Mrs. Helton’s English I CP Thursday, December 3rd Mrs. Helton’s English I CP

Today we are on advisory schedule. Important Today we are on advisory schedule. Your packets and notes are due today.

Quick Write (10 minutes): From “The Cyclops”: What positive qualities of Odysseus can we observe in this section? (Please give general examples of when you notice them.) What negative qualities can we observe also, and where? How do his decisions affect the rest of his journey (and that of his shipmates)? What do you think of The Odyssey so far? Where are you at in the story?

Section Summaries So Far: “Calypso, the Sweet Nymph” Trapped on Calypso’s island, Odysseus yearns to escape and make his way home. Our first glimpse of the hero finds him weeping, scanning the horizon of the sea. At Athena’s behest, Zeus sends Hermes to order the goddess to release Odysseus. Calypso reluctantly agrees to let him go. Odysseus builds a raft and sets sail, but Poseidon raises a storm and wrecks the raft. Odysseus lands on the island of Scheria and falls asleep in a pile of leaves.

Epic Similes: Lines 41-44 and 119-122 from “Calypso” “A gull patrolling/between the wave crests of the desolate sea/will dip to catch a fish, and douse his wings;/no higher above the whitecaps Hermes flew” “A man in a distant field, no hearth fires near/will hide a fresh brand in his bed of embers/to keep a spark alive for the next day;/so in the leaves Odysseus hid himself”

“I am Laertes’ Son” At King Alcinous’s feast, Odysseus replies to the king, who has asked him to identify himself. Odysseus begins by stating where he is from. He then describes being detained by Calypso and Circe and speaks of the many years he has spent on his journey home from Troy. He tells of the Cicones and of a storm raised by Zeus that caused Odysseus’s ships to drift for nine days.

“The Lotus Eaters” After losing many men in the battle with the Cicones on Ismaros and being driven off by a fierce storm, Odysseus and his crew arrive at the land of the Lotus Eaters. A few sailors partake of the lotus, which causes them to forget their homeland. Odysseus has to drag them to the ships and tie them to the rowing benches.

“The Cyclops” The Cyclops Polyphemus imprisons Odysseus and his followers in his cave. The men watch, horror-struck and helpless, as the monster consumes two of their number each morning and night. Odysseus conceives of a plan of escape. With his companions, he fashions a sharp wooden stake, which he heats in the fire and thrusts into the Cyclops’s eye while the monster is sleeping, blinding him.

“The Cyclops” Odysseus and his men make their escape from the cave by clinging to the underbellies of the Cyclops’s rams. As they sail away, Odysseus cannot resist taunting the monster, who curses his former captive and implores his father, Poseidon, the sea god, to keep the hero wandering on the seas for many years.

“The Enchantress Circe” Odysseus and his men reach the island of the witch Circe. The sailors are beguiled (tricked) by the sorceress, who turns them into swine and shuts them in a pigsty. Odysseus, who comes to rescue his men, is persuaded to stay with her for “many seasons” before finally begging to leave for home.

“The Land of the Dead” In the underworld, Odysseus is addressed by the seer Teiresias, who warns him to stay away from the cattle of Helios, the sun god. Teiresias tells Odysseus that when he finally arrives home, he will find his household in disarray. Teiresias also tells Odysseus that after slaying his wife’s suitors, he must make sacrifices to Poseidon.

What now? Turn in notes from introductory readings (you will get these back at the start of next week). Turn in Calypso questions if you still have them as well (see board). Continue work on packets and turn them in.