In Book 11, Odysseus's strong ego is still going strong and for about five hours, he has been telling his worthless tale to the Phaeacians. In his retelling of the story, Odysseus is a big bad moral and goes down to the dead to say hi and what's up. He does this because it is what Circe told him to do. Here in the dark, gloomy, and extremely scary underworld of Hades, Odysseus is talking to the ghosts of dead people. He learns not to touchy touchy the flocks of the sun. Odysseus also talks to many more deady people who tell him their tales as well as ask him for news of what's going on up in the alive town. Odysseus finally tells the Phaeacians that he was too scared by the masses of decomposed people that despite his heroic bravery he decided to make a run for his ship in which he sailed away. The tone of Homer when Odysseus was down in Hades increasingly became negative and made Odysseus sound as if he was despairing of the thought of being in the underworld.

When Book 12 marches into play, the readers learn from the way of Homer, that while Odysseus may be strong and smart, his crew is stupid and insolent and they do not obey Odysseus's wise and educated cautions. Odysseus tells the Phaeacians that he returned to Circe. The way Homer tells this book brings out the hero concept so much because he writes of how Odysseus's crew messes up so bad but Odysseus is the one who ultimately suffers in the end because the men of his ship die instantly. Odysseus is the hero because he took hits that he did nothing to inflict, and therefore he is losing but is still the hero.

Book number sixteen brings on a lot of literary devices that Homer craftily uses. Homer uses visual imagery to describe how majestic Odysseus looked to Telemachus when Athena changed his appearance. This is important because it shows Odysseus as the hero and being all great. Homer also uses other literary devices such as mood to show how fervent and worried the suitors are of Telemachus's return.