Monday, October 25, 2010

Discussion Questions Book 18 (by Carly)

What is the significance of Odysseus being portrayed as a beggar? How is his character revealed throughout the chapter? When the two beggars are fighting, why does Odysseus choose to not demolish Irus? What does this show about his character?

11 comments:

  1. The significance of Odysseus being portrayed as a beggar is that you can't tell what a person is just from the outside appearance. HIs character is revealed throughout the chapter by him revealing pieces of his personality to all the people in the castle, even though they don't realize it's him. Odysseus chooses not to demolish Irus because he knows that everyone in the castle is going to die. This shows that he isn't truly merciful.

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  2. Odysseus is portrayed as a beggar to give a sense of irony. There is a layer of tension that is added to the story because of the fact that this great king has become lowly in a hope to redeem his people. His character is revealed in different instances such as when he sees the old dog and pities for it. That has something to do with Odysseus' old life verses what is currently happening to him as the beggar. When he doesn't demolish Irus, it is the first time that we see Odysseus act with restraint. Throughout the whole book, Odysseus has had to fight to stay alive. Odysseus has never been put in a situation that he could kill someone when it wasn't a do or die type thing. I think that this gives us a deeper aspect of his character and makes him more likeable. However, as Trevin said, he also knew that he was going to die eventually anyway, so it may not be the most fair judge of character.

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  3. The significance of Odysseus being portrayed as a beggar is that he is camouflaged, nobody can tell who he is. His character is revealed throughout the chapter because he starts showing some of his unique traits to other people. Odysseus decides to not demolish Irus because he already knows what is going to happen to the palace, which is everyone is going to die.

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  4. I agree with Trevin when he says that a character can't be judged by their appearance. In this book, the significance of Odysseus being disguised as a beggar is that Odysseus is originally a rich but generous king, but Homer changes his appearance (not character) into one of a beggar so he can observe his household as one. His character is revealed in this book for being someone who knows when to stop, like when he decides not to kill Irus. This portrays him as noble and makes him more respectable as a character.

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  5. The significance of odysseus being a beggar is showing his humility in a way and also it is giving him a chance to investigate the wrongs done by the suitors more. A character cannot be judged by apperance which the suitors, maids, and irus do and it ends up hurting them in the end to judge. His character is revealed as he tells telemachus and as eurycleia finds ouyt from his scare. but also you can slowly see his character coming out as he becomes more bold and out spoken amongst everyone and as eurycleia and the herdsman said, he looked exactly like odysseus. Odysseus doesnt demolish irus yet to show how he is honorable and kind but also odysseus is going to kill them all anyway which only he knows so he can portray himself now as someone whoi will not hurt anyone as he has been doing eith the suitors so then no one will expect it when he strikes revenge as odysseus.

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  6. The significance of Odysseus being portrayed as a beggar is that he gets to truly see how the suitor act and how they treat their guests and visitors. Also, the significance is that Odysseus gets to experience how his homeland was when he was away. Odysseus' character is revealed when he fights Irus, and he wupps him up. Odysseus chooses to not demolish Irus becuase he knows that he will soon kill all of the suitors and take over as king again. This shows that Odysseus likes to get revenge.

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  7. The significance of Odysseus being portrayed as a beggar is that he can then find out how the suitors act with other people, including guests or visitors, while still being disguised. Odysseus' character is shown when he fights Irus, and beats him. Odysseus chooses to not demolish Irus because he knew that he would soon kill the suitors and take over Ithaca, anyways. This shows that Odysseus is "somewhat", merciful, but also quite vengeful.

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  8. The significance of Odysseus being portrayed as a beggar is that he can then scope out the suitors without being detected. Agreed with Zully, Odysseus' true character is shown when he fights Irus. He chooses not to demolish Irus because he gives him a chance to be smart and leave. This shows hes a little bit merciful, but also true to his word.

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  9. The significance of Odysseus being a beggar is showing his humility in a way and also it is giving him a chance to investigate further the wrongs done by the suitors . A character cannot be judged by apperance which the suitors, maids, and Irus do and it ends up hurting them in the end. His character is revealed as he tells Telemachus and as Eurycleia finds out from his scar. Also you can slowly see his character coming out as he becomes more bold and outspoken amongst everyone and as Eurycleia and the herdsman said, he looked exactly like Odysseus. Odysseus doesn't kill Irus yet to show how he is honorable and kind but also Odysseus is going to kill them all anyway which only he knows so he can portray himself now as someone who will not hurt anyone as he has been doing with the suitors so then no one will expect it when he strikes revenge as Odysseus.

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  10. The significance of Odysseus being portrayed as a beggar is that he gets to truly see how the suitors act and how they treat their guests and visitors. Also, the significance is that Odysseus gets to experience how his homeland was when he was away. Odysseus' character is revealed when he fights Irus, and he defeats him in a shocking fight. Odysseus chooses to not demolish Irus becuase he knows that he will soon kill all of the suitors and take over as king again. This shows that Odysseus likes to get revenge.

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  11. The significance of Odysseus being a beggar is so we know that the suitors deserver what is coming to them and so Odysseus can stay hidden without being killed. His character is revealed because he shows kindness to all people he meets that aren't cruel to him first. Also it shows that he is merciful offering the suitors one last chance to leave. He show that he is kind and not very petty when he spares Irus. We can see his kindness and nobility, in the sense that he was the bigger man.

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