The Odyssey Blog 3

It has been a busy couple of days for me, so i haven't had very much time to read but i finished book 3 and am about half way done with book 4.  In the book, Telemachus and Pisistratus go to Sparta to find more information on Oddyseus and they arrive at the King and Queen's Palace. The King and Queen are named Menelaus and Helen and they are very welcoming to Telemachus and Pisistratus. While they are eating at the feast, Menelaus begins to talk about Odysseus and how wonderful he is and him and his wife soon realize that Odysseus is the father of Telemachus.  One part of the reading that made me sort of sad was when Telemachus heard Melelaus speaking about his father and he began to cry and wipe his tears on his robe (pg. 129: 126-133). I thought that this showed that Telemachus really has high hopes for finding his father and i really hope he does because i hate seeing him so sad. Overall, I felt like this reading was difficult to understand, so i'm not positive on what is exactly going on. I'm also very confused with all of the names that are being used because i feel like there are new names being added on every page that i read. But, other than those minor problems, i feel like i will have plenty of time over  break to read The Odyssey and hopefully move onto some novels that are easier to grasp and not quite so foreign to me.

The Odyssey Blog 2

I have just finished reading book 2 and am in the middle of book 3.  Telemachus is just beginning his journey to find his father and bring him home, so that the suitors will stop trying to convince him mother to marry them. Telemachus didn't tell his mother or anyone besides his nurse that he was leaving because i think that he wanted to do this on his own and didn't want anyone to convince him not to go on the journey. After he began his journey, they stopped at Pylos and Telemachus was afraid to speak with the King of Pylos, Nestor, but Athena was there to help him through it. One quote that i found very interesting in my reading was what Athena said to Telemachus: "Some of the words you'll find within yourself, the rest some power will inspire you to say" (Homer 108: 30-31). Athena says this to Telemachus when he was nervous to speak with the King and i think that it shows that we have power within ourselves, but there also is some greater power in the world that we as humans have absolutely no control over. The reason that Telemachus had to Speak with the King was because he wanted to know if he knew any news about his father. King Nestor didn't know anything Telemachus' father, but he did tell him that the city of Ithaca was being taken over by suitors. Another very insightful quote in this reading that is said by Athena is: "Death: not even the gods can defend a man, not even one they love, that day when fate takes hold and lays him out at last" (Homer 115: 269-271).  I think that this shows that no matter how hard we may try to control our future, we will never be able to because it is completely out of our reach.

The Odyssey Blog 1

I just began reading the Odyssey, since i wasn't hear when the rest of the class read it, and i think that it is quite interesting. I've only read the first book entitled, "Athena Inspires the Prince", and it is a style of writing that I'm very unfamiliar with. But other than the type of writing being not what I'm used to, i understand the plot and what is going on in the first book. I know that Odysseus was in the battle at Troy and that his son, Telemachus, and everyone else in Ithaca think that he is dead. The one person that Telemachus doesn't think this is Athena and she tells Telemachus: "Yet i tell you great Odysseus is not dead. He's still alive...held captive" (Homer 83-84: 228-229). Athena brings this news to, so that he can have hope and begin to start acting more like a leader: "You must not cling to your boyhood any longer-- it's time you were a man" (Homer 87: 341-342). I think that this quote may be a huge hint to what may be a large part of this novel, and that is the growth and maturity that Telemachus is going to have to have in order to survive. While reading, this was the only theme or foreshadowing that i could pick up on but i think i will read it again in order to understand it better. The story seems interesting and I'm not quite sure where its going from here, but all i hope is that Odysseus comes home safely so his family doesn't have to worry about him any longer.