1. Odysseus ".....Him she found sitting on the shore, and his eyes were never dry of tears, and his sweet life was ebbing away, as he longed mournfully for his return, for the nymph was no longer pleasing in his sight. By night indeed he would sleep by her side perforce in the hollow caves, unwilling beside the willing nymph....."
1.1. Traits
1.1.1. Proud
1.1.1.1. “....Cylops, if any mortal human being asks about the injury that blinded you, tell them Odysseus destroyed your eye, a sacker of cities, Laertes’ son, a man from Ithaca....." When he goes up against the Cyclops, at first Odysseus refuses to state his real name and instead declares his name is Nobody. Once he defeats him and leaves him blind, he cannot resist boasting his real name to the poor monster.
1.1.2. Confident
1.1.2.1. ".....So he spoke, tempting me, but he trapped me not because of my great cunning; and I made answer again in crafty words: `My ship Poseidon, the earth-shaker, dashed to pieces, casting her upon the rocks at the border of your land; for he brought her close to the headland, and the wind drove her in from the sea. But I, with these men here, escaped utter destruction......" We see how brave and confident Odysseus is when we discover that Poseidon has it out for him. Of course, our hero is not threatened, he is so powerful and brave, and he fears no one, not even a god.
1.1.3. Preserverence
1.1.3.1. ".....Dear friends, surely we are not unlearned in evils. This is no greater evil now than it was when the Cyclops had us cooped in his hollow cave by force and violence, but even there, by my courage and counsel and my intelligence, we escaped away. I think that all this will be remembered some day too. Then do as I say, let us all be won over....." . When a person has it, nothing will stop them from achieving something. It is a strong trait but not an easy one to attain. It is comes with great struggle but once the goal is met, it is worth it. I feel that my lesson also serves as the story’s main idea. Odysseus wanted to get home, he fought and traveled for years to do so, never giving up. He did finally make it home after ten years.
1.2. Protagonist
1.2.1. In the classic definition of the word “hero”, I guess you could say Odysseus is the hero. He defeats many monsters and is brave and strong, however, I find his attitude to not be one of a hero and actually find his personality to be vapid. He is not defeating these monsters because it is the right thing to do, he is doing it because they are attacking him or threatening to cause him harm in some way. I do not see that as being heroic, it is just serving the most basic human instinct, survival.
1.3. Static Character
1.3.1. I feel that Odysseus is a static character. We do not really see a change in his personality at all throughout the story. His characteristics are the same in the beginning, as they are in the end.
1.4. Mostly External Conflict
1.4.1. "..... "But all the gods pitied him except Poseidon; he remained relentlessly angry with godlike Odysseus, until his return to his own country....." Odysseus thinks far too much of himself to have any internal conflicts. All of his conflicts are external. He is constantly finding himself in danger due to the fact that Poseidon is out to get him at all costs. The whole book serves as an example of this.
2. Gilgamesh "Two-thirds of him is god, one-third of him is human. The Great Goddess [Aruru] designed(?) the model for his body, she prepared his form ... ... beautiful, handsomest of men ..., perfect ... He walks around in the enclosure of Uruk, Like a wild bull he makes himself mighty, head raised (over others). There is no rival who can raise his weapon against him."
2.1. Traits
2.1.1. Strong
2.1.1.1. ".....It was he who opened the mountain passes, who dug wells on the flank of the mountain....." If he is capable of doing all of this, he is obviously very strong, not to mention he is two-thirds God.
2.1.2. Persistent
2.1.2.1. ".....It was he who crossed the ocean, the vast seas, to the rising sun, who explored the world regions, seeking life. It was he who reached by his own sheer strength Utanapishtim, the Faraway, who restored the sanctuaries (or: cities) that the Flood had destroyed!...." He never gives up unless he does what he aimed to accomplish.
2.1.3. Selfish
2.1.3.1. ".....Gilgamesh does not leave a son to his father, "day and night he arrogantly ...Is he the shepherd of Uruk-Haven, is he their shepherd...bold, eminent, knowing, and wise, Gilgamesh does not leave a girl to her mother! The daughter of the warrior, the bride of the young man....." . He does as he pleases with no regard for anything but his own gratification. He takes boys and man and obligates them to fight him or one another for his own entertainment and takes all the virgins in his city and deflowers them.
2.2. Protagonist
2.2.1. " .....while Gilgamesh, like an expert butcher, boldly and surely approached the Bull of Heaven. Between the nape, the horns, and... he thrust his sword. After they had killed the Bull of Heaven, they ripped out its heart and presented it to Shamash....." Gilgamesh is a hero because he shows great strength and bravery. He is very clever but above all, he never gives up and always musters through everything to be triumphant.
2.3. Dynamic Character
2.3.1. ".....Over his friend, Enkidu, Gilgamesh cried bitterly, roaming the wilderness......"I consider Gilgamesh as a dynamic character because he starts off as a young, pompous, king. He does as he pleases with no regard for anything but his own gratification. After Enkidu’s death, we see an abrupt change. I feel the change is due to his despair of losing his best friend and it served as an eye opener for Gilgamesh. Enkidu’s death was a direct result of his misdeeds and poor decisions. I feel that once Gilgamesh saw the results of the behavior he was partaking in, he realized he needed to desist. It was a combination of these two reasons, that we saw a change in our protagonist. Encode is also a dynamic character. We see his change from being a primitive animal-like attractor to a somewhat civilized man.
2.4. Mostly Internal Conflict
2.4.1. ".....I am going to die!--am I not like Enkidu?! Deep sadness penetrates my core, I fear death, and now roam the wilderness-- I will set out to the region of Utanapishtim, son of Ubartutu, and will go with utmost dispatch!....." This shows how troubled Gilgamesh becomes by the thought of death and then gets the idea to seek out immortality. He struggles very much with the thought of dying.