Throughout the epic of The Odyssey those who boast usually have an unfortunate fate. Such a boastful character who is introduced early on in the epic is Ajax. Ajax is sailing, when a storm overturns his boat and kills all of his crew mates. However Poseidon is in a particularly good mood and decides to calm the waves in order for Ajax to survive. Unfortunately for Ajax, he decides to say, "In the teeth of the gods, I have escaped the ocean's sheer abyss"(140, 565-566). Now Poseidon didn't like Ajax lying about how he saved himself one bit and decided that maybe he should kill him. So Poseidon strikes the rock Ajax is standing on with his trident and kills him. This little tidbit not only shows that one shouldn't be boastful, but in particular one shouldn't be boastful over something that they didn't actually do. Another example of boastfulness leading to a downfall is when Broadsea decides to challenge Odysseus' masculinity by belittling him, implying that Broadsea is the better man. He says, "Oh I knew it! I never took you for someone skilled in games, the kind that real men play throughout the world. Not a chance. You're some skipper of profiteers, roving the high seas in his scudding craft, reckoning up his freight with a keen eye out for home-cargo, grabbing the gold he can! You're no athlete. I see that"(196, 182-188). Odysseus then proves him wrong by throwing a discus much farther than any of the other men, and challenging anyone but his host to a competition of any kind. These examples show that when one brags, they only end up making a fool of them selves.
No comments:
Post a Comment