Reading Log 4: The Odyssey Books VIII-XII

My gosh this reading took me so long! With exam season wrapping up, I went into a bit of a hibernation for two days of vacation. =) Took me a while to get back out, and here I am almost done with my NaNoWriMo and finished with my PATH work! I lowered my word count to 18000 words, but that's because I was so busy doing other things. I'm proud that I managed to get all that done, 'cause I usually can't just write one thing. So this was a big accomplishment.

Anywhoooo... to the reading! Awayyyy~!

Summery:
This reading begins with Ulysses on the island. He feats with the Phaecians, listens to their bards sing, and competes with them in events. Finally, as the night wears on, King Alcinous finally demands to know just who this stranger is. Ulysses reveals his identity, and begins to regale his tale of misery and hardship to the king.

First, he and his men were wrecked near the islands where the Cyclopses make their home. However, the main cyclops (Polythemus as he is called in the Greek Tale, son of Neptune,) does not take kindly on the visitors, and eats many of Ulysses' men. The hero and his remaining men manage to blind Polythemus and trick their way out, but after Ulysses taunts the Cyclops, Polythemus prays to his father that Ulysses shall be punished in that all of his men will die before him, and he will not return home for many years.

Next, Ulysses and his men journey to another island, and there find the goddess Circe. She instill a false sense of security in Ulysses' men, and turn them all into pigs. However, Ulysses manages to get his men turned back when Circe, who was waiting on him, sees him unhappy. After the two sleep together (oh god...) she tells him that he and his men must journey to the underworld and receive a prophecy from the blind prophet Teiresias. Ulysses and his men journey to the land of Hades, and Ulysses recieves his prophecy after battling the demons of the many dead people that he had known.

Finally, the group returns to Circe, and Ulysses sets out again for his home. They encounter Sirens and the monstrous Scylla, whom they fight past in order to proceed. Finally, they journey to the island where the sun god kept his cattle. Though Ulysses' men swore not to touch them, they ate some of the sacred cows, and where punished harshly. Just as they were about to reach their home, the men foolishly unleashed the power of the winds that wrecked their ship and sent all but Ulysses to his death. He was then found by the goddess Calypso, and the story catches up with the present.

Thoughts on the Reading:
I actually really liked these few chapters, though I did find the 30+ pages a little daunting to read. It got strong, then weak, then strong and weak in the writing time and time again, and was a little bit hard to get through. However, since I've read the Oddessy before and did a massive project on Ulysseus' time in the underworld, I didn't have to take as many notes since I knew what was going on, which was nice.

Predictions:

• Ulysses will come close, or will, get back to his home soon.
• Telemachus, with or without the help of his father, will rid the house of the vile suitors.

Questions:

Only one. Why in the word have I been finding so many typos?!?!

Reading Log 3: The Odyssey Books V-VII

I believe it’s a sad state of affairs when one child (such as myself, for example) is so preoccupied with exams and Biology reports, as well as play rehersals, that she forgets to go ahead and post her blog entry. Shame on this said child, who has had her blog entry finished since SUNDAY.

I dun like exam season.

Summery:

             Happily enough, the chapters assigned were not all that difficult to read and delightfully straightforward. This installment beings with Calypso finally releasing Ulysses from her island prison, and giving him free reign to go home. She gives him the necessary tools to construct a raft (very helpful on a raging sea /endsarcasm) and gives him provisions to be on his way.

            Ulysses, overjoyed with the prospect of returning home, sets off for his estate immediately. However, he is soon once again staring hardship in the face. Neptune has realized that his mortal enemy is now once again striking out across the sea for his home, and decides to give Ulysses a difficult time getting there; despite what any of the gods may say. So, he wrecks the man’s raft.

            Slowly, Ulysses manages to pull himself from the water, bruised and battered, where he settles for the night on a nearby beach. In the morning, he is discovered by a beautiful girl, Naustica, and her handmaidens. He returns back to her house with her upon discovering that she is the king’s daughter, and believes that the King may help him to get back home.

            With Minerva’s help, Ulysses makes a good impression within the royal household, and the King insists upon giving the man a ship and crew in order for him to get back home. Our installment was wrapped up with Ulysses settling down in lavish comfort for the night within the King’s home.

Predictions:

 •          Neptune will be more than happy to cause more trouble for Ulysses once he and his new crew get back out on sea.

•           Telemachus will receive more word of his father’s whereabouts after this encounter with the King.

Questions:

            Again, there really were none! It was written/translated really well and I enjoyed reading it!

Reading Log 2: The Odyssey Books II-IV

Alright! Go me—I managed to pull off getting all these books read over the course of the weekend. My band class went on a trip to Detroit, and there was a lock-in at the school. Everyone stayed up all night: movies were watched, video games were played, my fellow classmates ran about screaming and yelling during the night…it was a good time. STILL. Amongst the throngs of chaos I got my reading done. Feel proud of me, because that wasn’t easy. =D

Summery:

            These chapters begin with Telemachus’ story. Basically, to condense it into a shortened version, Ulysses’ child begins his journey to other lands to meet those who might know of his father’s fate. He gathers the men of Ithaca to arms, and those who support him come with Telemachus on his quest. Minerva is also involved, taking the form of one of the man’s closest friends; Mentor (yes, both literally and figuratively).

