Author: w.morea

Dante is the protagonist in “Dante’s Inferno” who undergoes a journey through various circles of hell.  Virgil plays the role of a guide to Dante.  He guides Dante through the circles of hell, but as Dante plunges further through his journey with Virgil, it becomes evident that the idea of Virgil being Dante’s mentor diminishes.  At first, Dante follows and trusts all of Virgil’s orders and knowledge, but later on the two become independent.  There was an instance where Virgil had to cover Dante’s eyes for him in order to protect him from Medusa.  Vigil had to cover Dante’s own eyes because Virgil was losing his trust in Dante, and was afraid he wouldn’t close his own eyes unless Virgil did it for him.  This instance shows how their relationship Dante trusting Virgil was later destroyed.

Question: Is Odysseus or anyone else in The Odyssey a hero? If so, what does this tell us about western ideas of heroism? Do any of these ideas remain in place today or have they changed? If so, how or how not and why or why not?

There are many different characteristics that heroes possess one or more of, such as determination, honesty, leadership, and many more.  The one common characteristic that has always represented heroism, in terms of western ideology, is courage.  Many historical heroes of the West show great acts of courage, such as Abraham Lincoln, who went against the beliefs the majority of America by fighting for African American privileges.  A character that represents great courage in the Odyssey is Telemachus.  Telemachus shows courage by setting out on a journey, unknowing of whether he’ll find his father or not.  It takes courage to abruptly abandon a life of constant familiarity, and security, to a life of constant uncertainty, and danger.  Telemachus is a hero because of his representation of the true mark of a hero; courage.