12,109
lines of hexameter verse later, you have made it to the end of The Odyssey.
In one paragraph, please answer the following questions: How
has the reading of it been your own personal odyssey? How did you get through it? What methods did you employ to make the
reading of this long poem bearable?
In a second paragraph, please discuss your critical evaluation of the poem:
Were you satisfied with the poem’s ending and
the poem as a whole? This is where you
get the opportunity to say how much you loved it or hated it. What would you have changed, if
anything? What parts captivated
you? What bored you? How has reading it changed your life? J
Throughout my reading of "The Odyssey" I felt like I was on my own quest to finish the book. After all, the meaning of the word "odyssey" is "a long and eventful journey". My journey through the long poem was indeed eventful in that I was captivated by the numerous treacherous adventures of Odysseus. It actually was not that boring if you envisioned yourself in the story. While reading it, I visualized all of the events in my head and I felt like I was apart of them when I did. This strategy definitely helped me get through this long story without getting bored.
ReplyDeleteOn a more analytical basis, I was not really satisfied with the ending of the poem. I felt like it ended to easily and was a little bit forced. On the other hand, I can kind of see why Homer chose to end it that way because the tale has gone on so long and it has been so detailed that he probably could not afford to make the ending more long and detailed. If he did, then the reader would probably lose interest in finishing the poem because it would be so long. I also did not care for the beginning of the poem, as Homer spent too much time focusing on the life of Odysseus's family Telemachus's information seeking journeys. I wish Homer would have cut down on that part of the story, and added more to Odysseus's list of Adventures because those tales were far more interesting. Aside from the ending and the beginning, I enjoyed the rest of the story. All in all, I would not really say that reading this book was a life changing experience. Overall, I just learned that you should never give up on something; always hope for it, and maybe it just might happen. This comes from Penelope's longing for Odysseus; she never lost faith in him returning, and he finally did return.
Reading "The Odyssey" has been quite a journey on it's own. Reading "The Odyssey" was quite different from what I've read in the past so it was definitely a challenge! Sometimes I would have to go back and reread what I had just read five minutes earlier just to get an understanding of the story. It really helped to picture the scenes in my head as if they were real to get through this poem. Another thing that I did to get a better understanding was reading Sparknotes after I read some books to get a better background of what was going on.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, I enjoyed reading the poem about Odysseus and the "twists and turns" he went through. Although I liked most of the story, I did not like the ending. I felt as if the ending was very rushed and did not make complete sense relating to the story. The poem as a whole was quite interesting and I learned several things about Greek Mythology in my readings. Although I enjoyed "The Odyssey", It reads very slow at some parts. Something that I could not stand was how much characters would sidetrack onto different topics and stories. While telling one thing. they would start talking about another thing, and then they would finally finish speaking of the first thing that they were talking about. It's as if these Greeks have a bad case of ADHD! Reading this poem has also changed my life. Now I know that I can conquer any book(or poem) I choose, no matter what the size. Another thing that I learned, is to never give up in what you believe in, and to always stay faithful, because it will be beneficial in the end.
For me reading the Odyssey has been my own personal odyssey because it felt like I was going through the journey of the characters with them. Like I was sharing their own personal struggles as I was going through my own struggles in the real world. It also was like going through my own personal odyssey by reading the book because you were trying to get through all of these different struggles and obstacles to get to the end of the book where everything is once again good. I didn't have any methods to reading it because I actually enjoyed the poem. Reading it wasn't a problem at all although I do agree with the people who say that it goes kind of slow. But I think that's part of having the experience of going through your own personal odyssey because it took Odysseus 20 years to get back home like how it took us a long time to get to the end of the poem. Maybe not 20 years worth but a long time anyway!
ReplyDeleteI was satisfied with the ending. It's not like it left us with a cliff hanger, still asking what happens next. I liked how it ended with peace and ended with the idea of the gods interacting with and helping humans to gain peace. I felt like there was closure as well with Odysseus and his wife, his father, his son, his friends, and other characters he had been apart from for many years. There's a sense of happiness at the end with this closure and peace and after all of the bloodshed and the fighting and the struggles, I feel like we needed those types of feelings at the end. I find greek mythology and religion really interesting so there's no suprise that I truly enjoyed this poem and wouldn't mind reading it again. One of my favorite things about The Odyssey is how it doesn't start at the beginning of the story and starts in the middle. I think it makes it more interesting and exciting to read. This unit of The Odyssey and Greek mythology has been great for me and I hope to do more studying in the future.
Throughout my reading of the odyssey, I have felt that I was on my own adventure to finish the book. At times it was difficult, and very boring, but many of the chapters were hard to put down. I believe homer designed the book to be read over a long period of time, as to give the reader a better perspective of Odysseus' journey. In order to make it through the book, I took a pretty standard approach to reading. I tried to finish the assigned chapters on the ride home.
ReplyDeleteI will admit right now that this poem really didn't change my life, although it did introduce the concept of long lasting relationships. Even after 20 years, Telemachus and Penelope still recognized and loved odysseus . I think Homer uses literary devices to his advantage, and does so swiftly. I do think that the conclusion of the story was lacking, and I would have enjoyed another chapter or two of information on what happened following odysseus' return. The beg ginning of the book was the most boring to me, and the end was the most exciting.
