The Odyssey Books 1-4: Notes
The Odyssey Books 1-4: Notes due Friday 1/10 (3/5) and Monday 1/13 (2/4)
An Uncertain Identity
Prince Telemachus is the first human character whom the reader meets. He is the son of the long-missing Greek warrior Odysseus, King of Ithaca.
Telemachus is too young, too untested, too unsure to have a firmly established sense of identity.
Having grown up fatherless in a household full of insolent men who are besieging his mother and consuming his inheritance, he feels totally powerless.
The goddess Athena appears to him in the form of a family friend, a captain named Mentes.
Telemachus is naïve and ineffective! He is like the hero at the beginning of the epic cycle.
Making Personal Connections
How would you feel and what would you do if you were in Telemachus’ position? If I were in Telemachus’ position I would feel pretty furious. I would try to hinder the progress of the suitors and/or set off in search of Odysseus.
Would you feel capable of taking the initiative to rid the house of the suitors? Or would you, like Telemachus, feel powerless and resort to fantasies about how you would fight the suitors if you could? It’s hard to tell, with my current background I think I would feel capable of taking initiative, but if I had grown up fatherless I might not feel as prepared for something like that.
Can you recall an incident or a situation in your life where you felt unable to act without some magical or superhuman force such as deities, fate, or superman? Yes. When I was too short to reach the door handles I managed to get “locked” out many times and I thought that I would never be able to get in.
Telemachus, at this point, is still a child who is waiting to be told what to do by the grownups, whoever they might be.
Do you think of yourself more in terms of being a child or of being an adult? I am at an in between area where I feel I am much like an adult, yet I am not ready to completely accept the responsibilities of being an adult.
Has
An Uncertain Identity
Prince Telemachus is the first human character whom the reader meets. He is the son of the long-missing Greek warrior Odysseus, King of Ithaca.
Telemachus is too young, too untested, too unsure to have a firmly established sense of identity.
Having grown up fatherless in a household full of insolent men who are besieging his mother and consuming his inheritance, he feels totally powerless.
The goddess Athena appears to him in the form of a family friend, a captain named Mentes.
Telemachus is naïve and ineffective! He is like the hero at the beginning of the epic cycle.
Making Personal Connections
How would you feel and what would you do if you were in Telemachus’ position? If I were in Telemachus’ position I would feel pretty furious. I would try to hinder the progress of the suitors and/or set off in search of Odysseus.
Would you feel capable of taking the initiative to rid the house of the suitors? Or would you, like Telemachus, feel powerless and resort to fantasies about how you would fight the suitors if you could? It’s hard to tell, with my current background I think I would feel capable of taking initiative, but if I had grown up fatherless I might not feel as prepared for something like that.
Can you recall an incident or a situation in your life where you felt unable to act without some magical or superhuman force such as deities, fate, or superman? Yes. When I was too short to reach the door handles I managed to get “locked” out many times and I thought that I would never be able to get in.
Telemachus, at this point, is still a child who is waiting to be told what to do by the grownups, whoever they might be.
Do you think of yourself more in terms of being a child or of being an adult? I am at an in between area where I feel I am much like an adult, yet I am not ready to completely accept the responsibilities of being an adult.
Has