Aim: How does Homer further develop Odysseus’ characterization as a cunning hero in his exchange with both the suitors and his wife, Penelope?
Topic: 16: “The Suitors” & “Penelope”
At the beginning of the class, Ms. Peterson had gone over some housekeeping. Ms.Peterson had reminded us of the Postcard Mini Project that will be due tomorrow. She had gone over it to make sure that there is only one file with all of the slides in order to make sure everyone gives in the assignment correctly. We had also reviewed that we have an upcoming test on the Odyssey next week. Additionally, Ms.Peterson had told us that we will be soon starting the new topic on Shakespeare and had also told us to have an open mind in order to be open to a new experience.
Do now: The do now for today was the following question- Imagine a family member or close friend of yours has disappeared for twenty years.
1) Do you think you’d be able to maintain your hope and spirits that they would someday return?
2) Would you assume they were gone forever?
3) How would you continue to conduct your life in their absence?
My answer to the do-now questions was that if a close friend or a family member of mine had disappeared for twenty years, then I would try to maintain my hope and spirits for them to return one day. However, if they had not returned for a long time, then I would probably start to lose hope but always have a feeling that they are out there somewhere and are still alive. I would not assume that they were gone forever as I would want to believe that they are still safe and alive somewhere. In their absence, I would try to conduct my life the same way, as usual, however, I would probably be upset on most days and would long for them to return back home and for me to see them again. Moreover, I would also feel an absence in my heart if they had never returned and had disappeared since they are my loved one or close one so it would be pretty lonely for me.
Discussion: There were many people in the class who had raised their hand to answer this question. It first started with Armaan and he said that he wouldn’t maintain hope since he would assume that they were not alive. Additionally, it was also said that it would be a waste of time if they didn't come back. Moreover, Angelina had agreed to the statement because she would lose hope but she would still have faith that they would return. Lastly, Sasha had also contributed to the discussion. She had said that keeping hope for too long might be depressing yourself if they might not even come back. However, she also added that she would go to their grave and visit the person in order to still remember them even if they are gone. Ms. Peterson had added that after everyone’s responses, most people want closure as it is unhealthy to hold onto someone who might not even return so you need closure to pass on with your life.
Gist of “The Suitors”: We then read the story of “The Suitors” and we used the spirit reading strategy. Ms. Peterson had started off reading and then anyone in the class was able to pick up from where she left off. First Kathryn had started off and then Mitchel had continued on reading. The summary of “The Suitors” and some notes that I had taken about this story was where Odysseus encounters the suitors as a beggar and specifically Antinous. Antinous was a very rude suitor who refused to give Odysseus any food or hospitality of any kind. Antinous throws a table at Odysseus which shows the disrespect that he gives his guests. Odysseus was so outraged of how he was being so mean that he called up on the Furies to kill Antinous for the disrespect that he showed Odyssues who was actually disguised in the form of a beggar. The other suitors were surprised at how Antinous had handled this situation as they all knew that a god could easily be disguised as someone else and see if the guests showed Xenia. Telemachus did not do anything but felt very bad at what had happened to Odysseus. Penelope wanted to talk to the beggar, Odysseus, and see if he knew anything about Odysseus.
Group Work
Afterwards, we did some group work on the following questions about “The Suitors' ' which we then shared out as a whole class for a discussion.
“The Suitors” Story: “The Suitors” pdf
1. Review Odysseus’ response to Antinous in lines 1241-1246 below:
“...Antinous / hit me for being driven on hunger - / how many bitter seas men cross for hunger! / if beggars interest the gods, if there are Furies / pent in the dark to avenge a poor man’s wrong, then may / Antinous meet his death before his wedding day!”
a. The Furies (The Erinnyes) were three goddesses of vengeance and retribution who punished men for crimes against the natural order. In what ways has Antinous gone against the “natural order” resulting in Odysseus’ call on the Furies?
Definition of “Natural Order:” It is like the chain of beings from kings or priests to peasants. If you mess up the order of things it won't lead to anything good.
For this question, my team and I had said that Antinous went against the “natural order” resulting in Odysseus’ call on the Furies because Antinous had disrespected the king who is Odysseus who is disguised as a beggar. He was not allowed to do that as he was in a higher status than him.
2. In line 1251, Homer states that the “rest [of the suitors] were mortified” by Antinous’ actions.
a. How does Antinous behave towards Odysseus (who is disguised as a beggar)?
For this question, we said that Antinous had been highly disrespectful towards Odysseus who is disguised as a beggar. Also, Antinous throws a wooden stool at him which shows how rude and disrespectful he is to Odysseus.
b. What ancient Greek customs and beliefs (PREVIOUSLY LEARNED) are being challenged by Antinous’ behavior?
The Ancient Greek customs and beliefs that are being challenged by Antinous’s behavior are that he is not showing Xenia or hospitality towards Odysseus who is asking for help. Additionally, since Odysseus is dressed as a beggar, the people there should show him hospitality, however, Antinous does not want to help him. Antinous didn’t show Xenia even though people who are dressed as a beggar could be a god.
3. Describe Penelope’s reaction to the events in the hall. Hint: Start at line 1266. What does this line, in particular, reveal to us about the life she has been living?
Penelope’s reaction is that she is not surprised by this action. This is because based on the lines, we can see that she already knows who did it so she is not surprised because it had already most likely occurred before. Additionally, since she has been living with these actions for a long time, she can point at what happened and who did it. She also tells us that life has not been so great for her either.
