The Odyssey- Books 5-12

     In this section, Odysseus visited King Alcinous; they sat down and ate dinner together. Odysseus decided that he liked King Alcinous, and wanted to tell him the story of his journey. Odysseus tells the King of the many storms and bad situations he and his crew member were in throughout the journey. Zeus and Poseidon, (Jove and Neptune) were the cause of these storms. It appears as if Zeus does not care for Odysseus at all. I have been wondering why that is. I also wonder if, at one time, Odysseus did something that angered the gods. 

     

     After reading that section of the book, I think that Odysseus is a very clever and brave person. He was very clever when he fooled the Cyclops by telling him his name was Noman. I liked the part when the other Cyclops thought Polyphemus was crazy because he said that no man was killing him. Odysseus is brave when he goes exploring first. Most of the time, when he saw something new, he went to explore it and then he came back and told his men if it was safe. 

     

     Even though I think Odysseus is brave and clever, I think he was pushing too far with the Cyclops (Polyphemus). Polyphemus was very angry after Odysseus' men hurt his sight, but Odysseus kept taunting him. He was making him a lot more angry than he was. I can sympathize with the Cyclops in this situation, because getting taunted on top of already being angry is not enjoyable at all. I think he really should not have done that. 

The Odyssey- Books 2-4

   I found that this week, it was a little bit harder to get into the story. It may have been because it was a longer section than last week, or it may have been just that it seemed somewhat repetitive to me. Telemachus would get to a new city; the same things happened each time. It was a little bit too much to read it over again. 

   I thought it was interesting that all of the people in the story were characterized by their parents or spouse. That seemed very different to me. That is not necessarily how I would have chosen to characterize the people in my story. 

   I think that all of the characters and people portrayed in those pieces of artwork were true heroes. They portrayed courage; the people raising the flag. They showed bravery. The picture of the firefighters definitely showed bravery, because the people were running into a dangerous place to save other people. 

   What I noticed most, though, was that all of the heroes in the pictures were different shapes and sizes. No two of them looked the same, because a hero is not what is on the outside. A hero is someone who, for example, risks their life fighting a fire and benefitting the good of those in the fire. In those times, they don't worry about what they look like. 

The Odyssey- Book 1

   I understood the first book of The Odyssey better than I thought I would. For the first page, getting my brain to switch Greek gods to Roman gods was confusing. I kept finding myself wondering, 'Who's Ulysses?' but then I realized that it was really Odysseus. That made the story a little bit more confusing than it could have been. I thought it was interesting that Telemachus brought the stranger in to a private room in his house and served him a good meal. When I thought about it, I realized that nowadays, we wouldn't do that.
   I also thought it was interesting that Athena dressed up in a disguise to tell Telemachus where his father was instead of just telling him in person. I wonder why Telemachus didn't recognize her? I wonder if Athena has some special powers that can make her shape-shift, in a way.
 
   Active reading really did help me better understand the story while I was reading it. I think that by stopping and reflecting more often, I discovered what I didn't understand and was able to go back and read it again. I really liked writing my thoughts in the margins, because it felt like I was able to process them better. I was able to write down my questions, and then come back and answer them later. That helped me put events together better.

Geeks Bearing Gifts

I think one writing technique this author uses is mood. The main character changed moods throughout the story. I think that she didn't really know what to think about the different outsiders that she talked to.  But I know that at the end, she decided she wanted to be friends with most of them. Her view of her boyfriend also changed. After Renee showed Bobby what she learned about the "geeks," his view didn't change and she got frustrated with him. She learned that they were real people with real feelings. I think that my view of all of those different kinds of people also changed, because I felt like I was the one who was sitting down with those different people and getting their story. I did not really feel like I could relate with those characters, but I think that I understand their point of view.

I think the author also used different points of view. He did not use them in first person, but he made it clear what each person thought. Renee, at the end of the book, felt kinder towards the people she interviewed. She had a different view on the whole situation of different kinds of people in her school. Some of the interviewees felt annoyed that they were being seen as a type of outcast. Willard, though, viewed himself as a type of outcast, and asked Renee why she had not interviewed him right away. Bobby's point of view never changed. He viewed everyone but himself as outcasts. He was not a very open-minded or forgiving person, either. I did not agree with him when he was trying to tell Renee who she can and cannot be friends with.