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Post by Mr. Thomas on Nov 25, 2013 11:07:59 GMT -5
Odysseus and Penelope, reunited at last!
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Post by richteri16 on Nov 25, 2013 17:27:39 GMT -5
C. Why was Penelope questioning whether Odysseus was actually home? Her trusted maid came to her and told her yet she did not believe her. It was also weird how she went from being suspicious to happy he was home to suspicion again. Even when she sees him in the hall she still doesn’t think it is him. She hardly even greets him! Telemachus had to take her aside and ask her what is up with her. This is just really weird to me. After all those years I would think she would be overjoyed to meet him.
E. I was disheartened when Odysseus told Penelope that he still has this prophecy hanging over his head. It just seems like another thing that he has to take care of. I think that he should get some well-deserved rest. I hope this does not turn into some huge problem.
F. In this whole book you can really see how strong the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope really is. The relationship was strained at the beginning though when Penelope would not believe it was him. However, when Odysseus told her the story about how he made their bed from scratch she realized that it was him. You can tell how deep their relationship is because they have all of these nice stories. Also they spend a lot of time after talking and catching up. Odysseus explains his whole journey and Penelope listens attentively. The two have a really deep and close relationship.
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Post by rozzayhill007 on Nov 25, 2013 18:20:13 GMT -5
Jackson Hill
C. I am confused on why Penelope would doubt what the nurse is saying around line 10. She says, “Penelope—child—wake up and see for yourself, with your own eyes, all you dreamed of, all your days! He’s here—Odysseus—he’s come home, at long last! He’s killed the suitors, swaggering young brutes who plagued his house, wolfed his cattle down, rode roughshod over his son!” If I were Penelope I would be jumping with joy because of these words. She has missed him for all this time and now she doubts that he could ever return to his homeland.
D. Lines that I like are on page 467 in the last paragraph. They say, “ He strapped his burnished armor round his shoulders, roused Telemachus, the cowherd and the swineherd, and told them to take up weapons honed for battle. They snapped to commands, harnessed up in bronze, opened the doors and strode out, Odysseus in lead.” The reason why I like these lines is because it’s like a perfect ending to a book. The king has been lost for so long and now he has come back with vengeance to take back what is rightfully his.
I. I agree with what Ian said in his letter F response. I also feel that the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope is very strong, and that became clearer and clearer as the book progressed.
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Post by hankmichels on Nov 25, 2013 18:29:33 GMT -5
E. I totally agree with Penelope and think it was a good idea to pull the bed stunt. But that would be, of course, if she hadn’t done some other things early in the story. Earlier, she would freak out and give E. someone gifts if they so much as mentioned Odysseus. She would believe almost anything. Then, when a trusty handmaiden (Not some stranger) says that Odysseus has returned she doesn’t believe her. Even when she sees him, she still needs to test him by bringing up their bed, which can not move. That’s just kind of dumb. Had Penelope been really skeptical or just averagely skeptical for the entire story, I would completely agree with her for testing Odysseus. But based off of what has already happened, I don’t.
B. Why does Athena hide Odysseus and company in… a cloud? If you ask me, that is really dumb. I understand that they need to be careful.. but do they? If Odysseus is the KING of Ithaca everybody would love to see him and they are all on his side (They should be). Plus any sane person would realize that the suitors were bad, so nobody would be avenging them besides maybe immediate family. But even if they were attacked, what then? Odysseus would easily take them out and destroy them. He managed to kill 160 suitors with four men. And if there happened to be someone who wanted vengeance, and was a great warrior, wouldn’t they have been recruited for the Trojan war, too?
F. I think the relationship between Penelope and Odysseus must be shaky if she doesn’t trust him right away. But I guess years away could do that to you.
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Post by youssefj16 on Nov 25, 2013 19:34:45 GMT -5
C. I was pretty confused on why Penelope doubted the return of Odysseus. I felt like she was acting a bit moody. At first she was happy and then she was suspicious and then back to happy. In response to Richter- i kinda get why she was acting like this now....Odysseus has been gone for so long that maybe Penelope never expected him to return. maybe it was the trauma of him leaving that caused all this doubt.
I. I agree with Richter about being overwhelmed that odysseus still has the prophecy hung over his head. i feel like after those long years being away from home that Odysseus just needs to take a break from everything and just chill out. he's been through way too much these past years.
F. At first, I thought that odysseus's and Penelope's relationship would be a little dull due to the fact the odysseus has been gone for 20 years, but at the end of the book, you can tell that they truly do love eachother. When Odysseus told Penelope about the making of the bed, it really moved me and I pictured the scene in my mind. Them looking at eachother and then hugging for the first time in so long.
