Blogger #14, Jonathan Livshits - Period 1 - 4/26/21 - Day A

Aim: How does Homer's invocation establish tone for the beginning of the Odyssey?

Do Now: Class Discussion

How do you become inspired? Where does it originate?

The beginning of today’s class was a short discussion about how we become inspired. Every person has their own ways of becoming inspired and, therefore, there were many different responses from students. For example, one student said their friends inspired them, while I said music. Inspiration can come from essentially anything from physical objects to abstract concepts. Other inspiration can come from movies, shows, the internet, or school. This class discussion was extremely interesting and relevant to the lesson because it ties into the greater topic of the nine muses of the arts, literature, and science.

The Nine Muses

The Nine Muses served as inspiration for poets and other artists. According to Greek mythology, there were nine muses of the arts, literature, and science, and specifically one out of the nine inspired different forms of prose, poetry, drama, rhetoric, or general writing. Homer’s invocation not only mentions the Nine Muses, but also praises and respects them.

Invoke: 1. Cite or appeal to (someone or something) as an authority for an action or in support of an argument. 2. To call on (a deity or spirit) in prayer, as a witness, or for inspiration.

Group Discussion

Afterwards, we were asked to read lines 1-17 from Homer’s invocation and answer three questions on the following slide:




1. What is your opinion of Odysseus so far after hearing Homer's invocation to the muses and learning about the Trojan War?

In my opinion, he seems brave and loyal and the fact that he isn’t responsible

for all of the bad things that happened.

2. How does Homer maintain the audience’s interest in the story, knowing that the audience is aware of the outcome from the very beginning?

Homer maintains the audience’s interest throughout the story by attaching

an epic story to the journey even though they’re aware of the outcome from

the very beginning.

3. What does the invocation of the Muse in the opening lines clarify about Odysseus’ culpability (responsibility for a fault or wrong; blame) during his voyage home?

The invocation of the Muse in the opening lines clarifies that while

Odysseus is responsible for his men, there’s only so much power one

could hold over humans.

Later on in the lesson, we switched to a different presentation and immediately answered the do now questions on the first slide. Since these questions were group questions, we were prompted to enter our respective breakout groups and discuss the questions among ourselves.

Do Now: Team List

Consider the fact that Odysseus has been trying to return to his home in Ithaca for 10 years. Imagine being away from your home for that long.

1. What would you miss the most and why? 

2. Why do we have sayings like the ones below?

We know that Odyseuss was forced to leave his home for at least 10 years, which explains why we were asked to answer this question. After leaving our respective breakout groups, we were asked to share our responses to the class. Many students said they would miss the familiarity and safety of their homes; their homes are one of the only places where they can feel comfortable. I agree with this statement, however some students might beg to disagree. In my opinion, home, even though it can move from place to place, is a place of comfort and relaxation. So whenever I think of what I would miss the most about my home I think about my soft couch and my fluffy pillows.

Characterization:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRW6yVOHCQc

The method by which an author creates the personality and appearance of their character

Direct Characterization:

The author makes direct statements about the character (can be revealed through a narrator or through another character in the story). The author TELLS the reader what they want them to know. An example would be “The patient boy and quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother,” in which the author is directly telling us about the personality of these two characters.

Indirect Characterization:

Indirectly stated from character's actions, choices they make, dialogue/relationships with others, thoughts, feelings. The author SHOWS the reader what they want them to know. We can understand more about a character using the STEAL method. STEAL—Speech, Thought, Effect on others toward the character, Actions, and Looks—is a method specifically used for indirect characterization. You might want to ask yourself these questions:

It’s important to note the difference between direct and indirect characterization. Authors that use direct characterization tell us about the character’s personality. However, authors using indirect characterization make the readers think about the character on a deeper level.

Group Work

Sailing from Troy (lines 18-69)

1. Keep in mind that the Odyssey is the account of Odysseus' ten year journey back home to Ithaca. He misses his family and home; therefore, we will often find connections to this throughout the poem.