My reading of the Odyssey has been sort of like an odyssey itself, which I think is unique how Homer can relate the journey his protagonist to his readers of his novel. I feel that I can compare myself to Odysseus by the end of the book because we both faced similar feelings throughout the book, such as confusion, stress, and misery. Getting through the epic poem wasn't as bad as you might think, first looking at the 500 page or so book. If you were to just break down the chapters in a way that you are not reading 100 pages every night, but just 30 and still completing the assignment, then the plot plot becomes more understandable to you.
ReplyDeleteThe ending of the poem was not as satisfying as i thought it would be, but Homer still did a good job portraying the massive slaughter vividly to we, the readers. Yet, i still disliked how Homer convinced the suitor's family not seek revenge on Odysseus' murder of their family. I feel that I would have grown more satisfied to the ending if there sparked another brawl between Odysseus and the retaliation of the suitor's family, because in reality, this plot would not have ended so peacefully. But, I cannot fully agree that this book never captivated me because i was very intrigued during many parts of the epic poem. I did like Homer's method of creating the plot, in which a way that it was mixed up, not in chronological order, which makes this book stand out and very unique.
It's been a long time coming but the Odyssey is over. The Odyssey, a greek poem that feels like three novels combined. Throughout this epic poem I found myself going through this great Odyssey myself. When I was reading the Odyssey, I would often read the books in pairs or before reading the next book I would skim over the last book to refresh myself on what happened and what leads to the next book.
ReplyDeleteFor the first 9 books of the poem, they did not give me a full story of Penelope and her perspective like it did with Telemachus. However the next 15 books was more intriguing because it was action packed and full of the great adventures of Odysseus and his diminishing crew.The ending went both ways on a rotten and ripe scale in my opinion. The good part about the end of story was Odysseus' great purge and reclamation of his castle. However the rotten part in my opinion was the killing of the maids and the way he reunited with Penelope and Laertes. Also the way that Poseidon and Odysseus made a truce dissatisfied me. Throughout the poem Odysseus captivated me with his great yearning of returning home to Ithaca. This book really has not changed any aspect of my life greatly,however has enforced keep fighting for things you love and their is no place like home.,
When I was in middle school and complaining about reading Romeo and Juliet, the teacher would always tell me that if I thought this was bad, I should wait until freshman year when I would have to read The Odyssey. It has certainly been a journey reading The Odyssey, but it has been far from the nightmarish experience it is often made out to be. It introduced me to a style of writing I had never seen before; the intricately and painstakingly detailed accounts of every scene are like reading in HD, something I have never experienced in today's world of fast paced action novels. In short, I read this book like I would read any other.
ReplyDeleteAs a whole, The Odyssey was interesting, but sometimes slow and meandering. The need for several chapters detailing Telemachus' eventless and plotless journey was dubious. My favorite part was Odysseus' account of his journey to the Phaeacians. I also enjoyed the scene where Penelope was reunited with her long lost husband. My least favorite part was the way Odysseus acted when he returned. Hanging the maids and chopping off his goatherd's genitals were not very befitting of a king making his return. His anger is understandable, but the way he unleashes it is not. The Odyssey has changed my life by raising my English grade.
Well as an whole the Odyseey was a great and very satisfying book. I really enjoyed how Homer made the reader fell as if they could have been there in the shoes of Odysseus. This epic poem realyy made me enjoy the author Homer and want to sxplore more into his readings. To help myself get through the extremly long story, I used several methods. By picturing the scenary I vsn honrdtly believe that I am in the discriptive palces. I also believe by doing the projects about the gods made me actually tune in more to therir emotions and actions throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteI was overall satified with the book as a whole because the suitors received what they deserved, and Odysseus gained his rightful spot as king. The whole book overall I would rank at a 8.5 because it was exciting and thrilling, but had some very dull parts. When the book described every deatil was great, but when there was no action made it somewhat dull and boring. I would have not made so many parts where the characters are just talking because it mad the book slow down and annoyed me at times. Outside of the book, the reading of the Odyssey changed me beause it taught me not to brag because it could get you in bad situations like Odysseus.
It's been a long time since we've read The Odyssey but I can still remember how it felt to finally get through it. It took a lot of focus to actually sit down and read The Odyssey. In class it was enjoyable to talk about it in a discussion but when I had to do reading at home I dreaded doing the blue packet sheets along with it. It's ridiculously detailed and I feel like I am actually living through the journey of Odysseus which isn't a bad thing but for a freshman in high school.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say that I did not enjoy The Odyssey and I'm glad that we are done reading it. I did not like the character Odyssey. I did not like how insignificant Penelope was as a woman. In whole, I thought the book demeaned women and identified them as objects of no significance more specifically. Penelope's case a figurehead with no particular purpose but to sit at home and weep for her husband to come him home. I prefer a book with a woman who at least has some purpose and an epic hero who is only led by a goddess with only a few wise moments.