The Odyssey - Final Post?

I finished reading the Odyssey, and I liked the ending. Odysseus finally got home, and killed all the suitors. It's kind of sad for Odysseus, though, because the suitors are really mean to him at first. Also, Penelope doesn't believe it's really Odysseus. In her defense, she hasn't seen him in twenty years. Everything is now wrapped up in the Odyssey. Homer doesn't leave the reader wondering like some modern fiction writers.

The Odyssey

I liked the part where Odysseus was telling his story better, but at last he's back in Ithaca. Telemachus is alive and knows who his father is, and they're plotting together to get rid of the suitors. I think it's cruel how, when Odysseus was dressed as a beggar, Antinous decided to throw things at him.

I definitely liked last week's reading better.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

In PATH, we started watching O Brother, Where Art Thou? It's loosely based on The Odyssey. Loosely. But there are some comparisons, like the fact that the main character (Ulysses Everett McGill) shares a first name with Ulysses/Odysseus. In both the movie and the book, the men are trying to find something. Odysseus wants to go home, Everett wants to find treasure. Also, there's plenty of violence in the movie - and in the book. In one scene in the movie, there's a group of women singing while doing laundry in a river. This scene is sort of like the Sirens in the Odyssey. In the movie, the singers are tempting the men, just like the Sirens. The women eventually seduce or put the men to sleep, and when they wake up, Delmar is gone. In the spot where Delmar was is a "horny toad" (as Pete put it), who Pete thinks is Delmar. This is kind of like the scene in the Odyssey where Circe turns some of Odysseus' men into pigs. There are more comparisons, but you have to find those for yourself.

Reading for the Past Five Days

I have been reading an array of books lately.

Number One: Educating Esme by Esme Raji Codell. Awesome! Amazing! Really funny! It's the diary of a first year teacher in Chicago. It's a beautiful book, and the ending is my favorite part. It makes me want to be a teacher more than I already do. Esme is twenty four, with a class of thirty one students. The book starts with Esme attending a funeral, which is a great example of starting in media res. Esme does all manner of crazy things with her class - including roller skating and doing an Indian dance through the hallways. A book I think any reader would like, especially teachers and those who want to be teachers. Warning: it's in the teen section for a reason!

Number Two: Wise Child by Monica Furlong. Another good book - I haven't finished it yet, and I've never read it before. It's about a ten year old named Wise Child in the medieval ages, in Scotland. She's training to be a doran, which is a fancy word (in Gaelic) for a healer and practicer of magic. At the moment, Wise Child is learning about herbology from her mentor, Juniper.

Number Three: The Odyssey. I just finished reading book eight, and it leaves you on a cliffhanger. I think I'm going to like this part of the Odyssey much better than the Telemachy. I think that Homer describes everything way too much, but the story is really cool. I like the queen that Odysseus just met - I think her name is Arete. I also like Odysseus much better than Telemachus, because Odysseus seems more honorable and intelligent.

Did anyone else notice that the Telemachy is Telemachus' name with a y instead of a us, just like the Odyssey and Odysseus?