Most Compelling Question
Post a compelling question that you would like for the class to discuss on Monday. What do you want to understand before we write about The Odyssey?
Have a great weekend!
Have a great weekend!
posted by Cheryl Makovsky at 1:03 PM
5 Comments:
Why did Homer have Athena play a role in the battle against the suitors? If Odysseus is so great, wouldn't he have been able, with the help of Telemachos and the swineherds, to easily defeat them? He was one of the only survivors from Troy, and it is unlikely that he would lose all his skill during his long journey home. Does her part in the battle show that it was Odyseus' fate to successfully return home, instead of his freewill? What is Homer saying about fate and freewill?
Now, this only has relevance near the end, but why is the swineheard or Eumaios always referred to as you? The narrator over and over says, "To this you answered friend Eumaios..." and other similar ways of talking about the swineherd. Is there some significance in him being called that one might overlook when on an initial reading? Why is it only he who is directed with a personal 'you' or is it more formal? Does it emanate respect?
What is Odysseus's most harmful character trait? Is it hubris? I don't believe we have yet disscussed this famous trait of Odysseus.
I'm probably missing something, but why exactly did Odysseus have to arrive in Ithika incognito? Couldn't he have just come home in glory if he is really so amazing and renowned? If Athena was really so interested in justice and punishment for the suitors, I'm sure she could have arranged that much easier than she did through Odysseus' disguise, being a goddess and all.
My question is a lot like Jimmy's. What did Odysseus do to gain so much respect and admiration from the Gods? Was he preordained as worthy or god-like, or did he do something so great to recieve their help? None of his accomplishments in The Odyssey seem great enough to me to receive so much praise from the gods, so why is Odysseus favored above all?
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