Next Week & Mid-Term Paper Assignment

 Remember there's no reading for Tuesday's class, but we will have Reading Exam #4 in class over what we've read of The Odyssey so far. This will be our only class next week since we have Fall Break starting on Thursday. 

Also, I handed out the Mid-Term paper in class on Thursday, so if you missed class or misplaced it, I've pasted it below. Note the due date--not until October 25th. Let me know if you have any questions about it or how to start...though we will be discussing it in class, as well as on Tuesday. 

Hum 2113: The Greek Mythos

Mid-Term Paper: A Hero for All Time

INTRO: “Andra, the first word in The Odyssey, announces a poem about a ‘man,’ and in some ways, this is story about Man without exception…The Odyssey seeks to define what it means to be human. But the Odyssey is also the story of one, very specific, and very puzzling man. It is difficult to know what to make of him, or even pinpoint his identity…That we are dealing with an Odyssey, a ‘poem about Odysseus,’ is therefore something we have to work out for ourselves as we listen to the poet” (Graziosi, Homer).

PROMPT: Why do you think one of the first ‘hero’ stories in the ancient world is about an anti-hero? Odysseus, though heroic, isn’t necessarily a good guy. The story is about how a thief, a liar, a pirate, and a sneak escapes death at every turn to seek justice at home and save his wife and property. This story might make more sense to us if he was portrayed as a truly moral and self-sacrificing hero, but he’s not. Clearly the poet (s) knew this when they wrote the story, but this was the hero they chose. Is there a method to his madness? Why should the very true hero in literature not be a superhero like the ones we have today? Why isn’t he someone we can celebrate and emulate?

A FEW THINGS TO CONSIDER:

• Are we supposed to learn from his example? Is it easier to learn from a flawed hero than a perfect one?
• Does Odysseus grow as the story progresses? Does he learn to be ‘good’ or better?
• Is the ‘good’ hero actually Telemachus or Penelope? Why might they be seen as more heroic than Odysseus?
• Does Odysseus succeed or fail in the end? Though he kills the suitors, has he really won?
• What do you think Sappho would think (or did think) of this poem? How might her poems help us read Odysseus as a hero and a human being?
• Can a human being every really be a hero? Is trying to be a hero at all a selfish occupation that leads to hubris?

REQUIREMENTS:

• Quote from the book to support your ideas. Be sure to introduce quotes and cite the page number, like so…In Book 17 of The Odyssey, Odysseus is insulted by the herdsmen outside of his home, and was deciding “whether/To jump the man and knock him dead with his staff/Or lift him by the ears and smash his head to the ground” (152). (use slashes to indicate line breaks)
• Use ONE of the following: (a) a modern example to compare to The Odyssey. Is there a modern hero we can compare him to? Does this help us understand why he is who he is? (b) Or, use Sappho’s poems to help us read his character and the poet’s motives. If you use them, QUOTE them—don’t just summarize.
• No page limit, but since this is a mid-term, I’ll expect your best work!
• Due Tuesday, October 25^th by 5pm [no class that day]