An Essay on The Book: The Odyssey

Topics for essay

Write a 1,000 word essay on ONE of the two following topics:

1. On numerous occasions, Homer describes Penelope coming down from her bedroom to the hall of the palace and then going back up again. There is a great deal of repetition in these descriptions. Carefully analyze the things that are repeated. What do they tell us about Penelope, her situation, and social expectations about women?

OR

2. Odysseus has a strong, if sometimes difficult, relationship with the men he took off to the Trojan War with him. He is their king, their general, their sea captain, their companion, and, in some cases, their relative. Describe his social, emotional, and moral relationship with them, using a couple of specific episodes as examples.

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General advice and considerations:

The Odyssey is in verse. Make sure you quote it correctly. Long quotations should be indented and without quotation marks unless Homer is quoting dialog, with the lines set up exactly as they are in the original; shorter quotations should be in quotation marks in your text, with the line divisions indicated by a “/”.

Your essay should have a title—a real title of your own, which expresses the central point you’re making.

There should be a “Works cited” section at the end of your essay, giving a proper bibliographical reference for any texts you are using, including of course the translation of Homer we are using. You are not expected to use other materials in writing your paper, but if you do use them for anything except providing you with a background understanding of generally-known facts, you must make a reference to them. Internet sources must be treated like any other source.

Please bear in mind the following from the syllabus:

You should have a style manual for guidance in matters of grammar, mechanics, and style. If you do not already own such a book, I recommend the English Department Student Handbook or any of the several manuals by Diana Hacker on sale at the bookstore, e.g. A Pocket Style Manual.

Topics for the papers will be posted a week in advance. Because the papers are integral to the flow of the course, they must be handed in on time.
Use the MLA or another standard contemporary form for making references. Make sure the spell- and grammar-checking programs on your computer are running and pay attention to what they are telling you.

Plagiarism is a serious crime and will be treated as such: for a first offense, an F will be given for the assignment and a plagiarism form will be submitted to the English Department, with the student’s name forwarded to the Dean; second offenses will result in an F for the course. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, please ask me.