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Post by stephanoscocoves on Nov 25, 2013 19:44:38 GMT -5
F. I think that because of the absences of Odysseus because Penelope's trust in him not to be secure. I think that it's alright for him not to trust him though because of the length of absence with no communication in between. I would feel the same way if I were in her situation. C. I am confused why penelope doubts the nuurse “Penelope—child—wake up and see for yourself, with your own eyes, all you dreamed of, all your days! He’s here—Odysseus—he’s come home, at long last! He’s killed the suitors, swaggering young brutes who plagued his house, wolfed his cattle down, rode roughshod over his son!” I. I agree with rozzayhill007 on his part D. I liked those too! |
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Post by idelfonsoe16 on Nov 25, 2013 20:31:24 GMT -5
C. I cannot comprehend why Penelope would question her maid if Odysseus was home. She must REALLY not want Odysseus to come home or something (although she really does). Why can’t she just try and find out if Odysseus is there or not? Why does she constantly doubt herself and her maid if Odysseus is ACTUALLY there killing the suitors!? I think because she has waited so long for her husband to return, she probably thought the inevitable and believed that Odysseus either died in Troy, never made it to Troy, or never made it back to Ithaca. Either way, she really has a negative spin on things.
I. I disagree with Ian’s E response. Odysseus might get bored in Ithaca, and might want to relive the adventures that he had! Believe me, if all you wanted to do for the past TWENTY YEARS was to return home, and you succeed, and you’re happily back with your family, wouldn’t you wish to relive the adrenaline rush you had while trying to get back home? This could be a part of his War Hero instinct. Since he has been scarred by war and the gods’ divine intervention, he believes he cannot live a normal life anymore, unless it was destined to be that way.
F. Penelope really doesn’t gain any of my interest at all. She’s so confident that her husband is not there to the point that she believes that the gods are bewitching the witnesses! This only draws to me (at the point that this was going on) that she seems upset with Odysseus’ return, but only throws that away when he is really there. Agamemnon Legacy? Probably not, but there seems to be “shade”…
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Post by petergiglio on Nov 25, 2013 20:32:19 GMT -5
G. if i were Penelope i would be completely confused as to what is happening because your husband who you might not even know is your husband because he was a different man for so long returns into the form of himself and now is back to reclaim his rightful place on the throne. I would be upset, confused and infuriated all at the same time. Also i would have an unbelievable amount of questions for him and why the hell he was gone for so long. I would tell him all the key events that had happened while he was gone but im pretty sure she would be talking for about three years.
F. I feel like it is right for Penelope to be suspicious of him, i mean he was definitely not faithful because i mean a man has his limits even if it was against his own will, but still it would be questionable as to what he has been doing even though it was the whole time he was just trying to get home and nothing else meanwhile the gods are completely not on his side.. like hes had it rough. But i feel like he isnt really apart of her life anymore because he has been gone for so long
I. i agree with hank that years away can make a relationship lose the majority of its trust because they have been away for so long, i mean talk about a long distance relationship
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Post by zaysofly on Nov 25, 2013 20:36:18 GMT -5
D: Ok, I thought It was utterly hilarious how after the fight, Eurycleia goes to get Penelope who has slept throughout the entire fight. Like, how do you sleep through an epic battle with 5 verses 160 men? There must have been some screaming in that battle, I mean people were dying left and right. I know for a fact it was not a silent fight. I myself have actually written a paper on sleep patterns, and it just doesn’t add up. If you guys remember a few books back, Penelope was having extreme nightmares. She could not sleep and even contemplated suicide. Now if she was having nightmares, and couldn’t sleep, how on earth could her body know give her enough melatonin to get through the night. She doesn’t know for sure id Odysseus is home or not and even though then reassured her in a dream that everything would be fine, she still had disbelief. I thought it was pretty sad how Odysseus know had to go to all of the nobles parents he had just killed.
C: Did anyone notice how Telemachus was pretty sassy to Penelope when she sees Odysseus for the first time? Telemachus doesn’t think that the greeting was as good as it should have been so he yells at his mother. Then Odysseus is like I’m not worried about her love I’m worried about all theses dead children.
G: If I were Odysseus I would be pretty tired of dressing up in my own country. I mean I could understand when I was outside of Ithaca, but now it’s like I can’t even trust my own country not to kill me, that’s pretty stressful.
