Sunday, February 24, 2008

The Odyssey: Paper

I thought that I would do some brainstorming for my paper via blog so here is my thesis statement and some quotes i found for my body paragraphs...

Thesis statement : The supernatural figures, in Homer’s The Odyssey, help humans by giving signs, protection, and inspiration, all of which become crucial to Odysseus’ survival.
QUOTES:
“…an omen flew past, an eagle clutching a trembling dove.” (20.270)
“…the eagle killed my geese…called out in a human voice that dried my tears, ‘…the geese were your suitors—and I once the eagle but now I am your husband, back again at last, able to launch a terrible fate against them all.” (19.612-620)
“So clear, so true, that bird sign I saw as I sat on the benched ship and sounded out the future to the prince!” (17.174-176)
“’Look, Telemachus, the will of god just winged that bird on your right...I knew it was a sign. No line more kingly than yours in all of Ithaca—yours will reign forever!” (15.594-597)
“And again the suitors hurled their whetted shafts but Athena sent the better part of the salvo wide…” (22.285-286)
“But Zeus’s daughter Athena countered him at once. The rest of the winds she stopped right in their tracks…” (5.421-422)
“Well, I warn you, you won’t get home yourself, you’ll stay right there, trapped with all the rest. But wait, I can save you, free you from that great danger.” (10.315-317)
Inspiration Quotes:
“But you, I urge you, think how to drive these suitors from your halls. Come now, listen closely. Take my words to heart.” (1.312-314)
“…where he’d have been flayed alive, his bones crushed if the bright-eyed goddess Pallas had not inspired him now. He lunged for a reef, he seized it with both hands and clung for dear life…” (5.470-473)
“Rousing words—but she gave no all-out turning of the tide, not yet, she kept on testing Odysseus and his gallant son…” (22.246-248)

Vanishing Acts II

Delia, a member of the sarch and rescue team in rural New Hampshire, is lost herself. She feels like she doesn't know who she is or what she's becoming. Her marriage is strained and she is constantly worrying about her daughter, Sophie. To top it all off, at the end of the first chapter her dad is being arrested for a kidnapping. Delia, though dealing with a lot at the moment, is certain that there must be some sort of misunderstanding in her father's arrest. For this was the man she grew up with, the man who raised her without a mother, and who has given her all the love in the world by being a wonderful, caring and devoted father. (Her mother died in a car accident when Delia was four.) As if Delia wasn't confused enough, this abrupt event sparks new worry and concern within her to build upon the old worry and concern. I predict that there are certain people who are behind her father's kidnapping, and, personally, I think that one of them is Eric, Delia's husband. The reason I believe this is because when the police were taking Delia's father away, and she was standing there shocked and confused, he said, "Call Eric...He'll know what to do" (Picoult 26). Clearly, there is something mysterious going on between Eric and Delia's father. But what confuses me most is when Delia asks her father who Bethany Matthews (the person who was suppoesedly kidnapped) is and he replies, "You were" (Picoult 26).

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Vanishing Acts I

I actually haven't had time to start my book yet, but I'm really looking forward to reading it. The book I chose is called Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult. Delia Hopkins is the main character, who's life is changed dramatically after a policeman comes to her door with information that was kept secret until now...

The Odyssey

In the book The Odyssey by the famous Greek poet Homer, an epic hero named Odysseus undergoes many challenges and faces incredible monsters. The characterization of Odysseus portrays him as a brave, determined, adventurous, wise man, who's only flaw is cockiness. His first trait, bravery, is displayed many times throughout the book. One example of this is when he, along with his men, stabs the Cyclops in it's one eye and flees from the island. Odysseus shows that he is determined because he never gives up on trying to reach Ithaca, his home land. He endures unbelievable hardships for twenty years, but never gives up on reaching home. His adventurous trait is quite obvious, for the entire poem relates his adventures, however horrible, on the Mediterranean Sea. Odysseus proves he is wise when he constructs an escape plan for him and his men from the island of the Cyclops. He tells them all to hold onto the bottom of the Cyclop's sheep, that way they are unseen as they exit the cave. However, this epic hero does have a flaw; cockiness. He endangers himself and his entire crew when he shouts his real name back at the Cyclops, after having safely escaped the island. Of course, the Cyclops, Poseidon's son, tells his father about what Odysseus and his men did to him, and Poseidon rages, using the sea as his weapon. Clearly, Odysseus has most of the traits an epic hero would have, but his one flaw could possibly lead to his ruin.