Sunday, November 23, 2014

Find two passages in The Odyssey that are examples of Xenia. Compare these two passages. Be sure to cite them as well.

          On page 44, the beginning of book 4, we can see Xenia.
           In this section, Xenia is shown as the Lord Menelaus welcomes Telemachus and Nestor to their palace. He does not question who they are, yet he welcomes them and treats them like gods. The horses are unyoked and taken to a stall where they are fed the best horse food. Menelaus's maids bathed and rubbed oil on Telemachus and Nestor. Later, they are given a feast. Out of respect, they do not question if Odysseus is his father, until the end of supper. During the supper and their time there, they are treated and fed like gods. They have the best of the best and no less. At the end of supper, they found out who they were. They did not speak of it till later because of the sadness.
        On page 90, in the middle of book 6 and in book 7 (page 97), we see Xenia.
        In book 6, Odysseus and the princess, Nausicaa, show Xenia. Nausicaa helps Odysseus and treats him like a guest despite his appearance when he is naked. Like Telemachus and Nestor, he bathes and is provided oil to clean himself because he does not want young girls looking at him naked. In book 7, he is treated like a god and given a feast and wine. Also, everyone respects him, and he entertains them with his stories.
       This was very different from Telemachus and Nestor due to the experiences and leadership that Odysseus earns him more respect. Another thing, people may believe that Odysseus has more knowledge because of his stories and heroic/godlike abilities. In conclusion, the more money and godlike the person is, the more Xenia that will be shown. It's still equal with the strangers, but of course the bigger people get more attention.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

The first four books of The Odyssey are known as the "Telemachy," as they introduce us to the voyage of Odysseus' adolescent son, Telemachus. Why do you think that The Odyssey begins with this story, and what are the most important things that we learn about Telemachus?

The first four books of The Odyssey are known as the "Telemachy," as they introduce us to the voyage of Odysseus' adolescent son, Telemachus. Why do you think that The Odyssey begins with this story, and what are the most important things that we learn about Telemachus?
       I believe that the first four books of The Odyssey, "Telemachy," begins with Telemachus so that we can understand how Telemachus's circumstances are at home. Also, we learn several characteristics of Telemachus and the characters around him. It is good to learn the characters and setting so that we do not get confused throughout the story due to the amount of characters within the story.
       It is very important because we learn how much an impact Odysseus really has back home. We learn some stuff about his son too, like his age and the amount of power that he has. We learn that he is barely at manhood and that everyone does not take him as seriously as his dad. Not only do we learn about him, but we also learn about the people in his home, such as Penelope (his mom), the suitors, and some gods visit.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

"Why do you underline certain sentences in a book?"

When I am reading a book, I enjoy underlining certain phrases. The phrases I underline are things that I find important and meaningful. Sometimes the sentence, or sentences, are pretty simple, but I can relate to them in a whole different level. When I write my book, I want people to find these type of phrases and for the phrases to stick with them whenever they are having a hard time. I love turning these phrases into quotes and writing them down in my journal and journaling about them. It’s important for me not to underline the a lot of phrases because if I do underline a lot, then the meaning of underlining loses its meaning and value. Personally, I believe this should not mean that I am annotating because annotation is way different from underlining. In a way, underlining is just lazy annotating. It’s more for fun rather than force.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

The Conflict Perspective in Maus

In the book, Maus, there is about four different groups in the society. These groups are known as the Jews (mouses), Nazi party (cats), Americans (dogs) and Polish (pigs). The Jews struggle for food and for their lives in the concentration camps and this is all dealing with the fact that the Nazi is fighting for power over them, the Polish, and the Americans. The Jews are in conflict with the Nazi, while the Americans are in conflict with the Nazi. Throughout the book, it shaped the group’s ethnic. The ethnic is their religion, and how the Nazi disagrees with their beliefs. This shaped how their society, or at least some part, believed that all it was okay to abuse the Jews. The conflict was all over the power and ethnic.