Identify lines in which Odysseus talks about his home in Ithaca.  

How does he feel about it? (Specific lines/evidence that describe these feelings)

Odysseus obviously misses his home and family in Ithaca. In line 28, he states “I shall not see on earth a place more dear.” This quote shows us that there’s nothing on this planet that he values more than this home. Later on in the lines, Odysseus gets sidetracked by Calypso, the “loveliest among goddesses.” However, she doesn’t hold him that long because even she couldn’t stop Odysseus from returning home. And throughout the rest of the lines, he only reinforces this idea and describes to the reader how much he misses his home in Ithaca.

Lotus Eaters (lines 70-105)

2. What kind of world do you think the Lotus Eaters live in?

• Describe the type of lifestyle it is?

The Lotus Eaters live a carefree, peaceful life on the island. What the travelers didn’t know is that the Lotus brainwashes the people who consume it. As a result, the Lotus Eaters have no intent of ever seeing their families again or leaving the island. As long as they keep eating the Lotus, they’ll stay stranded on that island forever.

3. What do you think Homer is implying about this lifestyle/world?
a.   How does The Odyssey characterize the land of the Lotus-eaters as a veritable (real or genuine) paradise? And, why, then, is this land seen by Odysseus and others as negative, and something from which to escape? What do you think is wrong with such a place, if anything?

I think Homer is implying that this lifestyle is not a paradise. Even though they might be living carefree and happy lives, they’ll never see their families again or have any real goals or duties for the rest of their lives. Therefore, some might think of this land as negative and something from which to escape. In my opinion, I think having goals in life is an extremely important thing. Without a goal in life, you won’t know what to do with yourself and eventually get bored.




4. Consider the kind of leader Odysseus appears to be in "Sailing from Troy."

• How do his leadership abilities compare to how he is in "The Lotus Eaters?"
• Has your opinion of him changed? Why/Why not?
• Why do you think these events are important to understanding Odysseus' character?

At the beginning of “Sailing from Troy,” we are forced to believe that Odysseus only cares about what he wants and will do anything to get it. However, after reading “The Lotus Eaters,” we learn that he cares for his men and acknowledges he is responsible for them. Rather than returning home and abandoning his men, he saves them from the land. These events make me believe that Odysseus is selfless by putting his life on the line for his men.

5. In your notes, create a group list of the key events in "The Lotus Eaters."

At the beginning of “The Lotus Eaters,” Zeus creates a storm that forces Odysseus and his crew to be stranded on an unknown coast. Odysseus sends out two men and a runner to survey the area and find signs of civilization. At this point in the story, they meet the Lotus Eaters who appear friendly towards the men. The Lotus Eaters gave them some Lotus, in which the two men and the runner immediately ate. Soon after, the men who ate the Lotus started to exhibit unusual behavior. They no longer wanted to return home—all they wanted to do was stay on the island forever. Odysseus noticed and told the men to board the ship immediately, forcibly taking the three men who ate the Lotus along with him.

Reflection

Today’s lesson allowed me to learn more about Homer’s Invocation, specifically Odysseus' shift as a character, as well discover and understand new concepts such as direct and indirect characterization. The STEAL method in particular helped me understand indirect characterization better by asking myself questions as to what the character does, says, looks like, and their thoughts and effects. It’s a nice method to use when analyzing specific literary pieces and is also easy to remember. As we continue reading Homer’s Invocation, we’ll be able to interpret and understand the characters on a much deeper level than before. This will also be helpful to me on my writing journey as I am now able to use this technique to make my characters seem more complex and fascinating rather than straight up telling the readers their personality. After the conclusion of this lesson, I have gained a lot of knowledge about Greek mythology, specifically the Nine Muses, direct and indirect characterization, and how to use the STEAL strategy to more deeply understand characters.