Aim: How does “Sailing From Troy” and “The Lotus Eaters” (Book IX) establish Odysseus’ role as a leader?
The Do Now for today’s lesson was:
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?
The second part of the do now was accompanied by the following pictures:
Mrs. Peterson put our class into breakout rooms and we were given about 5 minutes to answer and discuss the do now questions. My group quickly decided that we would all definitely miss our family. Since we spend so much time with them, especially with remote learning, we take many things for granted. For example, a family member to keep you company, cooks you meals, etc. Artem commented saying that these sayings are most commonly thought of when someone may be enduring some hardships in life, because for many, home is associated with the feeling of comfort or relaxation.
After time was up and we returned to the main room, Mrs. Peterson began the class discussion. Many groups like us, said that they would miss their family, even if they may find them annoying, or loud sometimes. This especially true if you were in a situation like Odysseus, who is the main character of Homer’s The Odyssey in which he tries to get home after the Trojan War and ends up going on a long journey for 10 years. Others said that they would miss their bed, and the environment of their house. Mrs. Peterson noted that a home serves as a “safe space” for many people. At this point, the class moved onto slide 2 of the lesson.
On the second slide, we learned about the two different types of characterization that writers use to create a personality and appearance of their character. The first kind is direct characterization, in which the author will directly tell the reader what they want them to know about the character. The second type of characterization, known as indirect characterization, is different because the character is described by the actions they make, their relationships with others, thoughts, feelings and dialogue.
In order to help us better apply and understand indirect characterization in practice, Mrs. Peterson showed us the STEAL method on the following slide. The STEAL method is as follows:
Speech
Thoughts
Effect on others toward the character.
Actions
Looks
On the fourth slide, we went a bit more in-depth with how to use the STEAL method, and Mrs. Peterson showed us a quick 4 minute video of the 2 methods of characterization using the movie Frozen from Disney.
When we moved onto the next slide, the class read the excerpt Sailing From Troy from the Odyssey as a whole with the help of spirit readers. The passage is about Odysseus talking about why getting home was so important to him and recalling his journey home. One day the wind brought him and his men to Ismarus, where he and his men plundered the area. They enslaved the women, and feasted on goods and livestock. When the army of Ismarus retaliated, it caused the death of many of Odysseus’ men before they could retreat to their ship and make their escape. While reading we briefly discussed terms/names that we may not have known. For example: guile, Ithaca, Calypso, etc. After reading, we were split into our breakout groups once more to complete the following questions:
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.
The first thing we did in our groups was the events that took place in the excerpt and what is shown through Odyessus’ dialogue. Our group collectively came up with the answer of: “In lines 35-37, Odysseus talks about the traits and aspects of his home that he adored. As well as how there is no place that has the same sweetness to a person as their home, even if they were to find something of very high value elsewhere.” This question relates to the do now question, with the idea that home is extremely important to every person and is irreplaceable. After a few groups discussing their responses which were all quite similar to ours, we read the following chapter of the Odyssey, The Lotus Eaters.
The Lotus Eaters tells the reader about another one of Odysseus’ many adventures as he journeys home. After many days of terrible weather causing Odysseus and his crew to seek refuge on a lee, they eventually come upon the island who was home of the Lotus Eaters. Odysseus sent a few of his men off to see what types of people inhabited the island. However, these men lost sense of self after eating the sweet lotus on the island. Odysseus and his men had to forcefully drag these men back on the ship so they could continue sailing home.
In our breakout rooms, we had to summarize The Lotus Eaters as well as answer the following questions:
What kind of world do you think the Lotus Eaters live in?
Describe the type of lifestyle it is?
For this question, our group decided that the lotus eaters lived in an extremely carefree world, because they believed that they had everything they needed on the island and had no goals. Due to their lack of motivation, the lotus eaters felt content and didn’t wish to go anywhere else.
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?
The Odyssey characterizes the land of the Lotus Eaters as a paradise by showing that by eating the lotus and staying on the island the men could be carefree. However, Odysseus and the others didn’t like this because it made the men mindless with no goal in life, and they wished to return home. In such a place, without motivation you can't get anything done.
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?
For this final question, our group went over the passage and compared Odysseus’ actions. We came to the conclusion that Odysseus is a much wiser leader in the Lotus Eater. Mainly due to the fact that he controls his men. Odysseus drags his men who have been affected by the Lotus Eaters back onto the ship. This is unlike in “Sailing from Troy”, where he allowed his men to plunder the area. This led to many of his men dying after the people of said area retaliated. Therefore, in “The Lotus Eater”, Odysseus is a much wiser leader. This changed our opinion of him as an arrogant leader.
In conclusion, this lesson has taught me a lot about the different types of characterization. To restate a main point that I said before: in direct characterization, the author will tell you details about the character they want to know. In indirect characterization, the author will show you, through dialogue, relationships, actions, etc.
We were only able to come up with responses for the questions relating to The Lotus Readers and Sailing From Troy with the knowledge of indirect characterization. The STEAL method also came in handy when analyzing the text. Many times writers will not exactly say that a character has changed. The reader has to be able to see and tell that for themselves. To answer this lesson’s aim: “How does “Sailing From Troy” and “The Lotus Eaters” (Book IX) establish Odysseus’ role as a leader?” It shows Odysseus slowly adapting to fit into the role of leader that takes responsibility for his men. This is definitely shown through the contrast of his actions in The Lotus Readers and Sailing From Troy.
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