RL: 4 The Odyssey: Sailing from Troy & Lotus Eaters
Aim: How does “Sailing from Troy” and “The Lotus Eaters” (Book IX) establish Odysseus’ role as a
leader?
Do Now: (In Groups)
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?
My group and I collectively agreed on missing our families the most. Of course, friends and special possessions would be missed as well. Personally, I would definitely miss the comfort of my room and my own space. We also talked about missing the stability of having a home. With Odysseus struggling for years to get home, he was mostly at sea during this period of time, surrounded by the many dangers that are the ocean and other godly threats. He didn’t have a stable home, or rather, base, for he was never in the same place for too long. Without the stability and comfort of being able to “go home”, there would definitely be feelings of anxiety and fear. I can say the same for us humans. Without our family and friends, or a possession we hold dearly, feelings of loss and fear are inevitable.
Why do we have sayings like the ones below?
The word homesick is used to describe how we feel when we miss our home. The feelings of longing and yearning to be back in the comfort of your home can be heart-aching and painful ones, similar to that of feeling sick. “Home sweet home” and “there’s no place like home” however, can be used to describe how fond one is of their home. Calling your home “sweet” means that it is a welcoming and pleasant place, one that you treasure. If “there’s no place like home”, it means that no matter how beautiful or tranquil or delightful a place is, it’s still not better than your own home. We use these phrases to emphasize how much we love and adore our homes, to the point of them being a pillar of stability and comfort.
Characterization
-The method by which an author creates the personality and appearance of their character.
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 TELLS the reader what they want them to know.
Indirect Characterization: indirectly stated from characters' actions, choices they make, dialogue/relationships with others, thoughts, feelings. The author SHOWS the reader what they want them to know.
Use the STEAL method for Indirect Characterization
SPEECH - What does the character say? How does the character speak?
THOUGHTS - What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings?
EFFECT - What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people? How do other 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?
After, we watched a video focused on the indirect characterization of Anna from Frozen to aid our understanding of this topic. → Characterization Lesson | Using Disney's Frozen [4:55]
The Odyssey: Group Work & Class Discussion
Sailing from Troy (lines 18-69)
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?
Find lines & specific evidence that describe these feelings.
Odysseus holds his home in Ithaca in a special position, even saying that “I shall not see on earth a place more dear”, longing to hurry back after the end of the Trojan War. We can see how much he adores and treasures his home. Odysseus’ love for his home is unrivaled for even the temptation of “Calypso, the loveliest among goddesses…Circe of Aeaea, the enchantress,” could not sway him, as he claims that “in my heart I never gave consent”. In the ending lines of this poem, Odysseus asks “Where shall a man find sweetness to surpass his own home and his parents?” and answers with “In far lands he shall not,” clearly stating how he will never find a place better than his home. With lines 21 to 37, it is evident how Odysseus loves his home dearly and how important it is to him.
In your notes, summarize the key events in "The Lotus Eaters."
After angering Zeus, Odysseus and his shipmates get swept away by Zeus’ storm, eventually landing on the coast of the Lotus-Eater’s home. Odysseus sends two picked men and a runner to scout but finds that the Lotus-Eaters bear no ill intent and even offer lotus’ to the starved men. However, the men who ate the sweet lotus flowers changed and didn’t want to go home. They only wanted to stay there forever. Odysseus realizes the truth of the lotus flowers and immediately brings the men back to their ship, even tying them to their rowing benches. He orders his men to get on board and leave quickly because if you were to eat a lotus flower, you would lose your “hope of home”.
What kind of world do you think the Lotus Eaters live in?
Describe the type of lifestyle it is?
My group and I came to the conclusion that the Lotus-Eaters probably live in a beautiful and tranquil place full of lotus flowers but, with the “brain-washing” effect that these flowers had, no one would have any real dreams or emotions. These Lotus-Eater’s have no reason other than wanting to live on that little island forever, not caring for their home and families, rendering their seemingly nice lives, emotionless. Although life would be peaceful living in this type of world, it would be like living in a cage. A pretty cage, but a cage nonetheless.
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?
With the use of pretty lotus flowers, a symbol of purity and sacredness, and the kindness of the Lotus-Eaters, Homer paints their land as a peaceful and floral paradise. He even describes the lotus flowers as sweet, honeyed plants, lifting the image of these flowers and the Lotus-Eaters. But with Odysseus’ cleverness, he sees the corrupting effect that comes with consuming the lotus flower and quickly escapes from the trap. Since the flowers cause one to desire to live on that forever and forget their homelands, Odysseus, who longs to return home, sees this land negatively. On the surface, the land of the Lotus-Eaters is a paradise filled with sweet flowers but the flowers trap you into never leaving and forgetting your real home. And even if the land was a true paradise, living peacefully yet monotonically without any real emotions doesn’t sound as nice anymore. Of course, that is only if the land of the Lotus-Eaters was a true paradise. Since Odysseus left early enough to not get trapped, we’re unsure of what lies beyond, deep in the so-called paradise. For all we know, the Lotus-Eaters could be monsters in disguise who lure you in just to eat you. Even if it is a little exaggerated, it is a possibility. Either way, the weird effects of the lotus flowers are enough to make anyone wary of this “veritable paradise”. In class, we also talked about the Percy Jackson movies and how in one of them, Percy and his friends go to a casino in hopes of finding what they need but, after eating the Lotus cookies, they forget about their goal and end up staying there for days.
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?
In "Sailing from Troy”, Odysseus leads his men to Cicones and storms the place, kills the men, enslaves the women, and steals the goods. Although these are terrible deeds, Odysseus does try to stop his “mutinous men” when they go too far and try to leave Cicones before it was too late. But, they were indeed too late, so they fought against Cicones’ army regardless of being outnumbered. However, this only led to the foolish death of his many crewmates and friends and the wrath of Zeus. From this portion of the text, we can see that Odysseus did not do his duty as leader and instead, led his men to their doom. Odysseus’ leadership abilities in this text are far inferior to his leadership abilities in “The Lotus Eaters” where even after encountering a potentially dangerous island, Odysseus takes the liberty to lead his crew back on their ships and warn them of the lotus flowers. He even ties the men who have the flowers under their rowing benches, showing that he cares about his shipmates and doesn’t want to lose anymore. “All hands aboard; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus, or you lose your hope of home.” With these words, my opinion of Odysseus is that he is a good person and has good leadership skills but, he is human and probably makes a lot of mistakes throughout his journey.
Reflection:
In this lesson, I felt that I learned more about Odysseus as a character and how he acts as a leader. His foolishness and inability in “Sailing from Troy” contrasts with his leadership in “The Lotus Eaters”, which could be something we see throughout the rest of the journey. I am curious to see how Odysseus changes as a person and how he manages against his troubles during his journey. I enjoyed doing the group work this class because I found the questions for “The Lotus Eaters” really interesting and my group and I had quite a long discussion about them. I think one of my favorite parts of this lesson was the Frozen video not only because it showed the Frozen characters, Anna and Elsa, but I find indirect characterization to be fun when reading. Although it might be hard to understand a character this way, I think it’s way more fun to figure out a character and find the mysteries behind them. I also enjoyed the story of the Lotus-Eaters. I find it fascinating to figure out the truth behind the weird “brain-washing” flower and the oddly nice people who eat them.
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