I am reading The Odyssey for my Independent Reading. I am close to half-way through it and am finding some interesting connections between The Odyssey and The Hobbit.
When I wrote my essay over The Hobbit, I mentioned some traits that defined Bilbo as a hero such as having intelligence, a mentor, and an important item. In The Odyssey, I am finding that Odysseus also has a couple of these characteristics.
Bilbo had the help of Gandalf the Grey during the beginning parts of his journey. Odysseus has the help of the Greek gods and goddesses, but especially Athena. There is one significant difference between the role of Athena and Gandalf. Athena is more involved in Odysseus journey home than Gandalf is in Bilbo's quest. Athena helps him through many trails such as his confrontation with the Phaeacians. Athena also does not teach Odysseus anything, she is more of a friend rather than a mentor.
Bilbo was also very intelligent and quick-witted. Odysseus shows his intelligence in his escape from the Cyclops's Cave. Odysseus seems to be more of a natural-born leader than Bilbo, but I think that originates from Odysseus's time in the Trojan War.
I am interested to see if Odysseus has any other traits similar to Bilbo.
Not to brag, but I feel that I am very good at memorizing things. Formulas, Theories, and concrete things come very easy to me. Most of English does not come easy to me because of its creativity. However, spelling is an area I excel in because it is stable, concrete; the way words are spelled does not change. This "creative spelling" idea seems preposterous to me. The fact that kids in eighth grade are not getting corrected for their misspellings astounds me.
I learned a long time ago that spelling is extremely important. My Grandmother was a Speech Pathologist, and she was very adamant about spelling words correctly. During elementary school I would go play over at her house. Between playing games we would stop and work on spelling. She gave me valuable tips that I still employ today.
I understand that some people have a hard time with spelling because they are bad at memorizing. Just because you are bad at spelling doesn't mean you should give up and accept the fact that you are a "bad speller". Some things that I do to help learn and memorize the spelling words are writing the words and definitions, saying them out loud to my parents, and then rewriting them again. Following this process is extremely beneficial to me. It might not be for others, but if you have trouble with spelling you should give it a try.
Feeling guilty about something, is a normal, acceptable emotion to feel. The problem is when you have so much guilt it consumes your life. I am not to this point, but I sometimes feel as though the guilt of a decision could demolish me. I think there is a vicious guilt cycle, where you feel guilty about something, attempt to get rid of the guilt, and then another opportunity to feel guilty arises again, and so on.
I am one to frequently fret over what I say to others. Questions like "Did what I said make sense?", "Was that acceptable to say?", and "Could it have offended them?" cross my mind multiple times throughout the day. I want to look good in everyone's eyes which occasionally forces extra guilt and worry onto myself.
One thing that helps me get over my guilt for incorrect communication is going back and saying something to the person I wronged. I feel that this eliminates most of the guilt that I have until I mess up another time which yet again adds more guilt.I do not think a person can remove all guilt, but I do think it is possible to decrease its effect in daily life.
Within the first sixty pages of Beloved, I knew that this book was going to be a challenge for me to read. I am a very straight forward person and like things in chronological order. I could hardly follow what was going on because there were so many flashbacks. There were also some flashbacks within flashbacks, or what I like to call "flashbackception".
I also find it hard to relate to the characters. I understand that in literary books the reader does not always connect with the characters, but I feel that the reader should be able to relate to the characters on some level. I felt like some of the meaning of the book was lost on me because I did not feel empathy towards the characters. I hope this changes as I keep reading.
One thing I somewhat liked was the suspense. I like how whatever happened at Sweet Home is only hinted at. It seems that almost all memories of Sweet Home are untouchable. One of my journals yesterday was about Denver and Sethe's conversation about Sweet Home. So far Sethe has only mentioned the good or decent parts of Sweet Home, but the bad memories are not spoken of. I look forward to uncovering the mystery of what occurred at Sweet Home.
