Aim: How does “Sailing From Troy” and “The Lotus Eaters” (Book IX) establish Odysseus’ role as a leader?
Do Now (Team List activity):
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 most and why? Why do we have sayings like the ones below?
My group brought up missing friends and family, noting how it would be difficult to be away from the people you love. Also, we noted how there’s a certain comfort in the familiarity of your home that you don’t get when you are away. This is especially true in regard to the images. There is truly no place like home.
When the class discussed, there was also heavy emphasis placed on the comfort and familiarity of home, and things that go along with it. Specifically, one thing brought up was home cooked meals, which can be a symbol of love among family.
We then spirit-read about two different forms of characterization; direct and indirect.
Direct - The author makes direct statements about a character. They TELL the reader about the character.
Indirect - the author indirectly describes the character through their actions, choices, dialogue, thoughts, or feelings. The author SHOWS the reader who the character is.
For indirect characterization, we learned how to use the STEAL method.
S peach - What does the character say?
How does the character speak?
T houghts - What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings?
E ffects - What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people?
How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?
A ctions - What does the character do?
How does the character behave?
L ooks - What does the character look like?
How does the character dress?
To enforce our learning, we took notes and watched a video about examples of characterization in Disney’s Frozen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZnD0AGqQ7I
After watching the video, we moved on to a spirit-reading session of sections of the Odyssey, Sailing from Troy and The Lotus Eaters. The speaker, Odysseus, told of the beginning of his story, including one of the first big issues among some of his men - the Lotus Plant.
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 the lines in which Odysseus talks about his home in Ithaca. How does he feel about it? Find lines and specific evidence that describes these feelings.
My group felt that Odysseus thinks very highly of his home. It is not perfect but he loves it all the same. He says, “Ithaca… a rocky isle, but good for a boy’s training.” He also says, “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.” He says there is nothing to fill the void of home except home itself, not even a house of gold.
In your notes, summarize the key events in “The Lotus Eaters.”
Odysseus and his crew ultimately became lost at sea due to a devastating storm, and found an island to dock at. On this island dwelled the Lotus Eaters. Though they posed no harm at first, the food they provided did. Those who at the Lotus lost their hope of home, and decided to stay there and not return to the ships.
What kind of world do you think the Lotus Eaters live in? Describe the type of lifestyle this is.
The Lotus Eaters seemed to be carefree. They felt no need to return back home, for they were happy there. It seems they live in a peaceful place. Technically this could be described as lethargy, the desire to be stagnant. However, the connotation of being lethargic is not a positive one; these people seem to be very happy. They just do not want to leave.
What do you think Homer is implying about this?
The way that the land was depicted at first made it seem like a utopia. However, it was obviously seen that it was anything but. At least, that is what we as the audience are meant to believe. The people who have been “captured” seem to be incredibly happy to be there. For them it is a real paradise. I do not think there is anything inherently wrong with this, although if they had family it is certainly unfair to them.
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?
When Odysseus’ crew is at Troy, he is more timid as a leader. He is unable to stop his soldiers from pillaging and completely destroying the city. Now, he is forcefully taking his soldiers off of the island, which is in their best interest. He is taking action for the greater good of the people in his crew. My opinion of him has certainly changed, I think much higher of him. I feel that the events that transpired have shown Odysseus’ improved leadership.
Reflection:
In this lesson, we learned about direct and indirect characterization. We used this to help understand Odysseus’ character more fully. We also learned that Odysseus is a dynamic character. He has changed, and most likely will continue to change over the course of the story with his gaining experience. We can see this difference in how Odysseus is directly and indirectly characterized by the author, Homer. Not only is this useful for this story and characterizing Odysseus, however. It is also useful in understanding any character in the future.
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