The Odyssey Reading Guide PDF

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Part of a series of reading guide assignments due in every period...

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Jacob West The Odyssey Reading guide

Before Reading: I have read most parts of The Odyssey in various literature classes in high school. Some of the most memorable stories from The Odyssey are Odysseus’ interaction with Polyphemus, the island of the Lotus-Eaters, and Calypso. I expect Odysseus to be a family man – dedicated to getting back to his wife and son. Although considered by some to be a war hero, I believe that is not his strongest trait. I don’t believe Odysseus would do anything for his men, and this is shown through Odysseus returning home alone. I think his devotion to home is what makes him who he is. I think The Odyssey will be much more focused on the adventures of Odysseus himself instead of secondary characters (like in Gilgamesh, Enkidu is a main character for the first half.) 1. The Odyssey starts in media res, or in other words, in the middle of the story. The first 4 books focus on Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, who does not remember his father and is now in his 20’s. I believe Homer decides to do this to show to the reader the context of where exactly Odysseus desires to be so greatly. It shows what Odysseus left behind when going off to war and it shows that Odysseus isn’t the only one that wants to be home – Penelope and Telemachus are suffering immensely and want Odysseus home as well. 2. Odysseus does strike me as heroic. The fact that he has managed to go through this adventure that he tells the readers about is heroic in itself. His endurance through all the trials, whether it be the storms, the Lotus Eaters, Polyphemus, or Charybdis, is respectable and is the foundation of heroism. However, I also believe one important aspect of Odysseus that makes him heroic is his intelligence. Especially in the scene with Polyphemus, the main separating factor between Odysseus’ men and Odysseus is that Odysseus is the brains of the group. He is cunning and quick-witted – something that I believe the Greeks consider heroic.

3. In The Odyssey, the Gods interact with mortals in both positive and negative ways. On one hand, we see Athena disguise herself as Mentes and help convince Telemachus to go seek out his father. But, on the other hand, we see Poseidon constantly trying to interfere with Odysseus getting back home, cursing him and trying to kill him. Compared to Gilgamesh, I believe that The Odyssey portrays the Gods as much more involved in the lives of mortals. In Gilgamesh, it seems that while the mortals pray to the Gods daily, the Gods have their own things to do and only get involved when something is in it for them, as Ishtar shows when trying to seduce Gilgamesh. However, in the Odyssey, the mortals pray to the Gods, and the Gods, in return, help or hurt the mortals. They care much more about what the mortals are doing, as shown by Zeus and Hermes telling Calypso to let Odysseus go, Athena helping Telemachus, Poseidon cursing Odysseus, etc. After Reading: As stated before, I have read The Odyssey recently in high school so I remembered a good portion of the stories so my expectations of the story were pretty much met....