Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:30 and 1:30 pm. Check Canvas for the link to Zoom.

Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link. First period begins at 10:10, and second period at 11:20.
Looking back on book 21. Is Penelope aware that Odysseus has returned? What evidence do we see in support of her being aware? What evidence do we see against that argument? To what extent to we see Homer and the gods acknowledging that his return has been fated?
HW: Read book 22, a particularly bloody chapter in the poem. As you read, pay careful attention to how Odysseus, Telemachus, the Swineherd and Athena answer the Suitors pleas for mercy. Some are forgiven. Most are killed. Why are those that are spared, forgiven?

On the google sheet “Women in the Odyssey,” to the right of your four quotes, write 2-3 sentences that explain your view of the women in the epic poem. Are the women in the Odyssey important? If so, how so? If not, how not? Remember, a claim is a probable, provable, and debatable thesis statement that a) describes your idea and b) previews your reasoning.
This is on the shared google sheet, NOT canvas. Avoid phrases like, “I think,” “I believe,” or “In my view.” Remember, you should have 2-3 sentences, and include Fagles, Homer, and the title Odyssey.

No zoom meeting today.
Check in by completing the “Spared!” assignment in canvas.
HW: Read book 23. Here we see the roles of Odysseus and Penelope reversed, as she becomes the one to test him, using her guile to test this stranger who claims to be Odysseus. At this point, do we practically believe that Penelope doubts her husband’s return and this stranger’s identity? How, in this book, is Penelope behaving “like Odysseus”? Have book 23 read by class on Monday.

The Odyssey does not end with the reunification of Odysseus and Penelope. Next week we will take read the two final books of the poem and think about what the poem is about.