I had to read the story and answer the questionss.. correct my answers? possibly mrs. sue! :D
Epic
from The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald
Two nights, two days, in the solid deep-sea swell
he drifted, many times awaiting death,
until with shining ringlets in the East
the dawn confirmed a third day, breaking clear
over a high and windless sea; and mounting
a rolling wave he caught a glimpse of land.
What a dear welcome thing life seems to children
whose father, in the extremity, recovers
after some weakening and malignant illness:
his pangs are gone, the gods have delivered him.
So dear and welcome to Odysseus
the sight of land, of woodland, on that morning.
It made him swim again, to get a foothold
on solid ground. But when he came in earshot
he heard the trampling roar of sea on rock,
where combers, rising shoreward, thudded down
on the sucking ebb-all sheeted with salt foam.
Here were no coves or harborage or shelter,
only steep headlands, rockfallen reefs and crags.
Odysseus' knees grew slack, his heart faint,
a heaviness came over him, and he said:
"A cruel turn, this. Never had I thought
to see this land, but Zeus has let me see it-
and let me, too, traverse the Western Ocean-
only to find no exit from these breakers.
Here are sharp rocks off shore, and the sea a smother
rushing around them; rock face rising sheer
from deep water; nowhere could I stand up
on my two feet and fight free of the welter.
No matter how I try it, the surf may throw me
against the cliffside; no good fighting there.
If I swim down the coast, outside the breakers,
I may find shelving shore and quiet water-
but what if another gale comes on to blow?
Then I go cursing out to sea once more.
Or then again, some shark of Amphitritê's
may hunt me, sent by the genius of the deep.
I know how he who makes earth tremble hates me."
During this meditation a heavy surge
was taking him, in fact, straight on the rocks.
He had been flayed there, and his bones broken,
had not gray-eyed Athena instructed him:
he gripped a rock-ledge with both hands in passing
and held on, groaning, as the surge went by,
to keep clear of its breaking. Then the backwash
hit him, ripping him under and far out.
An octopus, when you drag one from his chamber,
comes up with suckers full of tiny stones:
Odysseus left the skin of his great hands
torn on that rock-ledge as the wave submerged him.
And now at last Odysseus would have perished,
battered inhumanly, but he had the gift
of self-possession from gray-eyed Athena.
So, when the backwash spewed him up again,
he swam out and along, and scanned the coast
for some landspit that made a breakwater.
Lo and behold, the mouth of a calm river
at length came into view, with level shores
unbroken, free from rock, shielded from wind-
by far the best place he had found.
But as he felt the current flowing seaward
he prayed in his heart:
"O hear me, lord of the stream:
how sorely I depend upon your mercy!
derelict as I am by the sea's anger.
Is he not sacred, even to the gods,
the wandering man who comes, as I have come,
in weariness before your knees, your waters?
Here is your servant; lord, have mercy on me."
1. Before he sees land, Odysseus is adrift in the ocean for
A. two weeks and two days.
B. one month.
C. two nights and two days.
D. one week
C?
2. The best place Odysseus finds to land is
A. the edge of a beach.
B. the mouth of a river.
C. the entrance to a harbor.
D. the side of a cliff.
D?
3.Why does Odysseus swim away from the shore at one point?
A. to return to Troy
B. to find Poseidon
C. to find his raft
D. to search for a safer place to land
D?
4. Odysseus would have died if he had not possessed
A. self-control.
B. self-pity.
C. self-esteem.
D. self-doubt.
A?
5. Odysseus bases his appeal to the lord of the stream on the rights of
A. hosts.
B. sailors.
C. guests.
D. heroes.
B?
2 is B.
For 5 -- Odysseus based his appeal on the rights of guests.
"the wandering man who comes, as I have come,
in weariness "
1, 3, and 4 are correct.
Please try again for 2 and 5.
2. A?
5. A?
I read it over
2. B?
5. D?
Thank you Ms. Sue
You're welcome, Surf.
1.c
2.b
3.d
4.a
5.c
1. Before he sees land, Odysseus is adrift in the ocean for C. two nights and two days.
To find this answer, we can refer to the passage that mentions "Two nights, two days, in the solid deep-sea swell he drifted, many times awaiting death..." This tells us that Odysseus was adrift in the ocean for two nights and two days.
2. The best place Odysseus finds to land is B. the mouth of a river.
To find this answer, we can refer to the passage that states "Lo and behold, the mouth of a calm river at length came into view, with level shores unbroken, free from rock, shielded from wind- by far the best place he had found." This tells us that the mouth of a river is the best place Odysseus finds to land.
3. Odysseus swims away from the shore at one point to search for a safer place to land.
To find this answer, we can refer to the passage where Odysseus says, "If I swim down the coast, outside the breakers, I may find shelving shore and quiet water- but what if another gale comes on to blow? Then I go cursing out to sea once more." This indicates that Odysseus swims away from the shore to search for a safer place to land.
4. Odysseus would have died if he had not possessed A. self-control.
To find this answer, we can refer to the passage where it says, "And now at last Odysseus would have perished, battered inhumanly, but he had the gift of self-possession from gray-eyed Athena." This tells us that Odysseus would have died if he had not possessed self-control.
5. Odysseus bases his appeal to the lord of the stream on the rights of B. sailors.
To find this answer, we can refer to the passage where Odysseus prays, saying "O hear me, lord of the stream: how sorely I depend upon your mercy! derelict as I am by the sea's anger. Is he not sacred, even to the gods, the wandering man who comes, as I have come, in weariness before your knees, your waters?" This suggests that Odysseus appeals to the lord of the stream based on his identity as a sailor.
No.
Please read this passage carefully again.