In The Odyssey, by Homer, characters are portrayed with special character attributes and personalities. The main character is shown as superior to most characters, but not in everything. His epic flaw, excessive pride, has put him, his kin, and friends in jeopardy, in perilous situations, and caused him to lose time.
First, his major fault is the cause of his getting home after twenty years. When Odysseus had just defeated Troy he was really full of it, causing him to forget to thank the gods. If he hadn’t gone on his way without hecatombs, the gods would not have been mad at him. His journey would have been steered clear of all the obstacles he encountered later on, for it was the gods who caused him this grievance. If he had not lost all this time he could’ve been home before all the suitors started barging into his home.
Second, Odysseus’s conceit almost caused him to lose his ship and crew closer to the beginning. On the Cyclops’s island, he lost six crew members who were eaten by Polythemus, son of Poseidon. Even on the ship after that loss, Odysseus yells back at the Cyclops taunting him, plus telling him who he is and where he’s trying to go. This causes tops of hills to go flying at his ship which are thrown by Polythemus. Not listening to his crew to shut up almost causes him and his shipmates to be lost. Since Polythemus knew who had blinded him, he told Poseidon to punish Odysseus, therefore causing him to be lost at sea for ten years.
Finally, his excessive pride did bring a huge job on his way home. After encountering Aeolus, Odysseus was given a bag of bad winds that would prevent him from reaching Ithaca. He thought his crew would mess things up so he guarded it day and night so nobody would touch it. He soon fell asleep when they were within the Ithacan coastline. His crew thinking him greedy and hiding a sack of gold, opened the bag and blew them back to Aeolus. They did not receive any more help and ended up furthering their time at sea and strengthening the fact that all but Odysseus would die.
In conclusion, His epic flaw, excessive pride, has put him, his family, and friends in jeopardy in perilous situations, and caused him to lose time. If he had controlled his conceit at least a little, he could’ve made it home before the suitors, watched his son grow up, and saved most of his crew.
