As we wrap up the class next week, be sure to read the last three chapters from Graziosi's book on Homer. This will give us some further food for thought about The Odyssey, and might help you as you complete your Final Paper assignment. No questions, but we'll have an in-class writing as a way to think about this out loud. Here are some ideas to consider as you read, though:
* According to Graziosi, why might Penelope be the most "dangerous" women/monster of them all? What threat does she pose to him?
* Why might The Odyssey constantly pit the pursuit of pleasure against the desire (or necessity) to return home? Why might this have been a big theme for Homer and his audience?
* Why does she think that The Odyssey "offers a more disenchanted, epic exploration of power and its consequences" than other stories about Odysseus and the heroes of Greek myth?
* What are some of the problems she (and other scholars/readers) have with the end of the poem, Book 24?
* How have our own perceptions and interest in the poem changed over time? What did Aristotle focus on in the poem--and what does he ignore? Was he a bad reader? Are we?
* If the first word of the poem is "andra" (man), is this poem really the story of one specific man--Odysseus? How much should we consider this his story? Or is he merely the framework that introduces a much more complicated epic?
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