Essay --

ley Mack Ms. Barr English 9 Honors December 11, 2013 The Morality of It All â€Å"A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true†; this Socratic idea demonstrates a very distinct concept of morality. It shows that morality is not to be based on emotion, but on logic. If a person chooses to use their emotions to fuel a system of morality, things could go downhill quickly. Just like Socrates had to choose between emotions and logic, in Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, the protagonist Odysseus struggles between emotions and logic as he tries to get his crew back safely after the Trojan War has ended. As he embarks on his journey home, he is faced with many obstacles and options that question his ethical beliefs. As time goes by and more and more of his crew eventually die off, he successfully moves on past his setbacks and finds himself back in his kingdom of Ithaca, only to discover it crawling with suitors attempting to woo his wife , Penelope. Odysseus is mostly construed as a tragic war hero with many flaws. He finds himself in many life-threatening situations as a direct result of his actions, he is characterized by having too much pride, and he is unfaithful to his wife. However, Odysseus is very much so still a hero because he perseveres and has an internal drive that gets him home no matter what, despite the fact his hubris is one of his biggest hindrances, his pride gets his men out of many dangerous situations, and even though he is physically adulterous to his wife, he emotionally longs for her then entire time he tries to reach home. Particularly, Odysseus is challenged with many treacherous obstacles, yet he finds... ...pon himself. As well. He reveals that he blinds the son of a god, and he falls to temptation. Throughout this experience, though, Odysseus tries to better himself, as you can see when he moves past Circe and Calypso to try to get home to his wife. He may still make a mistake now and then, but he is better than he was before. Odysseus is very much like people today. He tries his hardest to be the best he can, but sometimes fails to reach his goal and makes and error. Just like modern-day people, Odysseus is flawed. He had his hindrances, just like them. Newer generations most likely learn to make mistakes because they grow up watching their elders make mistakes. It is human nature to do something wrong now and again. Just because someone has flaws does not make them a bad person and Odysseus demonstrates how a good person could have imperfections through their values