situations that reveal Odysseus’ poor leadership. Even though Odysseus has the bravery and resourcefulness to get his men out of dangerous situations, it is his own irresponsible decisions and need for fame that puts his men in danger.
I think that Odysseus is a so-so leader. I think this because Odysseus has made some good choices and some bad choices as a leader. He showed that he is a good leader when he saved his men form being killed by some of the gods. Even though some might think that it is his fault, it is not. It is not his fault because the gods are out to get him. He showed that he can be a bad leader when he did not tell his crew about the bag of winds. This lapse in judgment causes the boat to go in the opposite direction, away from their destination. They opened the bag because it is not unheard of for the men to look through what they have gotten during their travels. If he told his crew what was in the bag then they might not have opened it.
ReplyDeleteOdysseus is not a good leader but he is a very intellectual man who can see through many problems as he encounters. Being a leader requires being able to control of everything and everyone who is following you. Odysseus' men are faithful to Odysseus but Odysseus just does what he can to escape and get free, and by doing so, he risk the lives of the people who care most about him (his crew). One moment is when Odysseus sneaks into the Cyclops' cave, and steals his food. However, during the story of the Cyclops, he shows very weak leadership quality and judgment. Odysseus showed poor judgment from start of the story. By doing so Odysseus continues to risk his crew, but by the amount of knowledge, he is able to escape the cave achieving fame and glory while all along putting his crew in danger. After escaping Odysseus tells the Cyclops, his name is “nobody” and tells him where he is from. The Cyclops curses Odysseus, which puts him and his crew in great danger in the future on the journey home. This is only one of many poor examples of Odysseus’ leadership qualities. A quote by one of the crewmen describes the lack of leader ship on the part of Odysseus:
ReplyDelete“ I tell you –
Just as the Cyclops trapped our comrades in his liar
With hotheaded Odysseus right beside them all --
Thanks to this man's rashness they died too! (10. 479-482)”
A good leader never leaves a man behind. Also, honesty is one of the top leadership qualities to have and Odysseus is not truthful to his crew. He keeps information from them and keeps it for himself. Odysseus may be smart and cunning but wisdom can only get you and your men so far in a time of need of leaders.
While many think that Odysseus is an undoubtedly a bad leader, despite a few flaws and mistakes, Odysseus was a successful captain and commander. Throughout the book there are accidents that happen, that regularly get blamed on Odysseus, however if we even closely examine them, we always that they are the result of a reckless, mutinous, and self-destructive crew. When the crew follows Odysseus’s orders without any complaints, they all survive. On example of this is Book 9. In book 9 Odysseus and some of his men are trapped in the cave of Polyphemus. Polyphemus kills half of them leaving the rest emotionally broken and dejected. Here Odysseus alone, concocts a plan to kill Polyphemus and win their freedom. His plan is successful and the rest of the men escape with their lives. This is a great example of how the crew keeping quiet, allows him to do amazing things for the benefit of all. However examples of the crew wreaking havoc unto itself are easily found and numerous. One example is found in book 12 where the Odysseus clearly tells his crew to stay away from the cattle of the sun.
ReplyDelete“ ‘ Listen to me, my comrades , brothers in hardship,
let me tell you the dire prophecies of Tiresias
and Aeaean Circe too: time and again they told me
to shun this island of the Sun, and joy of man
Here, they warned, the worst disaster awaits us.
Row straight past these shores –race our black ship on!’”
Here is the most obvious and important example of the crew directly disobeying orders. Odysseus shares the information he has been given, dire prophecies predicting their death if they stop here, and yet the crew chooses to disobey the wisdom of sacred entities, and the command of their captain and slaughter the sheep of a god. After reading this example it is quite easy to see how the majority of accidents in the epic, that are construed as Odysseus’s fault, are actually the consequences of reckless disobedience of his crew.
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ReplyDelete