Odysseus Responsibility in The Odyssey Essay Sample

Odysseus is responsible for the death of his men because he is supposed to be a leader who leads and protects his team but he is not. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus is an intelligent, strong, and curious man who went to a war and took him 20 years to go to war and to come back to his home in Ithaca. Not only did Odysseus have to spend 20 years trying to get back home, he faced many challenges and obstacles trying. Odysseus is responsible for the killing of his men because he does not listen to his men, he does not tell them the full truth, nor does he care about their lives making them risk their lives causing Odysseus to be responsible for the deaths of his men. 

Even though Odysseus is a leader he does not listen to his team and just lets his curiosity take free and make bad decisions. In particular, when Odysseus and his men were first at the Cyclops cave, his men suggested taking the Cyclops possessions and fleeing. But Odysseus let his curiosity get the best of him, and suggested that they wait for the Cyclops to come back so he could talk to him. For instance, Homer writes, “My men came pressing round me, pleading: / ‘Why not take these cheeses, get them stowed, come back, / throw open all the pens, and make a run for it? / We’ll drive the kids and lambs aboard.” (Homer “The Cyclops”). Also in “The Cyclops” it says, “ Yet I refused.  I wished / to see the caveman, what he had to offer / no pretty sight, it turned out, for my friends.” (Homer, “The Cyclops”). These two quotes support the claim that Odysseus does not listen to his men because one of his men bluntly told him that they should make a run for it, but Odysseus does not listen, causing men to get killed left and right by the Cyclops when he returns. To illustrate this Homer writes, “Neither reply nor pity came from him, / but in one stride he clutched at my companions / and caught two in his hands like squirming puppies / to beat their brains out, spattering the floor. / Then he dismembered them and made his meal, / gaping and crunching like a mountain lion / everything: innards, flesh and marrow bones.” (Homer, “The Cyclops”).  This proves that Odysseus is one hundred percent responsible for the death of his men, particularly while they were at Cyclops island.

Another reason Odysseus is responsible for the deaths of his men is because he would not tell his men all the truth when he knew something crucial. For example, in the section “The Land of the Dead” Homer writes, “Avoid those kine, hold fast to your intent, / and hard seafaring brings you all to Ithaca. / But if you raid the beeves, / I see destruction  for ship and crew. / Though you survive alone, / bereft of all companions, lost for years, / under strange sail shall you come home, to find / your own house filled with trouble: insolent men / eating your livestock as they court your lady.” (Homer, “The Land of the Dead”). This quote provides further proof that Odysseus is responsible for the death of his men because he did not tell his men the truth that Tiresias saw in his future. Even though Tiresias was giving only Odysseus his future, if Odysseus would have told his men what he was told they may have made a way to prevent the ship sinking and all the men dying. 

Along with the previous reasons another reason Odysseus is responsible for the deaths of his men is the fact that Odysseus shamelessly does not care about his men and would rather save himself then all his men. For instance Homer writes, “The Scylla made her strike, / whisking six of my best men from the ship. / I happened to glance aft at ship and oarsmen / and caught sight of their arms and legs, dangling / high overhead.  Voices came down to me / in anguish, calling my name for the last time.” (Homer, “Scylla and Charybdis”). This quote shows that Odysseus sacrificed 6 men to Scylla, and felt absolutely no remorse. Despite the fact he had to sacrifice 6 men, Odysseus did not even feel no pity when these 6 men were calling onto his name as their last words.