The Odyssey (Books 21-24)

1. Odysseus's bow symbolizes his devotion to Ithaca and strength/being cunning. In the story, it says whoever can string the bow will steal the throne from the king, Odysseus. However, none of the potential suitors of Penelope even get remotely close to stringing the bow. This proves that not only are they unfit for the throne, but they are also unfit to begin Penelope's new husband. The only person that comes surprisingly close to stringing to bow and becoming king is their son, Telemachus. If Odysseus did not instruct Telemachus to stop stringing the bow, then he would've finished. Not only does this prove Telemachus's coming of age, it also shows that even though Odysseus was gone for a long time, his son is still loyal to him. This point of the book shows why family is such a main motif throughout the story.

3. Another symbol in the book is Odysseus and Penelope's bed. It is made from the roots of an olive tree, which cannot be moved, broken, or changed in any way. This bed obviously symbolizes Odysseus and Penelope's marriage and relationship with each other. Even when Odysseus went to the war and was gone for over 2o years, Penelope was still faithful among a group of suitors. When Odysseus was gone, also, he resisted temptation with Calypso and many others because he did not want to break the bond between him and his wife. When Odysseus came back to Ithaca, the kingdom was just how he left it all due to Penelope and his matured son, Telemachus. The bed shows the strength they had and how nothing can change it. Also, olive trees and branches symbolize hope and I believe when Odysseus was gone, him and Penelope were both hoping the best for each other and hope that they would be reunited once again.

The Odyssey (Books 11-15)

1. Odysseus, in book 11, descends into Hades. Hades is the land of the souls. In Hades, he talks to friends, deceased family members and famous war heroes. As he talks to them, he gains a lot of knowledge about them and learns a lot of life's lessons. Metaphorically, Hades is a dark place where the soul goes and this is where he will most likely gain the most insight. Achilles, the most important character he met, tells the story of Troy. After this Odysseus thinks of Penelope and Telemachus and feels he should be with his family, not in Hades. He has to appreciate them more and go home immediately.

3. When Odysseus arrives in his hometown, Ithaca, he does not recognize it due to the length of time he has been away. Also, Athena, a famous goddess tries to hide it from him. After Odysseus has conversation with Athena and ultimately tricks her into showing her true identity, he realizes he can win Penelope back. 25 or more years affects Odysseus heavily and it foreshadows struggles he may have to overcome.

The Odysssey (Books 6-10)

1. Calypso and her island represent true love and family vs. deceit within the overall story. The gods told Calypso to release Odysseus and let him go home, but she wants to keep him for herself. On Odysseus's part, he could either stay on the island and be wealthy and free with a beautiful wife, or he can go back home to his family, Telemachus and Penelope. If he goes back to Penelope, his wife who has turned down suitors upon suitors in case he comes home, he will prove that he really does love her and his son, Telemachus. However, if he chooses to stay on Calypso's island with her or one of the other women and remain, then it shows deceit. His wife and son do not know if he is dead or alive, and to keep them guessing and from starting anew, that would be deceitful and disrespectful. However, this is the point of view from people nowadays. Back then, the man could be unfaithful and have no harm put upon him. If a woman did this though, she would be considered a, if you will (lack for a better word), whore.

4. Because Cyclops is a demigod, half human and half god (son of Poseidon), I believe this is why he is such a huge part of the novel. When Odysseus fights him, he beats him using his own intelligence and wits of mental and physical strength. This is the first struggle that Odysseus will face on his trek home but it will not be his last. I believe it will foreshadow the events to come and how Odysseus grows as a person. By Odysseus being called a Nobody, it helped him escape from the Cyclops. By being a Nobody, Cyclops killing him wouldn't mean anything. He wouldn't be killing someone of interest, he'd be killing a Nobody.

