Jackie Rogers

Mrs. Rogers

HCL II, Period All

7 October 2016

WA#2: Feminism

For this writing assignment I made sure to pick well-written examples so that my students are able to see how to write a really good quotes and notes assignment.

“Friend, you have done me / kindness, like a father to his son,” ( Page 11 , lines 355-366 )
This quote is subtle but effective in showing the theme of parent and child relationships in the book. In this situation, Athena disguises herself as Mentês, a family friend of Odysseus. She lectures Telémakhos about his father Odysseus, gives him a lot of confidence, and gives him a plan for his journey to find out more about his father and how to kill the suitors. Telémakhos responds to this by saying, “Friend, you have done me kindness, like a father to his son,”. Telémakhos comparing what Athena said to him to what a father would do to his son exemplifies the relationship a father should have with his son. In ancient Greek culture, a father would encourage his son on how to be a better man and how to fight, and fighting was a large part of being a Greek. It also shows that a father would show kindness to his son. In addition, Athena would disguise herself as someone else and talk to Telémakhos many times throughout the book, providing a theme of repetition to the already mentioned theme of parent and child relationships.
“The grey-eyed goddess Athena answered him: / O Majesty, O Father of us all, / if it now please the blissful gods / that wise Odysseus should reach his home again,” (page 4, lines 105-108)

a.) This quote illustrates the ideal parent and child relationship for the Greeks, showing that even the gods have these values. Athena is very respectful to Zeus, referring to him as “O Majesty, O Father of us all.” By using terms that are flattering, Athena shows her reverence for Zeus and all that he has accomplished in hopes of winning his favor to help bring Odysseus home. This is similar to Does My Head Look Big in This? when Amal shows respect to her parents in general and when she desires something such as going out with her friends. The situation in which it is said is also significant, because Athena is trying to convince Zeus and the other gods to give Odysseus the chance to return to Ihaka. Without Athena’s help, Odysseus might not have been able to return, as she was the one who eventually convinced Zeus to send Hermes to Kalypso’s island with the intention of freeing Odysseus.

“Mychild,whatstrangeremarksyouletescapeyou.CouldIforgetthatkinglyman, Odysseus?Thereisnomortalhalfsowise;nomortalgavesosomuchtotheLordsofthe opensky.”(Page3,lines8689) Thisquoteaddressesthemutualfather/daughterrespectbetweenZeusandAthena.Their relationshipisimportantbecauseitshowsusthateventheGodsbelieveinloyaltyanddignity withintheirpersonalbonds.Zeususesthename“Mychild”toexpresshiskindjudgementto Athenabecausehevaluesheropinionandwantshertoknowit.NotonlydoesZeushonorher judgement,hesupportsitaswell.HeagreeswithAthenabysaying“CouldIforgetthatkingly man,Odysseus?”ThisshowsinterestandrespecttowardAthena’sviewpointsandamutual respectisneededbetweentwopeopleinordertomakearelationshipwork,nomatterthe circumstances.TheirstrongbondcanbecomparedtothebondbetweenAnneFrankandher fatherOttoFrankinTheDiaryofAnneFrankbecauseifitwasnotforOttoandAnne’sclose relationship,Anne’sdiarywouldhaveneverbeenpublished.Rightawaythemutualappreciation betweenZeusandAthenacanbeseenintheirunbreakablefather/daughterrelationship.This showsthereaderthatevenGodshavecloseknitrelationshipswitheachotherandthatmortals shouldstrivetofollowintheirfootsteps.