Having a problem understanding this question...I Don't understand what she wants us the write about?

Question

The Question is based on a book: The Odessey of Homer

In the first paper you should explore an image, set of images or Homeric simile from the Odyssey to see how it shows the action of the work as a whole, particularly related to Odysseus' homecoming. Examples of this include the olive tree (which we've done a good bit of work with in class), the bow, seating arrangements, birds, food, etc. Do not summarize the action, but rather dwell with one image to see how it illuminates the action.

Please HELP!!

Answer 1

Let's take the bow:

"The bow, which really tells only one, although major, event -- how Odysseus gets the bow into his own hands. Notice the long description of the origin of the bow, indicating its importance in the events to come. Also, note some other themes, how Heracles, here the evil guest, had killed his host; Odysseus will reverse the situation - he will kill the suitors that have outraged him. Notice how Penelope weeps as she takes the bow out, which is still shining as the day it was put away. This is symbolic of the fact that its owner (Odysseus) is still strong. For Penelope, of course, it is a symbol of the man. In Telemachus attempting to string the bow Telemachus is probably intentionally acting a bit stupid, again to throw the suitors off. The reason that he tries the bow, of course, is to show us that he in fact is the equal of his father. He would have strung the bow unless Odysseus had not signaled him not to.
Primarily, the bow symbolizes the physical superiority of the king—an important point in a world in which the mighty prevail. But the bow also symbolizes the maturity and perhaps the character of the king. The suitors can’t come close to stringing it (Book 21), illustrating the fact that none of them is capable of leading Ithaca. Prince Telemachus, trying the bow just for sport, comes close. The reader is told that Telemachus probably could string the bow on his fourth attempt, but his father signals him to desist. We take from this passage that Telemachus is almost ready to be king but patiently and properly acquiesces to his father’s judgment. Only Odysseus can string the bow on his first attempt, and he does so with ease, showing that he is the proper mate for Penelope and the only man ready to be king of Ithaca.

or food:

Food
Although throwing a feast for a guest is a common part of hospitality, hunger and the consumption of food often have negative associations in the Odyssey. They represent lack of discipline or submission to temptation, as when Odysseus tarries in the cave of the Cyclops, when his men slaughter the Sun’s flocks, or when they eat the fruit of the lotus. The suitors, moreover, are constantly eating. Whenever Telemachus and Penelope complain about their uninvited guests, they mention how the suitors slaughter the palace’s livestock. Odysseus kills the suitors just as they are starting their dinner, and Homer graphically describes them falling over tables and spilling their food. In almost all cases, the monsters of the Odyssey owe their monstrosity at least in part to their diets or the way that they eat. Scylla swallows six of Odysseus’s men, one for each head. The Cyclops eats humans, but not sheep apparently, and is gluttonous nonetheless: when he gets drunk, he vomits up wine mixed with pieces of human flesh. The Laestrygonians seem like nice people—until their queen, who is described as “huge as a mountain crag,” tries to eat Odysseus and his men (10.124). In these cases, excessive eating represents not just lack of self-control, but also the total absence of humanity and civility.

Answer 2

Your teacher wants you to analyze one particular image in the "Odyssey" and to explain how it emphasizes the ways in which Odysseus and his crew are affected by it or how they react to it. For example, take the Island of Circe.. Is it a beautiful island? Is its ruler, Circe, beautiful and alluring? Does her magic spell that is cast over the sailors teach them all a lesson in humanity? How about the Palace of Odysseus and Penelope? Is it a beautiful palace? One that is welcoming and comfortable? A palace that Odyseus would want to return to? What is Penelope feeling while her husband is away? What does she do to pass the time of waiting for her husband to return? In other words, just take any image within the work that attracts your own attention, then elaborate on it and explain how it enhances that particular part of the story, and utlimately, the entire epic.

Answer 3

It sounds as if your instructor wants you to pick something from The Odessy and to write in detail about one specific thing of your choosing of things you have gone over in class. Good luck on your paper

Answer 4

Think about Penelope.