• Is Odysseus a genuinely good person? o Balance between good and bad Sleeping with god Doesn’t really take care of men Bad attributes attributed to culture of the day and social norms Name based on might, not on morals o Did Homer think these issues would be timeless? Does this make Odysseus an unrelatable character due to the culture? o Internal journey and internal battle; he changes internal qualities o Does the translation by the author change what Homer really wanted to portray? o Why did he sleep with both Circe the witch and Calypso who promised him immortality? He kept thinking of Penelope and wanted to return home, therefore defying immortality and Calypso Double-standard • What is the significance of Circe sending Odysseus to the land of the dead to seek Thereses (spelling, sorry)? o Why did he have to know ahead of time? Would he had been fine without knowing? o The things Odysseus was warned against still kind of happened o Did Circe want him to return to her because she loved him and thought he would return after discovering all the hardships o Page 191, line 30 – shows gentle side of Odysseus with mother o Testing character to see reaction o Great hero would have to deal with the death surrounding him o Agamemnon story shows what could happen to Odysseus; it is a warning for Odysseus about a warrior returning home; he needs to hurry home or else there could be trouble; sharp contrast to Odysseus’ situation • Why is there a parallel to Agamemnon if their personalities and values are so different o Powerful, faithful women were key to stability in society o Women in control of men’s power; a woman makes the man and the man can’t survive unless he has a good woman o Penelope is another part of Odysseus’ strength; both fighting together but on different fronts (Pen at home with suitors, Odysseus away struggling to get home); both had to be strong to survive o Are women trophies? o Shows Odysseus really loves her; leaves the goddess and immortality behind and chooses the human life with his son and wife, not the “god” life; also, the underworld is a horrible place, and he gives up immortality to live with his wife and then serve eternity in Hades; suitors just want power/status that she has • Why does Odysseus keep his identity secret in Scaria until the very end? o People weren’t threat; more of an immediate help o After what he went through, probably didn’t trust many people o Be cautious and test hospitality; would they go the distance to help him o Testing the waters to see if he’s wasting his time or if they really will offer help o Why is he so deceptive (especially with his father)? So used to doing it? Why does he start lying to begin with? Does he confuse being cunning with lying? IS he just a story teller?
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Odyssey Notes – August 24, 2006
• Is Odysseus a genuinely good person?
o Balance between good and bad
Sleeping with god
Doesn’t really take care of men
Bad attributes attributed to culture of the day and social norms
Name based on might, not on morals
o Did Homer think these issues would be timeless? Does this make Odysseus an unrelatable character due to the culture?
o Internal journey and internal battle; he changes internal qualities
o Does the translation by the author change what Homer really wanted to portray?
o Why did he sleep with both Circe the witch and Calypso who promised him immortality?
He kept thinking of Penelope and wanted to return home, therefore defying immortality and Calypso
Double-standard
• What is the significance of Circe sending Odysseus to the land of the dead to seek Thereses (spelling, sorry)?
o Why did he have to know ahead of time? Would he had been fine without knowing?
o The things Odysseus was warned against still kind of happened
o Did Circe want him to return to her because she loved him and thought he would return after discovering all the hardships
o Page 191, line 30 – shows gentle side of Odysseus with mother
o Testing character to see reaction
o Great hero would have to deal with the death surrounding him
o Agamemnon story shows what could happen to Odysseus; it is a warning for Odysseus about a warrior returning home; he needs to hurry home or else there could be trouble; sharp contrast to Odysseus’ situation
• Why is there a parallel to Agamemnon if their personalities and values are so different
o Powerful, faithful women were key to stability in society
o Women in control of men’s power; a woman makes the man and the man can’t survive unless he has a good woman
o Penelope is another part of Odysseus’ strength; both fighting together but on different fronts (Pen at home with suitors, Odysseus away struggling to get home); both had to be strong to survive
o Are women trophies?
o Shows Odysseus really loves her; leaves the goddess and immortality behind and chooses the human life with his son and wife, not the “god” life; also, the underworld is a horrible place, and he gives up immortality to live with his wife and then serve eternity in Hades; suitors just want power/status that she has
• Why does Odysseus keep his identity secret in Scaria until the very end?
o People weren’t threat; more of an immediate help
o After what he went through, probably didn’t trust many people
o Be cautious and test hospitality; would they go the distance to help him
o Testing the waters to see if he’s wasting his time or if they really will offer help
o Why is he so deceptive (especially with his father)?
So used to doing it?
Why does he start lying to begin with? Does he confuse being cunning with lying?
IS he just a story teller?
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