Thomas Marinaro
Freshman Literature 2020
Class Period 1
May 29, 2020
Aim: How does Odysseus establish his authority as an epic hero in the episode of "The Challenge" and "Odysseus‘ Revenge?”
What I learned in the lesson today.
The lesson centers around the concept of revenge vs fairness in the context of Odysseus's revenge. The story starts off with Penelope offering a challenge to the suitors, to shoot an arrow through the socket of axes after stringing together the mighty bow of odysseus. Telemachus tries and comes close to stringing the bow but ultimately fails at it. The other suitors follow suit all failing terribly. When Antinous exclaims how it is impossible, to which the disguised Odysseus asks for a turn and masterfully shoots the arrow through the axe sockets. Then he proceeds to shoot Antinous while he is drinking. The other suitors are outraged and search for weapons, yet Odysseus and Telemachus hid all the weapons. Then, Odysseus brutally slaughters the suitors in his hall. He does this even after they offer him repayment for their misdeeds. He refuses the repayment and starts killing the suitors.
My reflection
This is the climax of the story as odysseus is reunited with his family and he reaches his goal yet several things must be done before he is in the clear. These are things that Tiresias prophesied that came to fruition. As a reader we can see what is going to happen. The story now revolves around Odysseus putting his life back together.
Thoughts about the reading
I believe Odysseus was not justified in his revenge against the suitors from a moral standpoint, as he could have gotten more in repayment and the crime of being a suitor is not that large. Yet Odysseus is not acting morally he is acting on prophecy which is always right.
Why did I learn it and What updates around the world do you see it pertains to ?
This brings up the topic of revenge,fairness and justice which is very prevalent today as riots were sparked by the death of George Floyd and fueled by centuries of systemic racism.
What it’s like working from home
Working from home is more difficult and different than being in school, it feels as though we are not learning and we are submitting work to submit work-I miss the feedback of talking over the work in class with our teachers. We aren’t seeing the teacher in person and classes are every three days instead of every day.
How I feel about what’s happening now
As crowds of activists peacefully protest pushing for an end to police brutality, deep emotions that transcend reason surface on both sides .Sadly, this sparks revenge with acts of violence against both sides. Yet there are good people on both sides pushing for fairness and an end to violence I don’t want the virus to spread but I don’t want these issues to go unchecked.
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