            Telemachus first visits Nestor of Neleus, but is discouraged in his journey to find that Nestor has no news of his old friend’s survival in the Trojan War. However, he doesn’t stay down for long, and goes immediately thereafter to Lacedaemon to visit one of Ulysses’ closest friends: Menelaus. They arrive in the midst of a great party, and are treated with the utmost of hospitality while the group regale stories of Ulysses’ great accomplishments.

            It is with Menelaus that Telemachus first receives good news of his father’s whereabouts. The old war hero tells about how he learned from the Old Man of the Sea that Ulysses was one of the few men that survived the wreck, and is currently imprisoned on an island, held “hostage” by the seductive goddess Calypso.

            Telemachus goes further on his voyage, but not until the readers are shown a terrible plot being hatched by the suitors back in Ithaca. They plan to kill Telemachus on his voyage in order to make access to his land and his mother’s hand in marriage that much easier. They reveal their dastardly intentions to the reader, and Book IV ends with the suitors crouching in an ambush, ready to attack and kill our hero.

Predictions:

• Telemachus will survive the ambush
• Soon, Ulysses will become the main focus of the story as he regales his journey back home.
•  

Questions:

            None for this chapter, really! Everything seemed fairly straightforward…save for the names. I’ll decide to become a dandelion picker for a living before I can remember all those names.

Reading Log 1: The Odyssey Book I

            So! I pride myself on saying that I actually accomplished my active reading of the Odyssey: Book 1, on Thursday night. (Because I have no life.) *ahem* Anyways! I really enjoyed this week’s reading. I wish you all could see how many notes I took; my fingers were practically stained with highlighter ink and charcoal by the time I was done. In coincidence, our class actually read an excerpt from the Illiad this week in English 10A—that’s the predecessor to the Odyssey, so the two really went nicely together.

Summery:

The story begins with a prayer to the muses, as most (if not all) ancient Greek Tales do. It then segues into the gods discussing why they both like and dislike Odysseus—Ulysses— and how he has been stranded on an island for 10 years under the watchful eye of goddess Calypso.

The goddess Minerva, who I’ll more often then not refer to as Athena, takes pity on Ulysses and goes to visit his family in disguise. She goes to the man’s home to find men constantly flocking to his wife, Penelope, and trying to seduce her or win her hand in marriage. She, however, cannot accept the fact that he “died at sea,” and relies on these men and her son, Telemechus, for support.

Telemechus greets the disguised Minerva warmly and ushers her inside, giving her food and drink while the men are treated with less dignity then the visitor. The goddess, disguised as a family friend of Ulysses’, constantly drops hints that the adventurer may still be alive, and Telemechus should go and get word from other men around Greece about his father.

As she departs, Telemachus realizes that he was just in the presence of a goddess, and Minerva transforms into a bird and flies away. Telemachus returns to the house, demands that the suitors return home and never spend the night in his father’s mansion again, and bids them good night. As he readies for bed, he thinks about the voyage that has been assigned to him by the gods and about the preparations he must make.

Thoughts:

All in all, I was very interested throughout the story! I was a lot easier to read then a lot of other ancient Greek tales, and I think that made it a lot more fun as an assignment. One thing, however, that was a stumbling block for me, was that I mostly identify with the Greek gods—not the Roman ones. I call Jupiter Zeus, Minerva Athena, Ulysses Odysseus, ect. So, I was constantly looking up on the internet who was who, and that kind of spoiled the immersion for me.

Another thing that stood out for me was the good examples of foreshadowing placed into the story. For one, when Telemachus is talking about how he will never see his dead father again, that’s a fabulous example of situational irony: that is, we know something that the character doesn’t. I’m really looking forward to read about Telemachus’ reaction when he discovers that his father is actually alive and well.

Now, did anybody else besides me notice this? Was it just me, or did Minerva really seem to have a… for lack of a better term, flirty attitude towards Telemachus? I dunno if I’m just reading too much into her behavior, but I actually think that pairing might be cute later on in the story. (Though I’m fairly sure that might just be moi talking.) However, I will have to admit that Telemachus is my favorite character so far. He just seems like a very strong individual, having kept most of the suitors at bay and taking charge after his father’s death.

All in all, I’m really pleased with the reading and it was a real struggle not to move farther along in the story. I’m excited for the next assigned reading chapter!

Predictions:

• Ulysses will be helped by the gods (but will meet challenges from Neptune) on his journey home.
• Telemachus will begin his journey to get word of his father’s possible whereabouts.
• Some battle between the suitors and Ulysses will ensue if he returns home. (I mean, if somebody treated my spouse like that, I’d get a whoopin’ on their buts goin’!)

Questions:

Just a couple for this section. Now, at the very end of the story, when the maid—Euryclea—was helping Telemachus prepare for bed, I was a little thrown off. I mean, wouldn’t that be something that Penelope would do, or a mother for her own child in a broader sense? I don’t know if it’s just a bit of culture shock and that’s how women took care of their children (as in, had a maid do it,) but that just seemed a bit odd for me.

And lastly, why didn’t Penelope fend off the suitors for herself? I mean, wouldn’t that be considered being unfaithful to her (albeit dead) husband? I mean, sure it’s been ten years, but I wouldn’t let two dozen men stay in my house after my spouse drowned at sea? Is that just me, or would others do that too?