The Odyssey Journal Assignment

As we read The Odyssey you will be completing a journal assignment. For this
assignment, create a section in your journals, and make a title page that says, “The
Odyssey”. Each Thurs during Quick Writes you will respond to a prompt. It is up to
you to decide which prompt you respond to/in what order, but DO NOT repeat a
prompt until you have done all of them once. With this assignment, less emphasis is
placed on responses being “right” or “wrong,” and more emphasis is placed on how
much you authentically engage with the text.

Prompt Options:

1. Comment on the author’s style, refer to particular words or phrases. What do you
notice about Homer’s writing that sets him apart from authors you have read?

2. Pick a passage that contains vivid imagery and comment on the effect the imagery
has on the passage, and on the story as a whole?

3. Comment on a character. What traits does he/she have that are getting in the way
or contributing to his/her success? Does the character fit any stereotypical role?
Describe the intellectual/philosophical/spiritual/physical aspects of the characters.

4. Comment on your reaction to the story itself. Position yourself within the text.
Write about how you fit into the story. Can you relate to some of the struggles?
Where are they in the hero journey cycle?

5. Identify the hero. Is he/she a reluctant or a willing hero? What kind of attributes
does he/she have that let you know he/she is the hero? (could someone other than
Odysseus be the hero?)

6. Discuss the hero’s journey. What is the hero experiencing? What kind of obstacles
does he encounter? What do you anticipate will happen next for him/her?

7. Write four open ended questions (not ‘yes’ / ‘no’ answers) and answer two of
them. Remember that your responses should make some inferences.

8. Describe the tone (attitude the speaker or sometimes the author has towards
her/his subject) of the section by listing 10-12 words from an extended section
and then discuss how those words serve to establish a particular tone.

9. Pay attention to any of the following motifs (a motif is a recurring image or idea
in a story): boats, blood, wind, women, monsters, gods. Comment on how the
motifs you note function in the narrative.

10. Talk to a character. Ask a question, advise them, yell at them, or beg them to
change...whatever. Pretend the character is someone who may listen to you.

11. Select a passage that deals with a thematic element in the novel and discuss how
the passage serves to develop the selected theme.

12. Make a prediction about how things will end. Discuss, specifically, Odysseus and
Penelope. Give background from the story to justify your predictions.