AIM: How does “Sailing From Troy” and “The Lotus Eaters” (Book IX) establish Odysseus’ role as a leader?
Do Now: Consider the fact that Odysseus has been trying to return to his home in Ithaca for 10 years. Imagine being away from your home for that long. What would you miss the most and why? Why do we have sayings like the ones below? Team name change!
Today’s do now had multiple parts:
First we changed the team names to ones that would suit The Odyssey.
Team 1- The Gods
Team 2 - The Sacred Cows
Team 3 - Eat the Rich
Team 4 - Des - Troy - Ers
Team 5 - The Muses
Team 6 - Home-r Alone
We had a class discussion responding to the first question: What would you miss the most and why?
Missing friends, pets, and family (company)
The familiarity of home
Home cooked meals lovingly made by a person you know and love
Own bed/room is always more comfortable and private
Computer games
We also had a class discussion responding to the second question: Why do we have sayings like the ones shown (above as the images)?
Home is the place where you have established yourself and created relationships so the sayings are used to express the need for comfort and familiarity.
Characterization: The method by which an author creates the personality and appearance of their character(s). There are two types of characterization.
Direct Characterization: The author makes direct statements about the character (can be revealed through a narrator or through another character in the story). The author EXPLICITLY TELLS the reader what they want them to know. For example:
“Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair and bright-green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Sellotape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.” - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
In this quote, J.K. Rowling is relaying to the reader Harry's ragtag appearance.
Indirect Characterization: Indirectly stated from the character’s actions, choices they make, dialogue/relationships with others, thoughts, and feelings. The author SHOWS the reader what they want them to know. For example:
“‘He accused me of being Dumbledore's man through and through.""How very rude of him.""I told him I was."Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry.” - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
This shows that Harry trusts Dumbledore and it shows that Dumbledore doesn’t expect Harry’s fidelity.
To determine indirect characterization use STEAL.
Speech
What does the character say? How does the character speak?
Thoughts
What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings?
Effects
What is revealed through the character’s effects on other people? How do characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?
Actions
What does the character do? How does the character behave?
Looks
What does the character look like? How does the character dress?
We watched this video which used Frozen to teach characterization:
Characterization Lesson | Using Disney's Frozen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZnD0AGqQ7I
Spirit Reading: Sailing from Troy (lines 18-69) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Db2LMqE9jPc2KWYqU-w6nlXJHnEVoqBB/view
Ten years after the Trojan War, Odysseus departs from the goddess Calypso's island. He arrives in Phaeacia, ruled by Alcinous. Alcinous offers a ship to Odysseus and asks him to tell of his adventures.
"I am Laertes's son, Odysseus.
Men hold me formidable for guile in peace and war:
this fame has gone abroad to the sky's rim.
My home is on the peaked sea-mark of Ithaca
under Mount Neion's wind-blown robe of leaves,
in sight of other islands-Dulichium,
Same, wooded Zacynthus—Ithaca
being most lofty in that coastal sea,
and northwest, while the rest lie east and south.
A rocky isle, but good for a boy's training;
I shall not see on earth a place more dear,
though I have been detained long by Calypso,
loveliest among goddesses, who held me
in her smooth caves, to be her heart's delight,
as Circe of Aeaea, the enchantress,
desired me, and detained me in her hall.
But in my heart I never gave consent.
Where shall a man find sweetness to surpass
his own home and his parents? In far lands
he shall not, though he find a house of gold.
What of my sailing, then, from Troy?
What of those years of rough adventure, weathered under Zeus?
The wind that carried west from Ilium
brought me to Ismarus, on the far shore,
a strong point on the coast of Cicones.
I stormed that place and killed the men who fought.
Plunder we took, and we enslaved the women,
to make division, equal shares to all -
but on the spot I told them: 'Back, and quickly!
Out to sea again!' My men were mutinous,
fools, on stores of wine. Sheep after sheep
they butchered by the surf, and shambling cattle,
feasting,—while fugitives went inland, running
to call to arms the main force of Cicones.
This was an army, trained to fight on horseback
or, where the ground required, on foot. They came
with dawn over that terrain like the leaves
and blades of spring. So doom appeared to us,
dark word of Zeus for us, our evil days.
My men stood up and made a fight of it -
backed on the ships, with lances kept in play,
from bright morning through the blaze of noon
holding our beach, although so far outnumbered;
but when the sun passed toward unyoking time,
then the Achaeans, one by one, gave way.
Six benches were left empty in every ship
that evening when we pulled away from death.
And this new grief we bore with us to sea:
our precious lives we had, but not our friends.
No ship made sail next day until some shipmate had raised a cry,
three times, for each poor ghost
unfleshed by the Cicones on that field.
Group Work:
Keep in mind that the Odyssey is the account of Odysseus' ten-year journey back home to Ithaca. He misses his family and home; therefore, we will often find connections to this throughout the poem.
Identify lines in which Odysseus talks about his home in Ithaca.
How does he feel about it?
My team said that Odysseus feels like his home is the best and he can find happiness. He begins his description with descriptions of the geological features then he discusses home which describes the wistful longing for home when he was on his journey.
The class agreed, Ms. Peterson makes the distinction that Odysseus actually misses and has a strong desire to go home compared to the do now when many people were joking.
Find lines & specific evidence that describe these feelings.
My team identified
“A rocky isle, but good for a boy's training; I shall not see on earth a place more dear,”
“Where shall a man find sweetness to surpass his own home and his parents?”
