I will be analyzing and looking to the passage in Book 9: “In the One Eyed Giant’s Cave”, on the pages 226-228 from lines 530-590. Throughout this section, Odysseus and his remaining men had successfully made a cunning escape from the grasps of the now blind Polyphemus. By taking advantage of Polyphemus’s lack of sight now, the men were able to cling upon the livestock that belonged to the cyclone and make it safely back onto their ships. Once they were safe aboard, Odysseus decided to call back out to the land they had just escaped from to reveal his true identity. Unable to reach them, Polyphemus prays out and seeks his father’s assistance in seeking his revenge to Odysseus.
Why did Odysseus feel the need to reveal his identity? Did he not know that the cyclone was the son of the almighty Poseidon?
It is not until reading up to this part of the book that one will finally realize why Poseidon has such hatred towards Odysseus. Initially in the beginning of the book, It seemed strange to the reader that every god except Poseidon seemed to pity Odysseus and wanted him to return safely back home to his loved ones. Now it finally makes sense. I feel as though Odysseus brought his misfortune and brutal treatment onto himself by foolishly revealing his identity to the cyclone. Lines 548-549 which states “I began to taunt the Cyclops-men around me trying to check me, calm me, left and right: ‘so headstrong-why? Why rile the beast again?…” shows an important point. Why did Odysseus feel the need to reveal information and further taunt the cyclone when they could simply escape now with no consequences? Even his own crew questioned his intentions and were cautious about the consequences, but this seemed to not affect Odysseus in any way. I believe that Odysseus had his mind clouded with over-confidence and a lack of thinking when he spoke back to the Cyclone. Driven to self-boost himself as a powerful and “cunning” warrior, Odysseus’s actions would later cost him the lives of all his remaining crew members and a lot of suffering and torture at the hands of Poseidon. I believe that Poseidon is so enraged because an immortal decided to make a mockery out of his own blood line and that is why he is so desperate to seek the most brutal revenge to Odysseus. Odysseus’ own clever scheme of giving his name as “Nobody” is ruined by his tendency to bolster his own self image.
-Maurice Studer