Blogger #28 - Cheng Jie Yau - Period 5 Day B - 12/17/20

 Blogger #28 - Cheng Jie Yau - Period 5 Day B - 12/17/20 Freshmen 2021

Aim: How does “Sailing From Troy” and “The Lotus Eaters” (Book IX) establish Odysseus’ role as a leader?

Do now:

We started off the class by considering the fact that Odysseus was trying to return home for 10 years and imagining us being in that situation. What would we miss and why? We each missed something different and unique. Some missed the comfort of their home, their family, and even their toilet. We also answered why we have sayings such as the ones below. We decided that we have these sayings because it helps us put the feelings we have about home into words.

We then learned about 2 types of characterization, indirect and direct characterization. Characterization is the method used by the author to create the personality and appearance of the characters. Direct characterization is when the author tells the reader what they want them to know. While indirect characterization is when the author shows the reader what they want them to know. We also talked about the STEAL method for indirect characterization which stands for Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others toward the character, Actions, and Looks.

Speech- What does the character say?

How does the character speak?

Thoughts- What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and actions?

Effects- 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?

Then we watched this video to get a better understanding of characterization. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZnD0AGqQ7I

We then read Sailing from Troy (lines 18-69) from the Odyssey https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Db2LMqE9jPc2KWYqU-w6nlXJHnEVoqBB/view?usp=sharing

This was about Odysseus’ longing to go to his home back in Ithaca

We then worked in groups to answer these questions

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? 

We decided that Odysseus misses his home as he doesn’t feel the same as he does at home anywhere else

• Find lines & specific evidence that describe these feelings.  

Line 35-37 where he talks about a house of gold

Afterwards, we read The Lotus Eaters (Lines 70-108) from the Odyssey

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Db2LMqE9jPc2KWYqU-w6nlXJHnEVoqBB/view?usp=sharing

This section was about Odysseus encountering the Lotus eaters who showed no will to do any harm to them and only care about offering the Lotus plant to them. However, those who ate the Lotus only longed to stay forever not caring about reporting nor returning anymore. However, Odysseus who did not want to abandon his men tied those who ate the Lotus under their rowing benches forcing them to sail away.

We then broke up into groups again to answer the following

2. In your notes, summarize the key events in "The Lotus Eaters."

Odysseus meets the Lotus eaters and his men who ate the plant wanted to stay and lost their willingness to go home. So he tied them down and forced them to continue their journey home and told his other men not to eat the plant.

3. What kind of world do you think the Lotus Eaters live in?

• Describe the type of lifestyle it is?

The lifestyle of the Lotus Eaters is like a fantasy or paradise where they don’t have to worry about anything, and have no goals.

4. What do you think Homer is implying about this?

1. 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?

2. The land of the Lotus eaters makes you forget about everything else other than the Lotus such as their longing to go home. The land is seen by Odysseus as negative and something to escape because it makes you forget your goals and problems and it is keeping them from completing what they have been trying to do. This place is wrong because it makes you forget your goals and dreams and keeps you on the land of the Lotus Eater forever.

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?

In Sailing from Troy, Odysseus appears to be a reckless leader and brutal as he storms Cicones, kills the men that fought and enslaved the women. While in the Lotus Eaters, he shows more leadership saving the men that ate the Lotus plants by tying them to the rowing benches and warning his other men of the effects of the Lotus plant. This has changed my opinions on him as he could’ve easily abandoned his men and just left them on the Lotus Eaters’ land instead of going through the trouble of bringing them along with him. These events are important to understanding his character because it depicts that though he is a hero, not everything he does is necessarily good and he has done both good and evil despite being a “hero”.

Reflection:

In this lesson I learned more about the two types of characterization. Direct characterization is when the author tells the readers what they want them to know. In indirect characterization, the author shows the readers what they want them to know. We also learned about the journey of Odysseus, what happened when he sailed from Troy and his encounter with the Lotus Eaters. This information will be important because it will give me a better understanding of Odysseus as a character. Through this lesson we learn about how Odysseus’ leadership is dynamic and changes based on the situation as he can sometimes be a reckless leader while other times, he can actually be a good leader who is capable of guiding his men. I will use this knowledge in the future to better understand complex characters such as Odysseus.