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Post by Ray Park on Nov 25, 2013 20:37:10 GMT -5
E. Its kind of weird how Penelope has been sleeping through the whole fight with Odysseus against the suitors. Usually I would wake up to people screaming and being hanged and getting killed. I do indeed like the fact that Penelope finally gets to see Odysseus, but I dont like the reaction that she puts up. Even Telemachus scolds her for not giving a more warming and loving welcome home. Although she hasn't seen him for over 20 years, her husband finally reveals himself to her and she doesnt do anything. But fnally when she does her Bed idea plan to prove that it was really Odysseus, I finally felt happy and glad for their long forwarding reunion.
C. I still dont really understand why the families of the suitors would get mad. They practically disrespected the king of their land and they are upset at him? I feel that that is a crime in itself for doing something so horrible your family has done and then get mad for getting punished, althought he punishment was quite severe.
I. I agree with Hank that the relationship between Penelope and Odysseus is a little troubling because the amount of time that they have not seen each other. But that time makes up for all the love that is missing in their love.
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Post by jotirmoykundu on Nov 25, 2013 21:30:18 GMT -5
C. What I didn’t understand in this part of the book was why Penelope questioning whether Odysseus was actually home or not? The made she trusted came to her when she called and asked her yet she did not believe her. She also had elements of being bipolar. She kept on changing from suspicious to happy to suspicious again. She even saw him in the hall and didn’t believe it was him and I don’t understand why! She barely gives a hello. Telemachus ask what’s up because even he didn’t understand it. This is confusing to me. After all those year, you would think she’d be overjoyed to finally have Odysseus back in her hands.
D. In this part of the book, the lines that I like are on page 467 in the last paragraph. They say, “ He strapped his burnished armor round his shoulders, roused Telemachus, the cowherd and the swineherd, and told them to take up weapons honed for battle. They snapped to commands, harnessed up in bronze, opened the doors and strode out, Odysseus in lead.” The reason why I like these lines is because the book is coming to an end and tends to be rapping up quite nicely. The king has been lost for a while now and can finally take back what is his.
I. I agree with what richteri16 said in his letter F response. I also feel that the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope is like an unbreakable bond, and that became clearer as the book progressed!
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Post by hessd16 on Nov 25, 2013 21:31:56 GMT -5
i. I agree with hankmichels “E. I totally agree with Penelope and think it was a good idea to pull the bed stunt. But that would be, of course, if she hadn’t done some other things early in the story. Earlier, she would freak out and give E. someone gifts if they so much as mentioned Odysseus. She would believe almost anything. Then, when a trusty handmaiden (Not some stranger) says that Odysseus has returned she doesn’t believe her. Even when she sees him, she still needs to test him by bringing up their bed, which can not move. That’s just kind of dumb. Had Penelope been really skeptical or just averagely skeptical for the entire story, I would completely agree with her for testing Odysseus. But based off of what has already happened, I don’t.” c. why does Penelope question? Why does she not want to believe the maid? Also I did not understand why it took her so long to trust it was Odysseus once she saw him. d. I was however sad to hear that Odysseus still has this other quest that I had totally forgotten about! |
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Post by michaelgenco on Nov 25, 2013 22:00:22 GMT -5
C.
I am confused with Penelope in the beginning of the book. Penelope said, “Dear old nurse, the gods have made you mad. They have the power, putting lunacy into the clearest head around or setting a half-wit on the path to sense. They’ve unhinged you, and you were once so sane. Why do you mock me? -haven’t I wept enough?-telling such wold stories, interrupting my sleep, sweep sleep that held me, sealed my eyes just now. Not once have I slept so soundly since the day Odysseus sailed away to see that cursed city... Destroy, I call it- I hate to say its name! Now down you go. Back to your own quarters. If any other woman of mine had come to me, rousing me out of sleep with such tale, I’d have her bundled back to her room in pain. It’s only your gray head that spares you that!” Why is Penelope so rude to her maid that’s been with her since the beginning? The poor lady just told her that Odysseus was here and she snapped on her. Also, why does Penelope blame the gods? Why is Odysseus so serious about moving his bed? Its just a bed.
D.
“Women- your words, they cut me to the core! Who could move my bed? Impossible task, even for some skilled craftsman- unless a god came down in person, quick to lend a hand, lifted it out with ease and moved it elsewhere. Not a man on earth, not even at peak strength, would find it east to prise it up and shift it, no, a great sign, a hallmark lies in its construction.” I thought that this quote was very interesting and funny because Penelope judged this ‘man’ that called himself Odysseus by talking about moving his bed.
I.
I agree with hank michels that Odysseus’ relationship with Penelope must be different because they’ve been so far away with each other.
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