Adventures at Post Oak High

Because the Odyssey  was written circa. 800 B.C.E, it obviously wasn't meant to be read by a bunch of high-schoolers at a Montessori school in 2016 Houston, Texas. It, gathered from research by linguists, archaeologists, and historians, was almost certainly meant to be performed. I don't think anybody has mentioned that only the major or supporting characters in the Odyssey are given epithets (ie. "Owl-eyed Athena, godly Nestor, Red-haired Menelaus "), and there is quite a lot of supporting characters for a relatively short epic compared to the length of fantasy & epic literature today. Because of this, these epithets were not only used for rhythm and splendor when performing. In fact, some were likely put there to remind the audience members of characters that haven't been seen in a while. However, for the characters like Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena who appear often, the performance explanation seems to be the greatest. However, another possible reason is ...

The first and last lines of the poem, "speak memory" and "tell the tale once more in our time" seem to suggest that this story will last for generations, and that it is hidden in the memories of every soul who reads the text (this statement certainly seems true, as it is one of the most acclaimed stories ever, even after two millenia). At the very beginning, Homer (presumably) lets you know that this is a tale of "the cunning hero, the wanderer, blown off course time and again after he plundered Troy's sacred heights" suggesting a very unforgettable, epic feel. However, the text of the poem also seems to suggest a theme of overcoming adversity. From the very beginning, we are introduced to several suitors, men who are vying for Odysseus' wife Penelope's hand in marriage. Throughout the text, these suitors persistently attempt to steer Odysseus away from his goal, including even attempting to ambush and kill his son, Telemachus. But that's...

Before we can begin answering this question, we have to first understand what education actually means and the significance of it. Education, in its barest definition, is the acquisition of knowledge through external means (such as a teacher) or internal means, as through yourself. Because of this, I would argue that everybody possesses the right to education through internal means, but the way to gain ultimate knowledge, many people would say (and I agree) is through someone who has had more experiences than you have as well as the way of gaining experiences through yourself. Needless to say, Douglass was denied of this facet of education. He certainly gained education through anyway he could, including teachers, without the knowledge of his master(s). But I feel like, in a way, Douglass was more free than all of us. His lack of that taught him personal skills that made him strong enough to stand up to many challenges, most that we couldn't even think of enduring.