Part One
At the start of Book 16 Telemachus arrives at Eumaeus’ hut with a warm welcome from the swineherd. After noticing the stranger, Eumaeus tells Telemachus Odysseus’ fake story and asks him if he can take care of the stranger in the palace. Telemachus refuses though, out of fear that the stranger would be harmed by the malicious suitors. When Odysseus and Telemachus are finally alone, Athena removes Odysseus’ disguise, so the father and son can meet at last. After being separated from his son for twenty years why does Odysseus wait until they are alone before revealing his true identity? Telemachus initially thinks he is a god after seeing him change from an old beggar to a god-like man. When Odysseus reveals himself Telemachus is in disbelief. Yet he is reassured by Odysseus and they embrace for the first time as father and son. What kind of impressions do you think they have of each other after meeting for the first time? Reunited at last, Odysseus and Telemachus form a plan to kill all of the suitors. Meanwhile, back at the palace the suitors continue to plot against Telemachus and even persuade Penelope that they mean him no harm.
How are the relationships between father and son similar/different in the book and in real life?
Part Two
Literary Devices
There is a bit of dramatic irony when the suitors were plotting how to kill Telemachus because at that very moment Odysseus and Telemachus were plotting how to kill the suitors. This is something only we, the readers, know and unfortunately for the suitors only we know that Odysseus is alive and planning to kill them.
Topics learned from the introduction
In Book 16 we are shown a lot of Odysseus’ perspectives of the gods. Odysseus has a lot of faith in the gods as he depends on them to help slay all the suitors. He has a lot of faith in their powers and says “It’s light work for the gods who rule the skies to exalt a mortal man or bring him low” (Page 345 line 241-242).
Translator’s Notes
16.131-35 Zeus made our line a line of only sons
It is very important that we know this because it is quite rare for there to a genealogy of only sons (in Book 15 the genealogy of Melampus is given to show that in each generation there were at least two sons). The translator’s note is brought up because Telemachus states that since he is the only son and is still young, he has no way of defending his home from the suitors.
Do you think that the Greek people depend too much on the gods?
Part Three
One of the themes that I found in this particular book was the reoccurring theme that wit overpowers strength. There are countless examples of how Odysseus triumphs from his wits rather than his strength. Just as Odysseus was outmatched in strength against the Cyclops, Odysseus must also face the countless suitors that ravage his house. To do this he and Telemachus have come up with a plan to take on all of the suitors with the help of Zeus and Athena. An outside connection I made was to the movie “300”. In the movie, a mere 300 Spartans overpowered a million Persian soldiers by using a narrow valley to make their vast numbers meaningless. By using their wits the Spartans overpowered the Persians just as Odysseus and Telemachus are going to defeat all the suitors (this is only a prediction).
In Greek society what do you think they value more brain or brawn? What are some other examples where brain beats brawn?
#1: One difference between a normal father/son relationship with Telemachus and Odysseus is that they have not been able to see each other for a period of 20 years because of the Trojan War, and the long journey that prevented him from getting home in a shorter period of time. But one similarity between their relationship is that when they did reunite, they embraced each other like they have known each other all their lives. They were able to reconnect once Odysseus revealed himself to his son.
ReplyDelete#2: I feel Greek people don't depend on the gods too much. For the most part, characters like Odysseus only pray to the gods when he is in the greatest amount of danger. During other times, gods appear to other gods like Telemachus in dreams, rather than expecting the gods to appear to them or guide them to safety right away.
#3: I feel brains are more valuable than brawns because during the ancient Greek times, only the best and the brightest were able to run the aristocratic government. Examples like this and finding your way back home after war take brains rather to brawn in order to make it back home safely.
I feel that the relationship between Odysseus and Telemachus is pretty similar to real life. At first Telemachus was not proud of his dad and thought that his death failed to bring honor to the family. After searching for his father and finally reuniting, Telemachus understood the hardships his father endured and was able to embrace his father with love. I seems that a lot of father son relationships have there ups and downs, but in the end there is most often love.
ReplyDeleteI do no think that Greek people rely on the gods too much because it is their life style and it seems that is how everyone goes about the day. It seems at most meals and while sacrificing animals there is always a god to be honored and whenever a person needs help or strength there is a god to create that. So I do not think they depend on the gods too much it is just how everyone lives their lives.
I think that both arguments have positive qualities, but brains is most likely the better attribute. I feel from this story, Odysseus uses his wit to get himself out of certain situations. In this same scenarios Odysseus’ crew who are very muscular die because of their lack of knowledge and wit. We saw this example with the Cyclops earlier in the story.
It is different because Odysseus and Telemachus never had a real father and son relationship. Odysseus wasn’t there for Telemachus as a father figure in his son childhood and mostly to build a loving relationship with his son. Even through Telemachus hasn’t seen his father for long time he was still able to click with his father right away.
ReplyDeleteIt is Greek people culture and way of life to depend and rely on the gods. It’s just a part of their daily life so I don’t think they are too depended on the gods. Still people today are very religious and depend on their own god to provide them physical and spiritually. You can’t blame the Greeks for being so depended on the gods.
In Greek society I think both brain and brawn has equal value. Greek culture praises people with their talent in brawn but without brain they can’t be a great winner. In battles you can have all the soldiers and weapons but without a good tactic (brain) you can’t win the war.