check it please? it's a huge part of my grade. we are supposed to prove that odysseus was an epic hero. mla fo

Question

In the epic poem The Odyssey, as told by Homer, Odysseus is an epic hero. When Telemachus meets his father for the first time in many years, he says,
“‘For I must tell you this is no affair
Of ten or even twice ten men, but scores,
Throngs of them… (1095-1097)
I fear we pay in salt blood for your vengeance.’” (1105)
Odysseus replies, “‘…in combat, in the shouting, when the test comes-/ our nerve against the suitors in my hall’” (1118-1119). Odysseus’s son, who admires Odysseus very much and tells him how much others admire him, warns him of the dangers of attacking his mother’s suitors, but Odysseus has enough courage to fight them anyway. An epic hero is a character who has a lot of courage, so it is obvious that Odysseus is an epic hero.

this is just part of it. it was too many characters

Answer 1

You're not including his mastery over each of his detours. Everything that could have been daunting and defeating for an ordinarily brave man, Odysseus conquered. To quell the Sirens, O. has his men tied down; the goddess who wished to make him a god, O. replies, "I was born a man. It is not fitting for me to be a god". The Medusa character is outwitted. He successfully navigates between the Scylla and Charybdis. After almost 10 (or whatever it was) years absence, and all those temptations, he returns to his wife proving his loyalty and constancy. Penelope, too, is no ordinary woman. She is much sought after for her beauty and refinement but she is extraordinarily witty as well as she proves by unravelling her daily work, every evening and yet she patiently waits for Odysseus, knowing he'll return. Such uncommon love on both their parts would be beyond ordinary heroes. This is off the top of my head as I haven't read the book for many years. Just review every test he was put to and how Odysseus met each test with brilliance.

Answer 2

I read "The Odyssey" a while ago, but I have a few suggestions for you. Elaborate a little! You can start out by classifying Odysseus as an epic hero and then identifying characteristics of the former (an epic hero). Then you can present your evidence to prove that Odysseus in in fact an epic hero. Hehe talk about redundance. Anyway, this format would work best because you're defining a concept and then expanding on it (the reader has the qualities of an epic hero fresh in their mind and are thus better able to identify those traits in Odysseus from the examples that you provide).
I don't know if there is a constraint as to how long it has to be (apparently not), but I would make it longer and more substantial (more examples, explanations, etc) as well as double-spaced. Also, try to avoid using tired everyday language, such as "like," "so," etc as it detaches elegance and formality from your work. If it is worth such a big part of your grade you want to show that you really dedicated great time and effort to its completion.

Well that's it for my suggestions. Remember this is just constructive criticism. If you do follow my advice, I'd be happy to correct any grammatical errors or improve it in any way as I see fit. Good luck to you my dear friend. ^_^

EDIT: Babs has good examples that you can expand on. Try searching on google or going back to parts of the text that you may not remember to extract examples from there. ;-)

Answer 3

MLA format is a way of writing an essay. You should search for it and check the details, but one important part is that your essay is double-spaced. One way to prove that Odysseus is an epic hero is to compare him to other types of heroes, such as a tragic hero. You can also do a little outside reading and read the illiad. It is the story of the Trojan War and it may impress your teacher if you give examples of Odysseus being an epic hero in that story too.

Answer 4

an epic hero is not defined by bravery alone. there are other qualities such as selflessness, sympathy(when he sees the dog), dignity(Ridding the household of the suitors), and so on. you can also quote his courage to ask the cyclops for a present if you want to back up the courage argument a bit further.

But try to develop your definition of an epic hero first (just being courageous is too... simple). Sorry, i can't give you a definition because i haven't read that book in a long time. and try not to use the word obvious. maybe: Clearly evident in the epic poem, Odyseuss is an epic hero. blablabla so forth.

Answer 5

Not really. To the Greeks an epic hero was one who either fought his way through brute strength, like Achilles or Hector. Or one who used trickery like Odysseus. Going back to the Iliad he was the one who thought up the horse. He also tricked the Cyclops. Use exaples of what he did, not what people said of him

Answer 6

my class is reading the odyssey too. it looks pretty good to me. i think you got everything.

Answer 7

yes i think that is a good example. i just finished that book so im so used to hearing that name :)