Extra Credit

1. After Ulysses, Pete, and Delmar fell off of the train, they encounter a blind man on a rail cart. They hop on, and the man tells the future. This is similar to Tiresias, the blind prophet in the Underworld who told Odysseus's future.

2. Big Dan Teague tried to mug them. He only had one eye (his other was blind). Then he was stabbed in his good eye. This is very similar to Polyphemus, the Cyclops who captured Odysseus and his crew. Then, they escaped by stabbing him in the eye.

3. Ulysses name is the Latin version for the name Odysseus. So, there names are practically the same, and they are both the protagonists.

#3

#3

“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns 
driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
 the hallowed heights of Troy. 
Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds, 
many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea, 
fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home. But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove—
the recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all, 
the blind fools, they devoured the cattle of the Sun
 and the Sun god blotted out the day of their return.”

The story starts out by saying what happens in the end. It says that the man (Odysseus) was driven off course after he left Troy. Homer says that Odysseus tried to save himself and his crew, but he couldn’t because they were arrogant and ate the cows of the sun. This shows the setting because it says they are on the open sea. This also shows the mood because it is sad and upsetting that Odysseus lost all of his men.

#1

#1

Thrinacia Island from the perspective of Eurylochus

We have been on the Island of the Sun god for about a month now. A storm has kept us here that long. All of the food from the ship ran out, and I as well as everyone else am starving.

I now see that Odysseus is asleep, and I must now make my move. I tell all of the shipmates that we must slaughter the cattle if they want to survive. Everyone agrees with me. We slaughter the best one for the sun himself, and we eat another.

The sun god is furious. We just set sail from Thrinacia and a huge storm is brewing. He must have asked Zeus to punish us for our slaughtering. Everyone is in panic, and I don't know if we will make it out of this storm alive...

#4

4. Find a connection between The Odyssey and some other piece of literature. This could be a similarity between characters or events. Be sure to write this as if your reader has no knowledge of either story.

In the epic The Odyssey by Homer, the protagonist, Odysseus, is quite similar to the protagonist Santiago, from the novel The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Odysseus is trying to sail back home after the 10 year long Trojan War, and Santiago tries to catch a huge fish far out in the sea. So obviously, they are both sea-faring men. They are both captains of their own ships. They both are also very determined. Santiago puts his life at great risk by going too far out at sea and trying to catch a giant fish. But, he stays out there, days on end, trying to catch the fish, and trying to survive. The line that he tries to catch the fish with cuts up his hands to the point where they look like hamburger meat. But he still holds on. He also had to fight off many sharks on his way back home. Odysseus is also very determined. He is trying to get himself and his crew back home, to the island of Ithaca. He faces many challenges along the way, like being imprisoned by a cyclops, named Polyphemus. Also, his crew opened a bag of wind which sent them far back to sea when they were in sight of Ithaca. He and his crew had to pass the notorious island of Sirens and then had to pass between a monster and whirlpool, too. But Odysseus and Santiago keep going, and they both eventually make it home. So overall, I would say the two are quite similar.

#2

2. Find a connection between yourself and Odysseus. Focus in on a specific event from the text, not a general observation. When have you been faced with a similar problem or set of emotions?

Odysseus obviously regrets what he did after stabbing Polyphemus in the eye. He could have gotten away and been fine if he didn't brag about who he was and that it was him who stabbed the cyclops in the eye. But, after he revealed his identity, Poseidon knew who to punish, and Odysseus was faced with great challenges thereafter. I have also said something, which I later regretted. One time, my mother grounded me for a week because of something I did. I then said, "Only a week?!" sarcastically to her, and was then grounded for two weeks. So, I too, like Odysseus, regretted saying something foolish and unnecessary, then got into trouble and punished for it.