Michael Kusuma

Period:1:Eng 1p

June 11, 2017

Collection 6 Essay

I know youve watched action movies before and the main character always goes on a

journey. But the thing that we ignore is the fact that the character changes in one way or another

throughout the adventure. For example in the story The Odyssey by Homer, the character

disobeys the gods and throughout his journey he has to learn and change in order for him to

survive and return home at Ithaca.

Another example of a character needing to change was in the non-fiction story The Cruelest

Journey by Kira Salak. Before Kira embarked on her journey she was already facing hardships

and she needed to get out of her comfort zone in order to accomplish her goal. She faced many

hardships and at the end, she learned something new about her.

In the Odyssey, The king of Ithaca, Odysseus, embarks on a journey to fight in a war of

Troy. After the war is won Odysseus needs to find a way home. Then he encounters on an island

and decides to stay. Little did they know, there was a cyclops living on the island named

Polyphemus. Later on the cyclops traps Odysseus and his men in his cave with a giant boulder.

Odysseus needed to leave the island and he thought of a plan. He executed the plan perfectly and

when he was escaping he did the worst mistake of his life. The text states that he Odysseus,

raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes son, whose homes on Ithaca(Homer 363-364). This

means that after he blinded the cyclops, he wanted to take pride of doing that so he states his

name and where he was from. This shows Odysseus is cocky and arrogant and this decision will
soon give trouble to him in the future. As Odysseus faces many problems throughout his journey

he learns a few lessons. He realizes that he has to be more careful about what he says or does

because it might take his life. Later on, he arrives on Ithaca and athena disguised him as an old

beggar. He sees all the suitors with his wife and he has to patiently wait for the right time. And

when he did get his time, the text states Odysseus took his time, turning the bow, tapping it,

every inch,...(Homer 94-95). This means that when Odysseus got his chance he was ready as he

observes his bow. The moment he arrived home, he had to be patient and clever so that the

people wouldnt be shocked. Odysseus learned many things and there is a similar character that

goes through many hardships and learns something at the end.

In The Cruelest Journey by Kira Salak, Salak embarks on a journey across the niger

and before she did she already encounters a problem. She states And now, at the very hour

when I have decided to leave, a thunderstorm bursts open the skies(Salak 4-5). This explains

what is about to happen and foreshadows more events in the future that tests Salaks willpower

and patience. The one reason Salak took this journey was to find something new about herself

and for now all she knew was that she would not give up to achieve her dreams or goals in life

but she didnt know what she lifestyle she wanted. After she finishes her journey she receives

food and water. She is too cold to celebrate for her accomplishment but she thinks of what she

learned from this journey. Then she states I know now, with the utter conviction of my heart,

that I want to avoid that stagnant life. I want the world to always be offering me the new, the

grace of the unfamiliar.(Salak 226-228). At the end of her journey she learns that she doesnt

want to have a boring life style. Instead she wants to explore the world and embark on many new

adventures. And as she states she doesnt want the stagnant life and becomes humble.
 Journeys have the potential to change a person in way. Whether its for good or evil. My

journey started on the first day of school. And I had many hardships to face. I had to make new

friends and stuff was happening at home. Throughout this journey, there were many ups and

downs and I really didnt like it. But there was this one person who has made my life in school

better. I gained more confidence in myself and I learned how to go through life and deal with all

the problems it gave to me. This person has been with me throughout the whole year and has

never left me alone to deal with some of my problems. My freshman year couldnt be any better

as it has changed me as a person and how I view things in life. Now I try to always look on the

brightside of things and try to help people who were in my position.