Please choose two of the following three questions. All of the questions reflect themes we have studied and discussed in class. Try to think small and illustrate your point of view clearly in an essay format. Use specific examples from the texts to support your points. Write about 400-500 words for each topic you choose.
Question A
From Homer to Dante to Columbus we have followed, explored and analyzed the journey of the solitary adventurer in search of a home, of knowledge and of a new adventure. Keeping in mind the particularity of each period - Ancient (Homer); Medieval (Dante); Post- Medieval (Columbus)-, write an essay about how Homer's mythical hero informs Dante's Ulysses and how Ulysses prefigures the age of Columbus. Why do you think the figure of Odysseus/ Ulysses has captured the imagination of the Western mind and how in the so-called Discovery Narrative a real character like Christopher Columbus becomes a personification of Ulysses?
Question B
Explain why bot Penelope and Sita were traditionally regarded as models for ideal womanhood? Do they exemplify the traits that you think women should have? And how each woman's characteristic private and social behavior respectively affects the actions (and the fate) of Odysseus and Rama?
Question C
Define the term "Homeric Epithet." Clarify how/ when it is used in The Odyssey and what its purpose is. Highlight some Homeric Epithets
and explain their meaning