MENTORS IN LITERATURE
Mrs. Brown
The Odyssey, by Homer, translated by Emily Watson
ISBN-13: 978-0393356250
Summer Reading: Books (or chapters) 1-9
Please note: you must have the Emily Wilson edition. Because this is a translated work, another version of text will be significantly different. Moreover, Wilson writes in verse, using ten-syllable lines; many other authors use prose when they translate Homer’s epic poem.
The word mentor actually comes from Homer’s Odyssey. In the story, Mentor is an old friend of Odysseus’, and Odysseus asks him to look after his son, Telemachus, while he is away. In Books 2 and 3, Athena appears, disguising herself as Mentor and offering Telemachus important advice and help as he sets out on a journey to look for his father. She also mentors Telemachus in Book 1, but there she is disguised as Mentes, the king of the Taphians. Although their names sound very similar, Mentor and Mentes are actually two different people, two different forms that Athena takes. She will take on many more disguises before it is all over.
Athena is perhaps the most well-known mentor in the story, but there are many others that we will encounter in the later books as well. Each teaches Odysseus something he needs to learn before he can return home to Penelope and Telemachus. As you make your way through Books 1-9, allow the questions below to guide your reading. You do not have to submit answers to them, but do take notes - in your book or elsewhere - and consider them thoughtfully. Please also note anything else that stands out to you as you read these first nine books of The Odyssey.
Questions to Guide your Reading
Why has Odysseus not been able to make it back home?
What has happened to Odysseus’ home and kingdom in his absence?
In what ways is Telemachus still like a child, and in what ways is he becoming an adult?
What are some things you notice about the relationship between the gods and humans?
Where do you see people or gods using tricks and disguises in these books?
In the opening lines of the story, Wilson calls Odysseus “a complicated man.” From what you are reading, in what ways does Odysseus seem admirable; in what ways does he seem flawed?