The Odyssey Case

The Odyssey

Some mistakes we as people make are more consequential than others but sometimes, much like what happens to Odysseus in the story, we're harder on ourselves about our mistakes than the individuals it concerns are on us. Sometimes the best way to deal with your mistakes is to accept what you did as a mistake, correct it the best way you can, and move forward. Interestingly enough, I can relate to Odysseus when it comes to punishing yourself for your own mistakes. In the story, he gloated and teased Polyphemus after he and his men escaped from his wrath, but was then sentenced to be the only person to hear the Sirens torturous cries later on. While yes, he was told by Circe that he was to do this, he did not complain. It was almost like Odysseus was accepting what he'd done to Polyphemus as wrong and making himself suffer for it. As for my relation to this event in the story, when I was five years old I recall a day that my brother Ashton wouldn't let me play video games with him. Out of spite, I decided to take his souvenir Mariners baseball bat and crack it over his head. I instantaneously knew this was a mistake and the guilty conscience I had was enough to make myself regret ever doing it in the first place. I ran straight to my room and cried for hours because of how badly I felt about doing such a thing to someone who really didn't deserve it at all. These two events relate because of the sheer bad feelings and self punishment awarded on top of all the actual physical punishment that comes along with making such big mistakes. Mistakes are something that everyone makes and you have to make up for them at some point, just like Odysseus and I both had to after doing the things we both were quite remorseful over later on.