Monday, November 15, 2010

3rd Hour: Aeolus and Circe--what do we learn about Odysseus' character?


In your pods today, please brainstorm answers to these questions. After you've come up with ideas, please post them to the blog. If there's time, please respond to other people's ideas, too.


1. What new impressions of Odysseus did you get from this part of the story?2. In what ways is Circe a danger to Odysseus and his men? Is she more or less dangerous than the Cyclops? Support your opinion with text from the epic.3. Eurylochus' character contrasts sharply with Odysseus' in this episode. What aspect of Odysseus' character are revealed through this contrast?*Consider:~how each feels about Circe~what each wants to do after Cice has transformed his first group of men~how Eurylochus criticizes Odysseus~how Odysseus reacts to Eurylochus' criticism4. What heroic (or anti-heroic) qualities does Odysseus reveal in this episode? Explain your thinking.5. As a metaphor, what does Circe suggest Odysseus needs to learn or overcome?

109 comments:

  1. Circe is a danger to Odysseus because she leads them off course, and suspends them in time so that they cannot get back to Ithica.

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  2. I think Circe is more dangerous than the cyclops because she is a goddess with powers. The cyclops is just big and strong.

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  3. I think the lady is more dangerous than the cyclops.

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  4. Circe is a danger to the men because she has all the control and at any moment she can turn them into animals or do something to them.

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  5. When Circe says "I had freed your men but you lingered in my bed" I think she is trying to teach him that he didn't have to wander to Cyclops island and he could have gone home when he got the job done.

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  6. I get the impression that Odysseus will do whatever it takes to save his men

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  7. A new impression i have of Odysseus is that he is unfaithful to his wife. He is not very trustworthy.

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  8. Circe is dangerous because she could have kept them there forever without them knowing.

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  9. I don't think that Odysseus is harmful to the men at all because he putts his life on the line to save them several times and he got them all turned back into humans and you dont see anyone else doing this.

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  10. I think that Circe is more of a threat because the men acctually want to stay there and have shelter and food. However the men didn't want to stay in the cave with the cyclops at all.

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  11. The new image that odysseus is getting is a sandal. This is because he is married to his wife who is back in Ithica and just had an affair with circe who is a witch. The heroic traits that are revealed in this episode about odysseus is that he is brave and he uses courage when needed.

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  12. Cicre is keeping them there and making them lose there desire for home and odysseus is being unfaithful to his wife too

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  13. Good reasoning, guys. What do you think of Odysseus' claim that he is "but a man" and cannot resist her charms?

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  14. The cyclops are big and scary but the girl seems like she has more power and is more dangerous.

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  15. I think that oddyseues is selfish

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  16. 2. circes can be a danger to him and his men by turning them into animals and changing the time by 5 years. they might not be able to get home to their families because they could have moved on or died or something and the men have been away for 5 years now.

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  17. Because she can turn them into an animal but the cyclops cannot

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  18. Circe alters the soldiers minds making forget about home and holding them in her house. She is still probably less dangerous than cylops becuse she doesn't want to eat them.

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  19. I think the cyclops was a larger physical danger. But Circe was the one who kept them from reaching Ithica, and so even though after they were turned back to men, they were in no physical danger while they were with her, she is still more dangerous in the long run than the cyclops was.

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  20. Circe is more dangerous than the cyclops because she keeps them for a year without them realizing and the cyclops they can run from because they can actually feel a threat where as in Circe's palace they feel like gods so they assume they have no reason to leave or feel threatened.

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  21. Odysseus is really loyal to his wife and to his men he is just selfish at times.

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  22. i don't think shes dangerous but is deceiving

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  23. I disagree with you zach because i know we have heard that Circe is a witch but from the clip we saw today she was nice by returning the men back to humans and then gave every man food, water, a women, and shelter.

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  24. I think she is more dangerous than the cyclopes because beside being big he didn't really have any powers and she could change time and do many different thing to change their journey

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  25. True; she is more dangerous because she's a temptress, yes? What do you think she represents for Odysseus as far as the journey is concerned? What should he learn about his own failings from her?

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  26. meganlou27 i very much agree with you statement,odysseuys is more vulnerable, because he cannot defeat circes like he did the cyclops.

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  27. I think Circe is more dangerous because she had powers and Cyclops does not. She provides the men with drinks and food. Circe can make time go by fast, this means it will be a struggle for Odysseus and his men to get back home.

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  28. I think that Odysseus shows heroic traits because he risks his life for his men. An example of this was when he climbed the side of the cliff risking death just for his men.

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  29. just to be totally clear, Aeolus is the goddess that kept Odysseus locked up, and circes is the cyclops? Either way, I would say the goddess/witch is more dangerous because she kept them locked up for 5 years. This was a major satback

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  30. why did she want to let them go to the underground if she may know a different way

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  31. I also think Circe is more dangerous than cyclops because has she more powers than anyone and has some control over what happens. Cyclops reminds of a superhero who is very big and strong.

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  32. Circe is alot more dangerous then the cyclops because she held them there for a year which slowed down their journey

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  33. I think he means that he is only a mortal man and cannot resist a goddess like Circe. That she has the power to control him.

