The Odyssey and Epic Poetry: An Introduction, Part 1

Question 5 • Online ELA 9 - A

Which quotation provides the strongest evidence to illustrate the point that Odysseus is an epic hero because he has a group of loyal followers who follow his orders?

Answer

“Dear friends, / more than one man, or two, should know those things / Circe foresaw for us and shared with me, / so let me tell her forecast: then we die / with our eyes open, if we are going to die.”

“Therefore / you are to tie me up, tight as a splint, / erect along the mast, lashed to the mast, / and if I shout and beg to be untied, / take more turns of the rope to muffle me.”

“I carved / a massive cake of beeswax into bits / and rolled them in my hands until they softened.”

“I tried to say / ‘Untie me!’ to the crew, jerking my brows; / but they bent steady to the oars. Then Perimedes / got to his feet, he and Eurylochus, / and passed more line about, to hold me still.”

Explanation

The point is that Odysseus has loyal followers who carry out his orders. In choice D, Perimedes and Eurylochus add more rope to keep Odysseus tied up, even though he is trying to signal them to untie him. They follow his earlier instruction rather than his momentary pleas, showing their loyalty and obedience. Choice B gives Odysseus’s order, but D shows the crew acting on it.

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The Odyssey and Epic Poetry: An Introduction, Part 1