In the discussion the class identified the same evidence.
Spirit Reading: Lotus Eaters (lines 70 - 108) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Db2LMqE9jPc2KWYqU-w6nlXJHnEVoqBB/view
Now Zeus the lord of cloud roused in the north
a storm against the ships, and driving veils
of squall moved down like night on land and sea.
The bows went plunging at the gust; sails
cracked and lashed out strips in the big wind.
We saw death in that fury, dropped the yards,
unshipped the oars, and pulled for the nearest lee:
then two long days and nights we lay offshore
worn out and sick at heart, tasting our grief,
until a third Dawn came with ringlets shining.
Then we put up our masts, hauled sail, and rested,
letting the steersmen and the breeze take over.
I might have made it safely home, that time,
but as I came round Malea the current
took me out to sea, and from the north
a fresh gale drove me on, past Cythera.
Nine days I drifted on the teeming sea
before dangerous high winds. Upon the tenth
we came to the coastline of the Lotus-Eaters,
who live upon that flower. We landed there to take on water. All ships' companies
mustered alongside for the mid-day meal.
Then I sent out two picked men and a runner
to learn what race of men that land sustained.
They fell in, soon enough, with Lotus-Eaters,
who showed no will to do us harm, only
offering the sweet Lotus to our friends -
but those who ate this honeyed plant, the Lotus,
never cared to report, nor to return:
they longed to stay forever, browsing on
that native bloom, forgetful of their homeland.
I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships,
tied them down under their rowing benches,
and called the rest: 'All hands aboard;
come, clear the beach and no one taste
the Lotus, or you lose your hope of home.'
Filing in to their places by the rowlocks
my oarsmen dipped their long oars in the surf,
and we moved out again on our sea faring.
Group Work:
In your notes, summarize the key events in "The Lotus Eaters."
My team said that the key events were: Zeus sent a storm to blow Odysseus and his crew off course to the Lotus Eater island, Odysseus sent a scouting party who ended up eating the Lotus, the scouting party becomes delirious and want to stay on the island but Odysseus forces them onto the boat, and they all leave the island.
The class agreed.
What kind of world do you think the Lotus Eaters live in?
Describe the type of lifestyle it is?
My team’s report is that the Lotus Eaters live in a seemingly carefree world where responsibility is forgotten. This is a perceived utopia where people were only concerned about consuming the lotuses and had no struggle but these people forgot aspects of their life that made them them. Everyone has struggles and those struggles help build character so forgetting the struggles is like forgetting oneself.
In the class discussion, AJ brought up Percy Jackson where there is a Lotus Casino. The protagonists eat the lotus and lose sight of their goals and struggles.
What do you think Homer is implying about this?
How does the Odyssey characterize the land of the Lotus-eaters as a veritable (real or genuine) paradise? And, why, then, is this land seen by Odysseus and others as negative, and something from which to escape? What do you think is wrong with such a place, if anything?
My team said that the Odyssey characterized the land of the Lotus-eaters as a genuine Utopia by presenting a reality where the men are given comforts without the need to work. The men are in a denial about their situation and require an escape. After consuming the plant they are delusional and believe that staying on the island will be easier than trying to return home. The island presents the certainty that traveling home doesn’t have. The issue with this utopia is the idea that you can receive services in exchange for nothing. People always want recognition or acknowledgment so it would be difficult to envision a place where there is a group of people who don’t have to suffer.
The class discussion brought up the dangers of forgetting what you cared about. Forgetting these things makes someone lose sight of who they actually are.
5. Consider the kind of leader Odysseus appears to be in "Sailing from Troy."
How do his leadership abilities compare to how he is in "The Lotus Eaters?"
Has your opinion of him changed? Why/Why not?
Why do you think these events are important to understanding Odysseus' character?
The team discussed the idea of his actions buttressing our idea of Odysseus. Previously we know that Odysseus was able to resist the temptation of wine and feasting. Odysseus is resisting the offer of freedom and instead forces everyone to board the ship and go back because he can see through the veil. Odysseus understood at once that the lotuses were a lie showing his wisdom and assertiveness.
The class expanded on our team’s idea and provided the POV that "The Lotus Eaters” could shed light on who Odysseus is. Previously we were given descriptions of Odysseus being guile and thief-like. Now that we are given a demonstration of his will and his leadership it shows that Odysseus is actually an admirable figure.
Reflection:
In this lesson, I learned about direct and indirect characterization and applied the concept to two passages from The Odyssey. Direct characterization is when the author explicitly states information about a character. Indirect characterization is when the author demonstrates the information. In order to identify indirect characterization we apply the STEAL method by using speech, thoughts, effects, actions, and thoughts of other characters to characterize a character. In addition, I achieved an in-depth understanding of two of Homer’s works: “Sailing From Troy” and “The Lotus Eaters”. As I gain an understanding of each passage, I also gain a deeper understanding of Greek mythology, Greek history, and epic poetry which ties in the AP World History course where we just finished learning about Greek and the poetry unit we just completed in Freshman Literature. Today’s lesson showed me Odyseus’ willpower and his assertiveness as a leader which is a central theme to The Odyssey. I gained this knowledge because of Ms. Peterson’s emphasis on group work discussions, by participating in conversations with my classmates I was able to gain insight to different perspectives. Moving forward, I will keep in mind the leadership as well as how to identify characterization. In Greek mythology it was imperative to use humans to convey certain morals and ideals so I will apply the STEAL method to analyze characters and glean as much information about these morals as possible.
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