Aim: How does The Odyssey, Book X further enhance our understanding of Odysseus’ plight; through his journey as a hero?
Do Now: Describe a time when you, or someone you know, felt something had to be done out of obligation (a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment). Tell the outcome.
For today’s Do Now, our class talked about times when we felt compelled to do something for a certain reason. Ms. Peterson defined obligation as feeling a strong duty or commitment to do something. In response to the Do Now, Annie said that after spending so much time with her cousin’s family, she felt obligated to ask if her cousin needed anything almost as a form of repayment.
We also went over what epithets were and why Homer used them. Epithets are adjectives or descriptive phrases that express a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned. A few examples given on our slide presentation were “The great tactician” and “the clear eyed goddess”.
When asked why Homer would use epithets in Book X of the Odyssey, Joel said it lets the reader easily identify different characters based on their traits and characteristics, using “savage brutes” for the Cyclops as an example. Katherine added on, saying that Homer introduces a lot of characters, and using epithets helps the reader remember the key characters that are very important to the story.
Our class broke up into breakout rooms to discuss the questions on the next two slides. For the first question, “How does Odysseus and his men find themselves faced with a plethora of problems?”, Katherine said some of their problems could be blamed on their hubris, but sometimes it was also bad luck that caused their problem. An example she gave was the island they got stranded on after opening the bag of winds. Andrew mentioned jealousy and hubris within the crew, as well Odysseus making several mistakes leading up to these problems. Samiha said a huge problem they encountered was on Circe’s island where his men were transformed into pigs. Below is a depiction of Odysseus’s men being turned into pigs on Circe’s Island.
In the second question, “How does Circe’s Island compare to the Land of the Lotus Eaters?”, Joel said both places held the men captive, but the men were aware of their fate in Circe’s Island, while with the Lotus Eaters, the men didn’t notice they were being held captive. Jed followed up with a statement that the Lotus Eaters might have been better than Circe’s Island, because they didn’t know they were being held captive. Ms. Peterson also brought up the proverb, “ignorance is bliss” after Jed’s answer.
Answering the question “Describe the “deal” Odysseus strikes with Circe, as well as her response/instructions.”, Joel said that Circe directs Odysseus to sleep with her, and Odysseus swears this oath for Circe to free his men. Odysseus is a faithful person who loves his family and wife, but he was not faithful in this situation. Katherine disagreed, saying that Odysseus was still faithful, but was forced to do something unfaithful in order to save his crew.
For the fourth question, Annie says that Odysseus was obligated to save his men as their leader, using Circe’s Island as an example. Our group also said that a role reversal occurred when Odysseus’s men remind him that a year has almost passed, because they felt obligated to keep their leader on track.
There wasn’t enough time left in the class to discuss the last two questions, but my group answered that both Odysseus and Circe were tricked by Hermes, because he gave both parties helpful information.
Reflection:
In this lesson, I learned that epithets could be used to help the audience remember certain characters. In the past, I didn’t know that these were called epithets, and only used them in writing to avoid repeating a character’s name multiple times. Another thing I learned was though Circe’s Island and the Lotus Eaters held Odysseus’s men captive, I didn’t realize how the men’s level of awareness could affect their behavior afterwards. In Book X, his men weep in joy after being freed from Circe’s spell because they were aware of being turned into pigs. However, in the Land of the Lotus Eaters, once they ate the Lotus, they felt like they wanted to stay there forever. I learned both of the things mentioned earlier to improve my writing and reading comprehension. Although I used epithets to avoid mentioning a character’s name multiple times, I now know I can use it to create a strong image of a certain character. In Circe’s Island and the Land of the Lotus Eaters, I realized that looking at the story from different perspectives can really help you understand the current events in the story and any overarching themes that are present. I’ll put what I’ve learned into practice by using more epithets in my writing not just to add variety, but to strengthen my audience’s mental image of a character. I write stories as a hobby, and I have many characters that have been a huge part of the plot. Learning about epithets will let me create a more vivid scene for my audience, and will enhance the storytelling as a result. I’ll also think about the story from not just the main character’s view, but also the antagonist and any other characters present. This will let me see the whole story instead of just one part of it, and can help connect themes or ideas from different parts of the story.
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