Is Odysseus a Round or Flat Character

Comparison and Contrast Chart: Name: _Answer Key Period: ______ Date: _____________________ Directions: Compare and contrast the excerpt Circe, the Grace of the Witch from the epic poem Odyssey (Homer) and the short story Circe (Eudora Welty) as directed. Who is the narrator? Is the main character flat or round? Explain, citing examples from the text. Circe, the Grace of the Witch (Homer) (Lit. P1124-1125) Odysseus *Circe: Round (L3-4) “…wolves and mountain lions lay there, mild in her soft spell…”--mysterious (L14) “Low she sang in her beguiling voice…”---charming (L15-16) “she wove ambrosial fabric sheer and bright, by that craft known to the goddesses of heaven…”---crafty (L28-31) “…she prepared…, to make them lose desire or thought of our dear father land.”---tempting *Odysseus: Flat Odysseus is retelling his crew’s experience with Circe and there is no direct or indirect characterization about him. Is the main character static or dynamic? Explain, citing examples from the text. Circe: dynamic Circe appeared with a magical power to tame wild beasts because these animals “fed on her drug of evil” (L4) and were mild. She treated Odysseys’ men the same, providing them with “a meal of cheese and barley and amber honey mixed with Pramnian wine…” (L28-29), and turned them into swines. However, when she realized Odysseus was immune to her power, she turned to help him and his men. Odysseus: static Circe (Eudora Welty) Circe *Circe: Round (P531) “I threw open the door. A shaft of light…the most dangerous word in the world.”--conscious, self-aware (P531) “That moment of transformation— only the gods really like it! Men and beasts…What tusks I had given them!”--contempt (P532) “What makes you think you are different from anyone else?...the enchantment had met with a hero.”—selfaware (P533) “Only frailty, it seems, can divine it—and I was not endowed with that property.”—conceited (P533) “but he would not dine with me until I would undo---he did not want the first taste of anything new.”—exasperated Circe: Static (if we only take her emotion into consideration) She was puzzled at humans’ value and emotion and still was unable to grieve towards the end of the story. (P537) “I stood on my rock and wished for grief. It would not come…I’m sure now grief is a ghost—only a ghost in Hades, where ungrateful Odysseus is going— waiting on him. If the main character changes, is it for the better or worse? Explain, citing examples from the text. Circe changed for better because she offered Odysseus valuable advice for his future journey. NA What conflict does the main character face? Is it internal or external? Explain. Internal conflict (person vs. self): should Odysseus sail away from Circe’s island or save his men from the enchantress? External conflict (person vs. person): Mortal heroes have the power to resist whatever harm she might do them, but the power she has does not enable her to resist their harm---Circe doesn’t understand that death gives time meaning for humanity. She is irritated at the fact that Odysseus cares only about his crew’s safety instead of her beauty. External conflict (person vs. person/supernatural power): 1. will Odysseus be turned into a swine like everybody else or save his men as he was determined to do? 2. Will Circe turn Odysseus into a swine or help him to get home? How does the resolution affect the meaning of the story? Circe’s decision enables Odysseus and his men to continue their journey until they fulfill their goal to make it home. Circe couldn’t understand what death and love mean to humans; therefore, when Odysseus sails off, she has to stay on the island and futilely strive to understand humanity’s “strange felicity” (P537). What is the theme revealed in the reading piece? Nothing can stop a hero from achieving his goal once he makes up his mind to do so. Love and grief triumph immortality. Determination and good luck can help a person to succeed. Story-telling and story-loving are part of the human nature.