Veelman 1 Clara Veelman World Lit March 1, 2014 Heroism: Past vs.

Present The Odyssey is an action packed filled book about the journey of the resilient Odysseus where he faces many challenges including Cyclops, Gods, and suitors to reach his goal of being King of Ithaca again after 20 years of being gone. Odysseus was known as the portrayer of a true hero, however his characteristics are reasonably different compared to the ones we see in heroes today. In modern culture, the beautiful Tyra Banks is considered to be a popular idol and hero for young woman around the world. She is a tough cookie with also having a warm heart. She is fierce. Odysseus does not share those qualities with her. Thus sang the bard, but Odysseus drew his purple mantle over his head and covered his face, for he was ashamed to let the Phaeacians see that he was weeping.(99). Instead of covering her face up, Tyra would have turned her pain into beauty, however Odysseus chose to be ashamed and not show heroic qualities. One of my personal favorite fictional heroes of todays age is Captain America. He had to put in hard work to get where he got, but it all paid off in the end. He leaves no man behind and will face danger for anyone. What I have noticed about Odysseus is that he does not seem to care about what happens to the people around him. The men all fell into the sea; they were carried about in the water round the ship, looking like so many sea gulls, but the god presently deprived them all from getting home again.(173). Captain America would have been heartbroken if this had happened to him and would plot to avenge all of them almost immediately. Odysseus does not even think twice about how many mens deaths he has been responsible for, nor does he care about how many more to come.

Veelman 2 The magnificent Beyonc is one of the most powerful person in pop culture. She is a raging feminist that will fight for equal rights until the end of time. This is a true heroic aspect of hers that everyone can aspire to have. Even though equal rights were not big in Greek mythology, Odysseus does not have qualities like she does that everyone can look up to. He might be smart, but his selfishness and greediness controls him in a way that cancels it out. The differences in Odysseus and the heroes of todays age are strikingly dissimilar. His characteristics would not get him even close to being called a hero and maybe closer to a criminal. He would have been in jail and definitely not seen as a true hero if he had done what he did in the book in this generation. Odysseus may have been an idol in Greek mythology, but in the current culture he would not.

Works Cited Homer, and Frederic Will. The Odyssey. New York: Pocket, 2005. Print.