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  34. True, Chris. But she only did that after Odysseus bowed to her will. So, then, how is she similar to the Lotus Eaters?

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  35. i think Odysseus cares about his men but they want to stay there and he's not really a trustworthy person.

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  36. who was the flying person that talked to odyeseus

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  37. But the cyclops can eat them and kill them which would had happened if he stayed any longer but Circe would not have eaten them.

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  38. Odysseus and Evrolychus both have good and things about them but i think Evrolychus isn't as selfish and cares more about the other men but Odysseus is smarter i think

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  39. Eurolychus wants to get food and tries harder than Odysseus to satisfy the men but still falls into Circe's trap.

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  40. Oddesyus' is not being unloyal to his wife because he the only way to save his men was to go to bed with circe, its not like he chose to go to bed with her.

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  41. I think Odysseus's strengths overcome his weaknesses in leadership. Odysseus does make some bad decisions but when it all comes down Odysseus is ready to save his men, get home, and overcome Circe.
    Eurylochus might be less cocky and not as selfish as Odysseus but I don't think he has the wit, power, and determination that Odysseus has.Therfore I think Odysseus is a better leader.

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  42. Odysseus shows that he is a leader because he sacrifices himself to save his men

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  43. i agree with what maggie said i think the girl has more power

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  44. b mackey, not only a year, but 5 years

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  45. cpedersen said...

    I think she is more dangerous than the cyclopes because beside being big he didn't really have any powers and she could change time and do many different thing to change their journey

    Yes, but realize that the cyclops could've eaten all Odysseus's men, and the world would never know. but yes, the witch did have some magic to help her, she also could've killed them all.

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  46. i think he showed a bad trait by not leading them out right after he slept with her.

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  47. Circe is a danger and more so than the others have been, but she has not been cruel by any means to them. She is a threat but not a physical threat, more of a trick to the mind kind of deal. She tricked the men by giving them everything they could ever want, which threw them off course.

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  48. well in the book its one year and movie its 5

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  49. HE needs to over come his wife and son

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  50. Odysseus shows some heroic qualities when he gets Circe to tell them who can help them get back home. But he also shows some bad qualities when instead of getting away from Circe he sleeps with her and even though he needed to do it to change his men back to people he didn't have to sleep with her more then once, and it makes it seem like he only thinks of himself, because what about his wife? She doesn't even know where he is and that must be hard as well as she is staying loyal to him but he is sleeping with another woman while she is suffering to think of all the possibilitys of where he is and what happened to him.

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  51. I agree with you brendan however she held them there for five years making it to where Odysseus hasn't seen his child for 15 years now.

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  52. I agree, Cameron. Odysseus doesn't want to betray his wife and still loves her, but he is only a man and has to rescue his men.

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  53. i agree with nick but you have to also remember he is just a man

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  54. Odysseus is trustful towards his wife because he is doing everything he can to get to his wife and kid. He also is doing what he can to free his men and like the flying thing said you can't refuse a goddess. so technically he had no choice.

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  55. Connor and Mysti, like the ideas about the differences between Odysseus and Eurylochus. O is truly more daring but E's caution might have saved some men.
    Brendan, can you tell me more about where Odysseus sacrifices himself for his men?

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  56. I think that Circe is the reason that his mom killed herself because what we didn't realize at that point in the story is that a year had gone by and his mom couldn't stand to wait anymore.

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  57. but he could have talked her to a different agreement then going to bed with her

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  58. srivas said...

    why did she want to let them go to the underground if she may know a different way

    The witch didn't know the way to Ithica, she only knew someone who knows. She did, however know what they had t do to get the info which I thought was a bit odd.

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  59. Odysseus's son must not even remember his dad

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  60. Odysseus can be very heroic and brave but he also gives in to temptation and thats not a good hero quality

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  61. I think Odysseus is heroic because Odysseus and his men have overcome many obstacles and they all have been very strong. I also think he is heroic because he risks his life for his men.

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  62. Odysseus is a good leader but maybe not a very good friend.

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  63. Yeah i liked how he said that even though he was with Circe, he said that he never forgot his wife the whole time.

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  64. do you think a lot of the gods will against him?

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  65. Do you predict will happen in the next episode? What new challenges will Odysseus face? Will this be the episode that he returns to Ithica?

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  66. He climbs up the mountain and drinks the honey thing just to save his men

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  67. kpierson how did they now what to do to get the info and how did it make that odd

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  68. You guys have to remember it was 5 years and it felt like a day so he didn't realize that the time had passed so fast.

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  69. Love all these questions and ideas. Elena, we're going to discuss the differences in his leadership and his friendship after break. Good prediction.
    Kyle, great ideas ,and I think they apply to what Karrie's thinking here, too. I wonder if another god might have stepped in to help him had he tried to resist Circe?

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  70. Odysseus might have "temptations" but then again he said that he is only a man. He cannot resist Circe's powers because she is a witch. So, it might not be a good quality to cheat, but he cheated "against his will".

