When I mention the name Odysseus, pretty much every sophomore knows exactly who I'm talking about. He's that guy who were reading an a million page book on for what we think is no reason at all. But what's the story behind teachers choosing this book, The Odyssey, to read for us?
In my opinion, we shouldn't have to spend hours and hours active reading, memorizing characters' names, and writing essays on a book of mythology written so many years ago. To me it seems pointless. But when I actually thought about it a little bit further, through the mind of a teacher, it made complete sense. This book, rich in poetry, information, and adventure, was written by an author named Homer at the end of the 8Th Century B.C.! It seems a bit crazy that this man, so far back in history, could write something so long and intricate.
As well as the knowledgable language he is writing in, the content in his book is also a wonder in and of itself. The type of writing in his book, mythology, is something very complex yet something very interesting as well. Myths change and are added to while they're passed along the years, and they're created for religious reasons, entertainment, help to live lives, and for moral examples. They help people for many different reasons, so in a way this book, The Odyssey is our little time machine back to the ancient Greek times.
Without this book, how would we know today what people belived in and looked up to so many years ago? Without this book, a huge chunk of Greek culture vanishes. So we read this book to learn about Greek culture, and to avoid the question, "Odysseus who?"
In my opinion, we shouldn't have to spend hours and hours active reading, memorizing characters' names, and writing essays on a book of mythology written so many years ago. To me it seems pointless. But when I actually thought about it a little bit further, through the mind of a teacher, it made complete sense. This book, rich in poetry, information, and adventure, was written by an author named Homer at the end of the 8Th Century B.C.! It seems a bit crazy that this man, so far back in history, could write something so long and intricate.
As well as the knowledgable language he is writing in, the content in his book is also a wonder in and of itself. The type of writing in his book, mythology, is something very complex yet something very interesting as well. Myths change and are added to while they're passed along the years, and they're created for religious reasons, entertainment, help to live lives, and for moral examples. They help people for many different reasons, so in a way this book, The Odyssey is our little time machine back to the ancient Greek times.
Without this book, how would we know today what people belived in and looked up to so many years ago? Without this book, a huge chunk of Greek culture vanishes. So we read this book to learn about Greek culture, and to avoid the question, "Odysseus who?"
3 comments:
Although everything you're saying here is valid, I still think active reading the Odyssey is a waste of my life. I gained nothing from it.
When I first saw the title to your blog, a question popped into my mind. What is Odysseus's last name? We have learned so much about him, but I don't think the stories have ever even mentioned a surname.
I agree with everything you said! I spent so much time active reading that book with pountless comments just to get the grade. My class wasn't going to have a test on it in the end, so active reading was piontless. When we finished, only about 4 books out of 24 were even actually read. We should not have to be forced to waste our time like that!
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