Blog #23- Vicky Tang- Period 1- 4/24/2020

Blog # 23, Vicky Tang, Period 1, 4/24/20

Freshman 2020

Aim: How does the episode of “The Land of the Dead” further our understanding of Odysseus as the epic hero? 

Honoring and remembering the dead

1. As Odysseus prepares to meet the dead he says, “Then I addressed the blurred and breathless dead, / vowing to slaughter my best heifer (cow) for them…”  (line 555-556).  What can be inferred about ancient Greek beliefs concerning death and the afterlife from these lines?

Something that can be inferred about Greek beliefs concerning death is that people make animal sacrifices for the dead. They believe that souls still exist after death so they sacrifice animals to respect the dead.

2. Discuss Elpenor's request to Odysseus (lines 598-608).
1. What details does he want Odysseus to remember about his burial?
2. How does this reflect the Greek ritual of death?

Elpenor's request is for Odysseus to bury him and to not forget him. He wants Odysseus to bury him, burn his stuff and corpse, and build a cairn for him. This reflects the Greek ritual of death because the Greeks thought that it is very important for people to remember the dead so that they can continue to exist and that it is insulting to not have a proper burial. 

3. How does Odysseus react to seeing Elpenor (Lines 580-585)?
1. How does he react to Anticlea (his mother) (Lines 614-619)?
1. Why does he hold her off through "pang and pang" of tears? 
2. What characteristics of Odysseus do we see displayed in this scene?

Odysseus feels pity for Elpenor. When Odyseus saw his mother, he grieved and felt extremely sad. He holds her off through “pang and pang” of tears because he can’t go to her. Despite all his grief and how sad he feels he can’t go to his mother.This scene makes Odysseus seem more emotional and that he isn’t exactly as strong as everyone seems. 

4. Although not a god, Tiresias has been endowed with the power of prophecy. Consider the following advice Tiresias gives to Odysseus regarding the remainder of his journey home: “One narrow strait may take you through his blows: denial of yourself, restraint of your shipmates.”
1. What leadership advice is Tiresias giving to Odysseus?
2. In addition, what instructions does Tiresias give Odysseus in order to quell Poseidon’s rage?

The leadership advice Tiresias is giving to Odysseus is that his shipmates need to keep him from trouble and Odysseus has to make sure that his shipmates don’t restrain them from returning home. The instructions that Tiresias gives Odysseus is that he should sacrifice a ram, a bull and a boar to quell Poseidon’s rage.  

1. A  FOIL is a character who contrasts with another character. How does the character of Eurylochus serve as a FOIL to Odysseus in Book X?

Eurylochus serves as a FOIL to Odysseus because he is scared and is a coward while Odysseus is a brave hero. Odysseus is willing to take risks, but Eurylochus is scared of a bad outcome.   

The reading of  “The Land of the Dead” was very interesting. Odysseus’ journey through the underworld so far seems a little more sad than the other parts that we have read in class so far. Odysseus receives advice from Tiresias about leadership and how to quell Poseidon’s anger. From the advice, it seems that Odysseus’ shipmates are going to cause a lot of trouble in the future, so that is exciting. Also, I think it is nice that we can see another side of Odysseus where he is more emotional compared to his usual self.   

Working from home is slightly less stressful. I can work on different tasks at my own pace. Something that I have learned from working at home is organizing tasks when you have a lot of time. Usually, students will go to school and have some after school activities and plan tasks around that. When you have a lot of time, you have to learn how to organize the tasks you need to get done.

What I am learning about the world around me based on the reactions is that we are not very good at preparing for times of emergency. One of the reasons is that many Americans do not have jobs currently. A large proportion of those people work in the service industry, which includes fast food workers, waiters, etc. Due to social distancing, people in the service industry do not have jobs so they do not have enough money to pay for basic necessities, such as food. Another concern is that hospitals are running out of masks. With the spread of COVID-19, many hospitals are running out of masks and that puts healthcare workers at risk. Healthcare workers are heroes who are fighting this pandemic and they are putting their lives at risk to help patients. It’s very unfortunate that many healthcare workers are putting themselves and others at even more risks because there are not enough masks to give out. The current situation is a very stressful one and hopefully in the future, there would not be a pandemic as serious as this one. The large amount of problems occuring in the United States currently should serve as a lesson to future generations on how they can prepare and prevent any pandemic from getting worse.   

Reflection:

In this lesson, I learned about Greek beliefs about what happens after death. The afterlife does not seem very pleasant unless you were an outstanding person. Something that we can learn from this is to be a good person and to help others. If souls spend the rest of eternity wandering around in the underworld, then you should enjoy your life. We should all be happier and try our best.