Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Odyssey Book Eleven
In book eleven, Odysseus recalls of his visit the land of the dead. I found it interesting how the goat's blood was the calling for the dead. Did you? What was its significance? As well, Odysseus comes across dead Tiresias. He tells Odysseus that he will soon come across the Island of Helios. Tiresias advises Odysseus to not touch the sheep. Judging from past events, what do you think will happen? Also, Odysseus sees his mother in the land of the dead. She tells Odysseus of Penelope and Telemachus and there lives back home and how dearly they miss him. Do you think Odysseus' recollection of this this news will effect his journey home? Along with that, how might his encounter with his depressed and lonely comrades affect his journey?
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I thought book eleven was very interesting. I don't think the goats blood really had any significance. Maybe it did, but I can't find any connections. When Odysseus saw his mother, I thought that was a great scene in this book. Going to the Land of the Dead and seeing your mother who you never got to say goodbye to, was a great moment for Odysseus. I think what his mother told him will want him to get home sooner. He now knows about the suitors who are trying to gain Penelope's love and he does not want to lose his wife. Also seeing the man who died on Circe's island was also a good moment. This was important because Odysseus might realize he has to save his men and hope they do not have the fate his comrade had. Overall this book was filled with many new characters found in the Land of the Dead that we learned more about.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t think that goat’s blood had any more significance than that goats were regularly sacrificed to the gods. I think it is pretty obvious what will happen to Helios’ animals when Odysseus reaches the island, judging on how there don’t seem to be any of Odysseus’ men left when he reaches Phaecia. I’d be willing to be that Odysseus’ men will give in to temptation and eat some of Helios’ stock, and then Helios will punish the men and destroy Odysseus’ ship.
ReplyDeleteI think that if nothing else, news of Ithaca could only inspire Odysseus to try and get back as soon as possible so that one: someone doesn’t take over his thrown, and two: no one else dies of grief like his mother. I thought it was interesting that Odysseus made a promise to Elpenor, the comrade who got drunk and fell off the roof, because I don’t know whether or not Odysseus will be able to keep it.
This book was emotionally moving for Odysseus. From seeing old companions that have helped him throughout his whole journey to finally reuniting with his mother that he has not seen since he had left for war were heartbreaking. Imagine not being able to say goodbye to your own mother, and then hearing that you were the reason that she had passed away. I think that since Odysseus reunited with his mother again, it will motivate and encourage him to continue to obey all of the orders he has been given from the gods. By doing this, he will be able to return home and Telemachus and Penelope will no longer live in depression.
ReplyDeleteI did find it interesting that the blood was the "call" for the dead to approach you. However, I did not find any significance with this part. It was just a persuasion for the dead to come and talk with the living. Looking back on past events, Odysseus has not been the best of leader to his companions. But since book nine, he has been improving to show his loyalty. I hope this reflects on how he is going to act when he arrives at the Island of Helios. Before he makes any decisions, I hope he thinks about how his actions will affect his journey.
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ReplyDeleteTiresias warns Odysseus not to touch Helios' animals. Judging from past events, Odysseus men are probably going to touch Helios' animals. Up to this point, Odysseus has been leaving his men in the dark about a number of things. It would not surprise me if he did the same here.
ReplyDeleteI think that the goat's blood is very significant. Although we don't get this from the book, it is true that Pan (great movie) is the god of goats. The significance of this is that Pan is one of the only greek gods that dies, so goat's blood is used in the land of the dead.
I think Agamemnon's story will affect Odysseus the most. I don't think that he will ever trust Penelope the same way he used to, and he will be very wary when arriving in Ithaca. Overall, it was an interesting book, and I enjoyed it.
In Book 11, it was interesting to see people from Odysseus' past. I definitely think he felt emotional towards the people he hasn't seen in a while. I think he felt most emotional while seeing his mom. It was touching and sad to see hear his mom tell him he died from grief. This definitely made Odysseus feel as if he needed to get home even faster. As for Agamemnon's story, he certainly feels different towards Penelope now. Cheating on Odysseus was wrong, but then again he did the same while being away from Ithaca so long. They will both have trust issues now and things will be different once he returns home.
ReplyDeleteOdysseus' men are bound to do just what they have been warned not to do. It is so blatant foreshadowing that it eliminates the possibility of not touching Helios' sheep. They seem to always be Odysseus' downfall. What Odysseus learns about his family is sure to motivate him and hopefully keep him a little more loyal. They have waited for him for over 10 years.
ReplyDeleteThe scene with the dead people was very interesting because we all think about what we would do if we could talk to dead relative or dead famous people. The precession of people is endless in the chapter in order to give the reader the sense that what Odysseus is doing is useless and unhelpful.