The Odyssey Part II Based on the discussion about heroes, what do you think that Odysseus must do in order to be considered a hero? Episode 1: "Twenty Years Gone and I am Back Again" 1. How does Odysseus finally arrive home? 2. Why does Athena disguise Odysseus? 3. Why is Telemachus at first suspicious of Odysseus saying he is Telemachus's father? 4. What does Odysseus tell Telemachus to do with the suitors' weapons? What excuses is he to offer and what is he to do with his own emotions and the knowledge of this plan? 5. What does Odysseus imply when he tells Telemachus at the end of this episode, "But you and I alone must learn how far the women are corrupted?" Quote: What does Odysseus say or do that shows he is learning from what he has experienced on his journey? Episode 2: "Argus" 1. Why does Odysseus pretend to ignore Argus? 2. Why put this episode in at all? (It has no particular relationship to the plot.) Explain and use a quote to reinforce its importance Episode 3: "The Suitors" 1. Why do the other suitors speak against Antinous? 2. Compare and contrast Telemachus's behavior and Odysseus's. 3. Define dramatic irony. (you'll need to look it up in your literary terms handbook in the back) 4. Explain the dramatic irony of this scene. 5. In this scene we see two sides of the Greek value of being hospitable to strangers. Explain. 6. We have our first introduction to Penelope in this episode. What kind of person is she portrayed as being? Quote: What does Odysseus say or do that shows he is learning from what he has experienced on his journey? Episode 4: Penelope 1. How does Penelope delay a marriage to one of the suitors? 2. What do we learn about Penelope's character from this episode? 3. This would not seem a good time for Odysseus to reveal his identity to Penelope. Why would he choose not to? 4. What is the dramatic irony of this scene? Quote: What does Odysseus say or do that shows he is learning from what he has experienced on his journey? Episode 5: "The Challenge" 1. What does the challenge to the suitors tell us about Penelope? 2. What IRONY exists in the words said by some of the suitors when Odysseus, in disguise, takes up the bow at the beginning of the episode? 3. What does Odysseus mean by, "The hour has come to cook their lordships' mutton ‐‐ supper by daylight?" Episode 6: "Odysseus' Revenge" 1. What bargain do the suitors try to make with Odysseus? Do you think he should take it? Why? 2. Compare Odysseus's brand of justice to our modern idea of justice. 3. Explain the comparison being made in the "Homeric simile" in lines 1535‐1539. Episode 7: "Penelope's Test" 1. What is the test and how does Odysseus pass it? 2. Why does Penelope doubt Odysseus's identity? 3. Remember the predictions and instructions Tiresias gave Odysseus? What have we NOT seen come true by the end of the story? 4. The story has focused almost exclusively on Odysseus, yet in what way(s) has Penelope had a challenging experience? In what way could her experience be seen as equal to or more difficult than Odysseus's? 5. If Odysseus was translated into a modern hero, what (besides the historical differences in clothing, weapons, etc.) would we have to change about his personality, values, and ways of interacting, etc. in order to modernize him? (Be specific.) 6. When characters take important journeys, they tend to be changed by their experiences. Has Odysseus changed in any way? Has he gained any wisdom he did not have before?