Aim: How does "The Cattle of the Sun God" episode illustrate the culminating challenge Odysseus faces as a leader?
Do Now: Kahoot
WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION
How would you feel if you asked someone (you highly trusted) NOT do something, and they did it anyway? What would you do?
I would feel mad and betrayed if someone I trusted did something I told them not to do. During the class discussion, many students shared their thoughts. The majority of our class agreed that they would feel betrayed and backstabbed, but Christopher said that he would forgive the person. He said that if the person has reached the point where he had gained his trust, then there might be something wrong with what he told his friend not to do.
After that, we spirit read “The Cattle of the Sun God” for more class discussions.
WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION
Lines 863-893
Eurylochus is also Odysseus' brother in law and shows loyalty to Odysseus; until this point.
Why do you think there was a change in his character in "The Cattle of the Sun God"?
What reason does Eurylochus give the crew members to justify the betrayal of Tiresias' warning to Odysseus?
To start, Lixiang led the discussion by saying that there was a change in Eurylochus’s character because he started to lead the men without Odysseus’s consent, and told them to eat Helios’ cattle while Odysseus was asleep. Lapyan added on saying how Eurylochus said to his men that it's better to die at sea from the wrath of the gods than to die of hunger because it shows how weak they are.
How do their behaviors present a role reversal? (Consider their actions/behaviors on Circe’s island in comparison.)
What are some of the signs that the gods give to the men after they begin to eat the cattle? What are these signs an example of? (Reflect back to your reading of The Alchemist!)
Omen: Anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future (something of prophetic significance)
How do the men react to these warnings, and what is the significance of their reactions?
To start this discussion, Joanne said Eurylochus was a coward and a selfish person and told Odysseus to leave the men behind and face their fate, but Odysseus insists that he should go back to save the other men. Oscar stated how there were high winds and thunderstorms for 6 days. Joanne added on saying how the meat from the cattle was moving and making noises, and how these signs indicate that the gods are after the men. She also said how the men knew they were going to die, so they enjoyed the beef from the cattle.
TEAMWORK
What similarities do you see in Eurylochus' speech to the crew in this episode and Odysseus' speech in “Scylla and Charybdis”?
Lines 894-954
In "The Cattle of the Sun God", what does the wrath of the gods say about their involvement amongst mortals?
Assess their involvement!
What are some of their behaviors/actions at this point of the episode?
What details in lines 920-921 clarify the flashback presented here?
We were instructed to discuss these questions in a breakout room with our group members. My group members were Alma, Mohamed, Sophia, and Brandon. Sophia said that both speeches give the men a sense of courage and a sense of hope. Alma added on saying how both speeches were inspiring and got the men past the challenges. Mohamed stated that even though the gods don’t interact with the mortals much, the mortals still have to respect and obey the gods, or else they will be punished. I added on saying how the gods agreed to punish the men who ate the cattle by destroying their ship when they were at sea. Alma mentioned how the lines clarify a flashback because Odysseus learned this information later on from Calypso that his men had broken their oaths and ate the cattle.
After the group discussion, we had a class discussion on the questions above. Lixiang concluded that Eurylochus and Odysseus were the initiatives and are the ones who give the orders to their men. Sahil and Oscar both agreed that the gods were selfish and only cared about themselves, and since they know they have more power than the mortals they abuse it. Raymond said that after Odysseus reached Calypso’s island after his ship had been destroyed, he learned that his men had eaten Helios’ cattle.
WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION
Do the members of the crew deserve the punishment they receive for killing the cattle? Explain.
Wilson guided the discussion explaining why the men didn’t deserve to die. Since they were starving, eating Helios’ cattle was the only alternative to survive. On the other hand, Ayad disagrees with Wilson. He said that the men deserved to die because the gods warned them multiple times but since the men didn’t listen they deserved to die.
WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION
Is Odysseus learning to not be so proud and too confident? Has his hubris been “put in check”? Explain.
Oscar said that Odysseus is starting to learn to not be so proud and too confident because after losing so many of his men to encounters such as the cyclops, he has learned that he could’ve avoided it instead of being so confident and fighting it.
REFLECTION
Today was a review on what we read in “The Cattle of the Sun God.” I learned a lot more about Eurylochus and Odysseus from our class discussions. Most of my classmates had different opinions on “The Cattle of the Sun God,” so this lesson taught me that there are many sides to a story. The class discussions allowed me to understand what I read more clearly. It also taught me that people change such as Eurylochus. I can use today’s lesson to help me with my postcard mini project and future lessons.
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