Blogger #21 - Ayah Righi - Period 9 - Day C - 5/6/21

 Aim: How does The Odyssey, Book X further enhance our understanding of Odysseus’ plight; through his journey as a hero?

Do Now: Starting off today’s lesson my classmates and I contributed to a whole class discussion in which we talked about situations we’ve been in where we felt something had to be done out of obligation. We went overa quick overview as to what it means to feel a sense of obligation. To be obligated is to feel bound to do certain things, and which arises out of a sense of duty or commitment. 

The class discussion starts with Justin who notes how his sister helps him with her homework on a daily basis and such Justin feels obligated to help her in return. Daniel also mentioned that he helps his grandmother with the daily chores because he feels that as his grandmother helps care for him and the home, it is his duty to help her. Similar to Daniel, Ms. Peterson helps her family as well. Another topic discussed was people who feel obligated to give up their seats on public transportation to those who are ill, elderly or pregnant. They feels it is their obligation as a citizen. 

Epithets: Next, we talked about a type of figurative language that was prominently used in the Odyssey, specifically in Book X. Homer uses it to describe many characters and objects through the use of repetitive phrases. An epithet is a way to describe the characteristic of a person, place or object.  It is generally an adjective that is used repeatedly or a phrase. 

The Odyssey, Book X

Epithets Examples: 

Odysseus:

● "The great tactician"

● This term creates the image of Odysseus as being intelligent, and probably comes from his

being the initiator of the idea for the "Trojan horse."

● ”The man of twists and turns"

Athena:

● "The clear eyed goddess"

● This helps the reader imagine that Athena is alert, and wise - farseeing.

Sunrise:

● “Rosy Fingered Dawn”

Zeus:

● “Son of Cronos”, “Who marshalls the thunderclouds”

Homer used many epithets in his poem. He uses this device to describe the many characters and objects. It gives the reader more background information on them and helps the reader differentiate between the various characters. It helps the reader associate the qualities with the character. It paints a picture of the character. 

Group Discussion

Book 10 Analysis:

The following is what my group and I, along with other classmates, discussed about writing decisions made by Homer, connections, characters, and forms of figurative language:

 

1. Odysseus and his men find themselves inundated with many problems. Everywhere that Odysseus and his crew land, they find characters who are after them. Initially in the home of Aelous, Odysseus' crew opens the bag of winds forcing them to return to the island; on the land of Laestrygonians they find themselves pelted with rocks and in Circe his men were turned into pigs. Odyssey and his men are the cause of their own problems. They suffer from hubris and selfishness which is apparent throughout this poem. An example of this is when the crew opened the wind bag out of selfishness to get what they thought to be gold for themselves. Odysseus at first glance appears to often be the hero and solves the problem of his men, often rescuing them when they are in need.  However, it is often Odysseus who is his own worse enemy suffering from an inflated ego and pride. 

2. Circe’s land and the Land of the Lotus Eaters try to lure their victims in through enticing them. They both don’t want Odysseus and his men to leave. They wanted to seek and hold onto their captives. The Land of the Lotus Eaters was harsher as Circe lets them go and eventually turns the men from pigs back to men.  

 

3. Odysseus agrees to sleep with Circe along with eat and drink only on the terms of Circe setting his men free. Circe agrees to this as she realizes that Odysseus has a way to beat her.  He has a troubled heart when he realizes what he has to do with Circe to free his men. In regards to being faithful we can argue both ways in regards to his fidelity. Although this isn’t what the typical person would call “faithful,” Odysseus was instructed to do so and fated to do so. He slept with Circe to better the fates of his men and to be able to return home to his family. He was forced into doing what he did with Circe and we can argue that he may have been unfaithful to his way he was faithful to his men.

4. Odysseus felt obligated as the leader of his men to sleep with Circe. This was an obligation that he imparted upon himself. However as his crew asks him to leave after a year, this initial obligation turned into wanting to stay as he found a source of comfort with Circe. 

5. Hermes' reputation for trickery leads me to believe that he did set both Odysseus and Circe up to interact in the way that they did. I believe this way because Hermes informed both of them about one another and encouraged them to sleep with one another. In addition I believe Odysseus had to go through with the “deal” with Circe to somewhat of an extent. Although he wasn't forced, Odysseus felt obligated to sleep with Circe as it seemed like the only way to free his men. Without taking the deal it’s very likely that Odysseus would have lost those men forever. 

6. Many epithets were used in book x as well as the previous books. They are used to give the reader more background information about the character as well as help them differentiate between them. An example of this is shown when Circe refers to Odysseus, on many occasions, as “man of many resources,” “scion of Zeus,”  and even “son of Laerte.” Not only does it tell the reader more about his family and relatives but it also gives the reader more intel of his personality and characteristics by saying how resourceful he is.

Reflection:  Today’s lesson allowed me to take away a lot of ideas when it comes to epithets, ideas of obligation, and of course, Book X. I learned how using epithets can add a lot to one’s story. By adding these characteristics or nicknames it allows the reader to picture the character or event and understand these characters by associating them with these traits or alternate names. Secondly, I learned that people tend to feel a sense of obligation on a daily basis. It’s even common in literature, an example being Book X. It’s very common in the world around us whether we feel obligated towards others or our own selves. In addition Book X taught me a lot about many of the characters in The Odyssey, especially allowing me to learn more about Odysseus as a character. Examples include his hubris and critical thinking skills. I learned all these things to take note of it in future readings and help me make connections between characters in a story as well as their characteristics. I will use what I learned in this lesson to put it towards future readings to help me make connections and understand more about characters in literature.