Reading Period 13: December 8-14: The Odyssey

John Waterhouse, again.

Long Read:

Homer's Odyssey, Books 15-19

Poem:

"Siren Song" by Margaret Atwood
"Telemachus' Fancy" by Louis Gluck

Creative Assignments:

Use the web site "Storyboard That" to create a visual storyboard for part of the story in books 15-19. You might show Odysseus revealing himself to Telemachus, or begging from the suitors, or meeting his old dog, or getting his feet washed by his old nurse. You do not have to use time-period specific ancient looking people or settings, but you should make clear who is who and what is happening in your storyboard. If you like the site and you'd like to do more than one storyboard, you can show other scenes from the poem too.

OR

The suitors of Penelope are so important to the story that they get their own special name: Proci. The three most prominent ones in the plot are Antinoos (the stool-thrower), Eurymachus (the big shot), and Ampinomus (the nice guy). Write a personal ad for each of them to place in the Ithaka Times, so they can find love if they escape the wrath of Odysseus (against Athena's wishes). Each suitor should describe himself including hobbies and personal appearance, and describe the type of woman he's looking for and what an ideal date might be like. Use each ad to reveal something about the character's personality as demonstrated by the way he goes after Penelope and the way he treats the disguised Odysseus.

Writing Assignments:

The Coen Brothers movie "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and the Tim Burton movie "Big Fish" both take elements from the Odyssey. Watch either movie and write a 300 word essay comparing it to the original. How does George Clooney's character Ulysses Everett McGill compare to Homer's Odysseus? What, in that movie, represents the Trojan war? Where do the escaped convicts encounter the sirens? How is Edward Bloom like Odysseus? How is Sandra like Penelope? How do the commitment to home and family motivate the father and son in "Big Fish"? Both of these movies are PG-13 but make sure you get your parents' permission before you watch them.

OR

Loyalty and faithfulness are important themes in the Odyssey. Using quotes from the epic, write a 300 word essay about characters who demonstrate loyalty. Write an interesting intro to hook the reader, and a conclusion that takes the reader to a new place.

OR (AP STUDENTS CHOOSE THIS)

Are you a person inside a body, motivated by your own free will, or are you a body inside an environment, responding to stimuli and behaving according to contingencies of reinforcement? Using B.F. Skinner's essay "What is Man?" as a point of reference, and using quotes from the essay to represent that point of view, either agree with or disagree with Skinner by answering this question one way or the other in a 500 word essay. No "it depends." Which feels more right to you? Which interpretation that Skinner defines do you personally respond to -- traditionalism or environmentalism? Type it and post it as usual, and print to turn in.

AP: For next week, Read Stephen Jay Gould's "Nonmoral Nature."

Quiz:

1. Zeus sends two signs that amount to a dead thing in the talons of a bird of prey, which are interpreted as various omens. If you were Zeus, what would you send in the talons of a bird of prey, and how should the omen be interpreted?
2. Helen gives Telemachus a gift to take back for his future wife. If you were Helen, what would you give Telemachus to take back to Ithaka?
3. Eumaios was the son of a Syrian lord who ended up being sold to Laertes as a child. Make up your own origin story, though. How did Eumaios come to Ithaka?
4. If you were Odysseus parading around as a beggar, how would you reveal yourself to Telemachus?
5. If you were one of the suitors, how would you impress Penelope and rise to the top of the pile?
6. Odysseus' dog Argos is 20+ years old. In the story, Argos recognizes his master and almost immediately dies happy, which is very sad. Write an alternate ending for Argos.
7. Odysseus as a beggar asks for food from each of the suitors, and in doing so can figure out who is a nice guy and who is not. If you were Odysseus as a beggar, what test would you create to sort out the bad suitors from the good ones?
8. Write a good insult for Odysseus to hurl at Antinoos.
9. Odysseus can't let his nurse see the scar on his thigh that he got by being gored by a wild boar. Invent another identifying mark that Odysseus might have, that his nurse would know about.
10. Penelope has a dream that an eagle comes along to kill a bunch of geese, which signifies that Odysseus will come along to kill a bunch of suitors. Invent a different dream for Penelope, that could be interpreted in the same way.