Odysseus

There are many characters in which to choose from Homer's epic The Odyssey, but I chose Odysseus. Not untill book 5 do we now see Odysseus in action, up until now do we hear second hand of Odysseus and his heroics, held in such high regard and admiration by King Menelaus and King Nestor. However in book 5 on the island we do not see him as the herioc figure he is touted as by others, no, we see him as a broken man, consumed by grief and tormented by the gods. He seems to be resigned to his captive fate on the island with Calypso, a man who spends his days in sorrow and his nights in a bed that is not his own, no way to escape. Not until Hermes brings word to Calypso that Zeus decrees that Odysseus must be allowed to leave. On his travels across the ocean do we start to see Odysseus begin to shine as a hero.
We see Odysseus overcome Posiedon's wrath. His ship now destroyed Odysseus must swim for landfall. He has lost sight of land and lost his way but Odysseus never surrenders to the ocean and heroicaly overcomes a myriad of obsticles to finally reach shore, tiring but never giving up, showing great determination and fortitude in the face of death.