Classwork Books 13-16

Odysseus returns to Ithaca

Summarize what the books are about & connect to a theme

The generous Phacacians help Odysseus get home even though this angers Poseidon. Odysseus arrives on Ithaca and disguises himself as a beggar to scout out the land. His kingdom is in shambles. One of his old servants, Eumacus the swineherd, takes pity on the "bum" and takes him home for a meal. While Eumacus is not around, Odysseus drops his disguise and reveals himself to Telemachus.
The theme we can connect this to is loyalty to family.

list the important characters in the books

• Amphinomos is the most aggressive and said to be the best suited for Penelopea
• Laetes is the old father of Odysseus, who lives in isolation from the demands of public life, on a small farm in the back hills of Ithaca. He remains alert and agile, despite his age.
• Emaios the chief swineherd of Odysseus, who remains faithful to his master during his long absence
• Theoclymenos a seer who foretold the retuning of Odysseus

symbols

food and banqueting
When we think of a feast, we think of good hospitality, having fun, and being polite. In the Odyssey, food and banqueting means evil, all things bad, and wrong will come of it. Odysseus’s men transgress boundaries of hospitality by dining on Helios’s sacred cattle and suffer death as a consequence. The most obvious example of a misused banquet is the suitors’ pillaging of Odysseus’s provisions. This shows that the supposedly "noble" men do not have the human qualities of restraint and propriety; they are therefore somewhat less than human and worthy of death (or so the Odyssey argues). On the other hand, Nestor, Menelaos, and the Phaiakians serve proper banquets – full of good food, wine, and singing. They are considered not only good hosts, but great human beings.

list and explain a favorite passage from each book


My favorite part from what we've recently read is when Odysseus reveals himself to the swineherd, who was his old servant. This to me is the most exciting part of the story because it could ruin Odysseus's plan, or it could help him. The swineherd could be one to turn on Odysseus, we just don't know yet. By revealing himself to the swineherd, more tension, questions and excitement to the story.

Classwork 4/12/10

1) Briefly discuss what books 1-4 are about and relate to a theme

Books one and two set up the story. In these two books, Telemachos is trying to decide weather or not he should give up on his father, or go out to find him. In books three and four, he sets out for the adventure. He finds two different people to ask about his father, Odysseus. He asked if they heard any rumor about him, or if maybe they saw what happened to him with their own eyes. However, Telemachos is still searching for Odysseus.
We can relate this to the themes of adventure, justice, responsibility, and mainly, loyalty.

2) Break-up the action of each book

In book one Homer tells us about the situation: it is now ten years after the Trojan War ended and Odysseus is the only war hero that hasn't returned home. While Telemachos has to try to decide weather or not his father is dead, he also is trying to deal with another situation. His father's kingdom is controlled by just his mother Penelope. All of these men are trying to marry her so that they can be king.
That brings us to book two. Telemachos knows that if he can find his father, or find what happened to him, he can make the right decision of how to move on. If Odysseus is alive, he can come back to rule his kingdom, and later pass the kingdom down to Telemachos. If he is dead though, he can give his mother away to a new husband and king.
Book three is the start of the quest for Odysseus. He and Athena (Mentor) see a sacrificial act. They then talk to Nestor about the fate of Agamemnon.
In book four, Telemachos is recongnized as the son of Odysseus and gets invited for a feast, and to stay the night.

3) List all the major character

Agamemnon
Helen
Menelaus
Nestor
Mentor(Athena)
Telemachos
Penelope
Antinoos
Eurymachos


4) Explore- Agamemnon and birds as symbols

Birds symbolize gods. Whenever a bird appears in the story, you know that it is one of the greek gods or goddesses.

Agamemnon symbolizes the theme of loyalty. Agamemnon was avenged by his loyal son, and we see here in the Odyssey, the same loyalty between Telemachos and Odysseus.

Words of the day for danny... yay

Eminence (n)
My eminence was noticed world wide when i got my own television show.

Avouch (v)
I avouch jr to wait for me to do these words of the day.

words of the day...danny

Cloistered (adj)
Sometimes the most cloistered children are the ones who experience the mosts

Equivocater (n)
I am the equivocater between my parents.

words of the day, friday

Avarice (N)
my avarice was fulfilled when i won the lottery

Avaunt (V)
I would like it very much if Anna were to avaunt from my life...

Posterity (N)
my posterity will all be kings...like Banquo

Homage (N)
the homage given to me and my basketball team shows as a trophy laying in the school.

words of the day friday

Pedagogical

my pedagogical method of dirt biking worked

Stenographer

Like a stenographer, the scribe at a boy scouts meeting is in charge of writing down everything that happens in the meeting.

words of the day

convent

The convent of my gang, the hounder pounders, meet everyday under the skagway bridge...we don't beat dogs...hounder pounders just sounds cool...ish...

blase

the blase reaction of the judges caused them to give me a 5 because i did the same trick each time.