Clip of the Video: The Odyssey (1997) — Queen Penelope visits disguised Odysseus
Video Gist: After the discussion question, we went on to watch a video clip in order to get a sense of Penelope’s suffering and Odysseus’ genuine offerings of hope as a result of their conversation. The video talked about the interaction between Odysseus disguised as a beggar and Penelope. She says how miserable her life is right now and talks about the moment when her husband, Odysseus had left. The beggar, Odysseus, tells Penelope that Odysseus is still alive and wants to come home to defend her. After the video, we had another class discussion. Natalia had said that Odysseus had tried to change her hope by telling her that Odysseus will return but she doesn’t really believe him. Ms. Peterson had added that she is holding on by a thread as she doesn’t believe that it is possible that Odysseus can ever return.
Link to “Penelope:” “Penelope” pdf
To move forward, we read the story “Penelope.” We did spirit reading for this story as well. The summary of this story or the main ideas that I had got from this story was that Penelope asks the beggar who he is and where he had come from. The beggar, Odysseus, tells her that he does not want to talk about the pain he is feeling or retell what had happened to him. Penelope tells Odysseus that if Odysseus was there with her right now she would be happy, but since he hasn't come back home in a long time she is grieving and is in pain. She explains to him how there are many suitors there who want to marry her but she doesn’t want to as she still longs for Odysseus' return. However, she explains to Odysseus how she figured out a way to trick them by telling the suitors that she needs to finish weaving a shroud for Laertes before she can marry anyone. The suitors soon figured it out and now she has no choice but to eventually get married. Odysseus then comforts her by saying that Odysseus will soon arrive and he is still alive, but Penelope doesn’t really believe that as she has been hoping for a long time already.
Team Work:
To conclude this story, we had some group work questions to complete.
1. Review the trick Penelope used to delay choosing a husband from among the suitors.
a. Identify the ancient Greek values in this task/trick and how this value aids her in her pursuit for more time.
The Ancient Greek values in this task/trick are that she tells them that she needs to finish weaving a shroud for Odysseus' father, Laertes. She does this in order to give the suitors an excuse since she did not want to pick a husband to marry. Additionally, she says that it would be dishonorable if she had not done that. So, she did weave it every day and then unweaned it at night, however, the suitors soon found out about that. She then needed to actually weave it and now she has to pick a suitor in marriage but she doesn’t want to.
b. What does her ability to plan and trick the suitors for so long reveal to us about her personality and character?
Her ability to plan and trick the suitors for so long reveals that Penelope’s character and personality are very strategic and intelligent. This is because she made a very smart and clever plan to give her more time in not needing to pick a husband to marry since she didn’t want to move on from Odysseus.
2. Odysseus makes an oath and swears to Penelope (lines 1350-1359).
a. What does he promise her?
Odysseus makes an oath and swears to Penelope that Odysseus will return and that he is still alive. He also says that he will come home to Penelope and Telemachus.
b. Why do you think he feels a need to make an oath at this time?
I think that Odysseus feels a need to make an oath at that time because he didn’t want Penelope to lose hope and to move on to someone else. Furthermore, Odysseus had felt that Penelope might be losing hope and he wanted to promise to her that Odysseus is alive and will come back soon
c. Why do you think Odysseus chose not to reveal himself to Penelope?
He chose not to reveal himself to Penelope because then it would ruin the whole plan and his need to disguise himself would have been wasted during the whole entire time that they had pretended to be a beggar. He also did not want to reveal anything in order to clearly execute his plan.
Additional Resources and Links:
Reflection: After today’s lesson, I was able to enhance my learning and knowledge on the Odyssey as well as see how the events are all coming together. To begin, I was able to learn how to incorporate previously learned concepts throughout the readings of the Odyssey. For example, as we had learned about Xenia before, which is the way in which an individual must show hospitality, was given throughout the story of “The Suitors.” We see it here when one of the suitors, Antinous, does not show any Xenia or hospitality towards the beggar, Odysseus. Antinous knows that a god is able to be in disguise of someone else, but still, he decides to be disrespectful toward the beggar, Odysseus, which causes the Furies to be called upon by Odysseus. Additionally, I also learned about the way that we can interpret someone’s character based on their actions and also the way they talk. For instance, based on the story we read in class today called “Penelope” I was able to apply my knowledge of describing a character to this example. In “Penelope” we see that Penelope had made a very clever plan of telling the suitors she needs to weave a shroud for Laertes in order to show respect and she did this in order for her not to get married and waste some time. This had made the time pass by but then the suitors had eventually figured it out. We can tell that Penelope portrays that of an intelligent character, just like Odysseus, and we also see that she eventually starts losing hope in the image she has of Oddyseus ever returning home. I believe that learning these concepts today will be beneficial to figure out and be able to interpret what will happen later on throughout the story. Furthermore, this information is also useful to use as now we know that Penelope was still clinging to the hope of Odysseus returning, and now that we see that she is losing a bit of it, we can analyze that Oddyseus might be revealing himself soon after he achieves his plan. Also, we can also use this knowledge to figure out the reason why Oddyeus even had decided to be a beggar in the first place and the reasons he had for it as well as what he might do next with the disguise of a beggar. Moreover, by seeing and analyzing Penelope’s character, readers can also get a better understanding of who she is and how she might play a larger role towards the end of the story. I might use what I learned today to apply it to our future lessons. This is because, knowing what I know about each character such as Odysseus and Penelope, I will have a better understanding of what will happen later on in the novel. To add on, I will also use what I learned today in order to associate natural order, Xenia, hope, and oath with the next story we might read and how this might correlate all together. Lastly, having the understanding of these new or past terms, we can further develop the climax and plot in order to see what happens next as well as the reasons for it doing so. Utilizing my past skills and information from previous lessons will be beneficial in order to guide me through the next few lessons and how everything will eventually conclude. Therefore, these are some things that I had learned today and how the knowledge that I gained today will be useful in the future.
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