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  71. Odysseus is better. Even though Eurolychus may care more about the men, and be more inclined to do something, Odysseus has better leadership traits. He is smart and still brave and strong, with some loyalty to his men. He is also much more persuasive and can get the men to do what he wants better than Eurolychus can.

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  72. Odyssueus reacts to Erulyshus by getting angry and his men have to hold him back, he must have a bad temper

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  73. I don't exactly understand how Odysseus can be so worried about his men and yet not share food with them. The whole bond with the crew is strange. The men don't trust Odysseus, yet they follow his every order (most of the time)

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  74. I think Odysseus can be a really good leader at times. He has some really good qualities but he also has bad ones. He is trying his hardest to get home and be with his family.I think Eurolychus would not be a very good leader. He sounds cocky and I don't think he would be very trustworthy. So overall, Odysseus would be a better leader.

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  75. Why, Aaron. Explain your thinking.
    So, then, Angie, Circe was able to cloud his memory, just like the Lotus Eaters, making him forget they'd actually been there a year.
    So, perhaps she is more manipulative and powerful than we originally thought.

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  76. i think the'll return to Ithaca and his family will be gone or possibly dead

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  77. chris, i think that odysseus will enter the underworld, and all of his men will die, but he will return a hero to ithaca, and greece.

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  78. i think odysesseus will see his mom in the underworld and be angry at himself

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  79. How did they dig up the boat so fast and earl thanks for agreeing with me :)

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  80. I think that Eurolychus is a better leader of the whole troop because he is honest and favored but odysseus is better by what he does

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  81. Earl--tell me more about how he would still be a hero if he returns without his men?

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  82. Matthew said...

    Because she can turn them into an animal but the cyclops cannot

    Yes, but the cyclops can eat the men, and/or trap the men. I still agree that the witch has more power because come on, she turned a man into a pig, and made them all think 5 years was a week!

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  83. I think that Odysseus will struggle getting out of the underworld but eventually will get out.

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  84. From this part of the story I learned that Odysseus cares only for himself and that he doesn't think about his men nor listen to them. I also learned that his men don't really trust him because they didn't trust that the sack that he told them not to open was actually important not to open they thought that there was gold or something else of value in it. Also while he was asleep his crew opened it. Also, when they crashed into the island one of the crew members found a tiny bit if food and Odysseus ate it and didn't give any of it to his crew instead he told them to go hunting for food. So this shows that he is selfish and that his men don't really trust him.

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  85. I think even though Odysseus didn't share I think he was trying to teach them that they have to fend for themselves and go find game. He might actually be teaching them something while being selfish in his ways.I think the men follow his orders because most of the time he gets them out of the tough situation.

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  86. You're all doing some great inference and predictions.
    It seems we're seeing that Odysseus is simply human, but his good quality is what Aeolus said: he is a human that thinks for himself. But, does that get him into trouble?

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  87. I agree with shutmacher he will probably be really mad and attack hatis

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  88. Circe seems harmless until they realize a year has passed.

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  89. tkelle, i agree , but he dose go looking for them on his own and climbs a mountain and almosyt falls.

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  90. Chris i think that in the next episode he and his men will go to the underworld and successfully return to Ithica but not in the next episode though.

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  91. Earl, I think that if he comes up from the underworld, that he will go back to Ithica and be depressed and not care about being a hero cause i think he will show up and see his mom is dead and i think his wife will have of had an affair with another woman.

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  92. shutmacher i think you might be right.

    what if he see's his mom in the underworld and he blames himself would he consider killing himself? or do something dramatic?

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  93. well did circe think that he was chosen to go to bed with her if he did not change into an animal was she trying to have a child half mortal half god?

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  94. So, perhaps part of his journey, then, is to learn to rely on others and be less selfish? Maybe that's what he needs to learn from his experience with Circe?

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  95. I don't think he will return a hero if all of his men died because a hero always risks his life for his men and if odysseus lives and his men don't, that proves that he didn't risk his life.

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  96. I think Odysseus is a good leader. At times he can be a good or bad friend. I think It depends on what is happening in the story.

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  97. i think this is all a part of a journey bigger than he thinks'

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  98. So, why hasn't Posiedon drowend Odysseus's crew yet? He has had several chances and Odysseus even stabbed his son.

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  99. Kackerman, i think that he will return a hero, for what he did in troy, and people will forget about all of the men that died. because it has been fifteen years since anybody has seen them, and they were assumed dead.

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  100. I think that if anyone was in Odysseus position in being a leader, you would make mistakes and I think that for what Oddyseus is going through he is a good leader

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  101. srivas said...

    kpierson how did they now what to do to get the info and how did it make that odd
    not to be a grammar Nazi, but you mean KNOW, not now, made it hard to read. It made it odd beacuse gods don't normally know what other gods have in store, and the only way she would know is if she went to the underworld.

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  102. i don't think he would kill him self because he wants his wife and son

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  103. I believe that Circe is playing with them because she has so much power and that it brings pleasure to her to do this. I also think the directios that she gave them will lead them to a bad predicement and its just another part of her game

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  104. he will come back a hero agreed earl

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