Homework Assignment for Week 4: First Draft for Paper 1 (one page only)

Instead of answering one or two study question, please write a first draft for your paper according to the instructions given below.

Choose one of the the following essay topics. Then search for two quotes in the text that strike you as particularly interesting, intriguing, or revealing about the topic that you chose. Copy these quotes (including page number and line number) at the beginning of your essay, followed by a one-page narrative why these quotes are significant and what you think they reveal.

I. Gender and Sexuality

Compare and contrast the female characters Penelope, Pallas Athene, and Calypso and their relationship to Odysseus. What range of feminine "role models" are offered in these characters? Other than the explanation that immortals do get away with more than mortal women, what composite picture of femininity emerges from the text? For example, what can we reasonably assume is Homeric man to make out of the sexual desire of mortal women rather than goddesses? Do we learn anything about this from the mortal women themselves described in the Odyssey? The treatment of some of Odysseus' female slaves at the end of the story might provide important insights.

Discuss to what extent one could argue that The Odyssey is really primarily a love story between Penelope and Odysseus, or to what extent Odysseus is drawn more to his former status as king of Ithaca than to being the husband of his beloved wife Penelope.

Write an essay discussing why The Odyssey might have been written by a woman. Use evidence from the text to back up your argument.

II. Of Hosts, Hostages, and Hostility (note the ambiguity in the root "host")

Hospitality is of tremendous importance in The Odyssey. But not all characters Odysseus meets on his trip are good hosts, nor is he a good guest to every one of them. How does Odysseus assess whether someone is likely to be a friendly host, a hostile host or not human at all? Can you make a prediction about the character of a particular host-guest relationship depending on whether the host is thought of as civilized or not?

Compare and contrast the notion of the civilized and orderly in Odysseus' world with the notion of the uncivilized, savage and chaotic, particularly as it emerges in Odysseus' own account of his navigation through uncharted territory.

Zeus is the protector of beggars and strangers. What do beggars and strangers have in common? Use examples from the text that illustrate the significance of this relationship in the Homeric world. Stay very close to the text and make sure that every inference you make about the Homeric world can be supported with evidence from the text.

Study Questions for Book 21-24 (do not use these to write your homework question, but they might help you develop your paper topic)

(Study questions might be used or adapted from Sarah Melville's class web site about the Odyssey)

Book 21:

To what extent do the previous encounters of Odysseus with the suitors and the goatherd provide a crescendo for the slaughter that is about to happen?

What role does Telemachus now assume?

Is Penelope aware of her husband's plans to finish off the suitors?

How does Zeus respond to O. stringing his bow?

Book 22:

Does Odysseus spare any of the suitors?

Can the slaughter in the hall be interpreted as Zeus' statement in the first chapter that mortals are ultimately responsible for their own fate? Provide evidence.

Do you think Melanthius deserves his fate?

To what extent could one argue that Odysseus has one his place next to Penelope a second time?

How does this add to make Odysseus a legend?

Book 23:

Does Penelope recognize Odysseus immediately?

How does she put him to the test?

What does the "rooted bed" signify about their relationship?

To what extent is this story a climax different from the previous book?

Book 24:

What is the significance of Agamemnon's conversation with the ghosts of the suitors?

What burial rituals did not take place for them and what is the effect of that?

Are the people of Ithaca all equally relieved that Odysseus finished off the suitors?

By what "rights" does Odysseus slaughter disloyal female slaves?

What new conflicts arise? How are they eventually solved? How do you interpret the final scene?