Tuesday, November 6, 2012
THE ODYSSEY Book XII:
ODYSSEUS AND THE SIRENS
1. Odysseus demands to hear the Sirens song, even though their music leads to certain doom. Why does Odysseus allow himself to be tempted by certain death? What does he gain from this experience?
2. Now, imagine yourself as Odysseus sailing out on the open seas. Would you listen to the Sirens' song too? Would you cover your ears? Why?
3. Can you think of visual examples that would be equivalent to the song of the Siren? Something so visually beautiful and terrible?
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1. Odysseus likes to tempt fate. The Sirens represent the sublime because their music is both the most beautifuale thing in the world and the most horrible thing because it will kill you. It isn't smart for Odysseus to listen to their song, Will he he ever be able to forget that music?
ReplyDelete2. I would not want to do what Odysseus did. It is too tempting for me. I like to play it safe and steer on away from them with my ears covered. What about my family and my kingdom? I have to be responsible.
-Nice comment! You really hit the Siren over the head (bad pun, I know) by describing their music as SUBLIME. What other examples of the sublime can you think of? In literature? In music? In our life experience?
Delete- There is one spelling mistake: "beautifuale" should be spelled as "beautiful"
- Odysseus does forget his responsibility as a king and as a father/husband. Still, life is an adventure, right? Where do we draw the line between being responsible and living our lives to the fullest?
3. Mountains. Mt. Everest is both beautiful and terrible. Many people try to climb it and many people die as a result of their journey. This is like Odysseus trying to approach the Sirens to hear their music.
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