Question

Summary:

Although Odysseus warned his men to avoid the island Thrinacia, the exhausted crew could not resist the sight of its ample meadows and cool streams. However, after they beach the ship, a storm begins to blow for thirty days, and the crew is stranded. The starving men break their promise and slaughter the sun god Helios’s cattle, earning the wrath of the gods. As the men feast, the hides of the cattle begin to crawl and the meat on the spits starts to moan. When they sail again, a storm tears their ship apart. Holding onto a piece of keel, Odysseus manages to survive, but the winds drive him back toward Scylla and Charybdis. He manages to avoid a whirlpool by holding onto the branch of a fig tree until the sea spits out his makeshift raft. From there, he drifts upon the ocean for nine more days and washes up on the island home of the goddess Calypso, where he stays for seven years.

1. Why do Odysseus’s men refrain at first from eating the cattle? How does the situation change while they are on the island? Use textual evidence to support your answer.

2. What do readers learn about Odysseus by reading the text on page 144? What additional information can readers infer by analyzing the illustrations on page 144?

3. How do the words and the images on page 145 work together to create a feeling of doom and horror? Use specific details from the text and images to support your answer.

Answer 1

Initially, Odysseus’s men refrain from eating the cattle of the sun god Helios because they had taken an oath not to touch them. However, while they are stranded on the island due to the storm, they grow restless and desperate due to hunger. As a result, they break their promise and slaughter the cattle. This is evident from the text where it says, “Hunger drove them, these men, to the heifers…they butchered them, the fat, unblemished cattle, and made of them a burnt offering to the gods” (Book 12, lines 413-417).

From the text on page 144, readers learn that Odysseus is a resilient and resourceful survivor. He manages to hold onto a piece of the keel and avoid being drowned during the shipwreck. Additionally, he uses his wits to avoid the whirlpool by holding onto a branch of a fig tree. The illustrations on page 144 depict Odysseus clinging to the keel and bracing himself against the waves, which further emphasizes his determination and perseverance.

The words and images on page 145 work together to create a feeling of doom and horror by describing the terrible consequences of the men's actions. The text describes how the hides of the cattle began to crawl and the meat on the spits started to moan. The illustrations show grotesque, mutated versions of the cattle, with tentacles and extra limbs. The sky is dark and ominous, with lightning bolts striking the ground. The combination of these eerie descriptions and unsettling images creates a sense of impending punishment and doom.