In Robert Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey, Odysseus leads his men through the unthinkable, and successfully gets them out of harms way because he utilizes his ability to formulate plans, and carry them out quickly and effectively. Throughout the epic, Odysseus makes numerous decisions that affect him and his men, these decisions have come to impact their journey home. In doing this, he has made several mistakes that Odysseus later learns from in order to make himself a better person, and a better leader. For instance, when Odysseus and his men land on the Island of the Cyclops, Odysseus decides to enter the caves out of curiosity. Also, once Odysseus and his men are inside ...view middle of the document...
Odysseus learned from this, the fact that he should think before he makes an action or decision.Another instance where he makes a bad decision, takes place once they are actually inside the Cyclops' Cave when Odysseus taunts them with the following: "You are a ninny, or else you come form the other end of nowhere..." (200 - 01). This proves that he was taunting the Cyclops without thinking. By doing this he put his men's lives at steak because the Cyclops then threw mountains at the men. Then after the Cyclops asks Odysseus about his ship, Odysseus states: "Neither reply nor pity came from him." (215). By saying this, he is in a sense, "dumb" because of the fact that the Cyclops did not have any reaction. This aggravated the Cyclops even more, which eventually pushed him into violently throwing mountains at Odysseus.Another example of a mistake that Odysseus has made would be when his men slaughter the Sun God's cattle and Odysseus falls asleep. This was an error that Odysseus made because he did not think to stay awake to watch his men. For he knew that if he didn't, the Sun God would have gotten angry and taken the sun away from the earth. Once Odysseus awakens, he states: "O Father Zeus...