The Odyssey (Books 1-5)

The main ideas and themes I find in the opening verses of Book 1 are the focus on Odysseus's voyage home and the coming of age of his son, Telemachus. Since the Trojan War, Odysseus is being trapped on the island by Calypso, woman who will not let him go because she loves him too deeply. Back at home, his family, Telemachus and wife Penelope, have come to the conclusion he is dead. Telemachus does not enjoy the suitors and wants to fill the void of family man. He wants to be the man of the house and hates competing his mother's suitors. I think these two ideas od Odysseus's voyage home and Telemachus coming of age are important because I believe this is what the story is about. I do not believe this novel is based on Odysseus's life alone. I believe it is like the Bible, most people think it is all about God but in turn, it's about all the people involved WITH God. Also, the poetic voice serves a nice backdrop to the tense situation. It brings in a sort of calmness and artistic vibe even though the whole situation itself is dark and dramatic.

I think we hear Telemachus's story first because as I said before, I feel the story is not solely based on Odysseus. As the Bible is often confused for only being about God, The Odyssey is often confused with just begin about the life and struggle of the home voyage for Odysseus. I believe the Odyssey will be based on Telemachus's journey to discover who he is and if he can fill the void of being the man of the family. Also, it will be about him coming forward with age and how his mom, Penelope, handles it. I feel Penelope will also be a main point because she doesn't know her husband is alive but has all these suitors at her feet to become the new father/husband role in the home.

Chapters 37, 39-50

Within these chapters in Genesis, we learn about Joseph, the son of Israel, and his life. There is a lot of the green monster (aka jealousy), and betraying people around you within the reading. Joseph is favored the most among the brothers by Israel, which causes them to basically plans mutiny against Joseph. The whole idea of betraying your own family due to a jealous outrage is so stupid. This happens in every family but not all of them plan to kill one of their own. In addition, when the famine comes, JOSEPH, is the one that brings food for the survivors. However, since his brothers left him naked and starving in a ditch to die, Joseph gives them a taste of their own medicine and shows them how it feels to be betrayed in a time of need by someone who is your blood or is close to you. Joseph really tries to be mean and rude to them, but he realizes God brought him to Egypt for a reason. At this point in time, he saves his brothers and realizes how much a family is supposed to mean to you. Yes, being a family does entail arguing but it no means, does it ever give someone permission to kill or plan to harm another. People need to realize that family is there forever and the consequences of your actions will come back and bite you...

Jewish Culture: Genesis (Chapters 4, 6-9)

Two themes that continuously were working together in the story were very distinct human passions and violent deaths and punishments. When Cain killed Abel, he was suffering from having very intense feelings of anger towards his brother. This led to him suffering very intense punishments, such as cursing him from the ground, no strength, and be fugitive and wanderer of the Earth. This led to his family being cursed, especially Lamrech when he killed and wounded two men when they wounded him. He was cursed seventy-sevenfold. When Cain asked sarcastically if he was his brother's keeper to the Lord, I think it was shown to see how man is being rebellious against their Creator. God purposely linked him to the soil so he can feel the pain that his brother felt when he killed him. In addition, one thing that confused me about the reading of Noah's Ark, there was so many dates that I was messing up. There were the forty days and nights, then being the 600th year, water being on Earth for 150 days, and seven days for it to happen. It was just very confusing and I couldn't keep up with the story because I couldn't understand the time frame and what was happening.

Jewish Culture: Genesis (Chapters 1-3)

4) In Genesis, the first man and first woman are presented in a specific manner. First of all, God created Man before he created Woman. He formed him out of dust of the land and breathed in through his nostrils in order to give him the breath of life. God then created Eden, which was located in the east, had a tree of life and a tree of knowledge, and had four rivers (Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates). When Man arrived, God told him to eat from the tree of life and not from the tree of knowledge, which shows the difference between good and evil. If he ate from this tree, he would die. However, God then took one of Man's ribs and created his companion, Woman. After they were created, we read about the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. After reading this chapter, I cannot condemn her. Yes, she disobeyed God but I would have done the same thing in that position. Also, she did create pain of childbirth and the fall of mankind, but it was due to the fact that she had no prior knowledge. If she ate the fruit or was provided with knowledge before talking to the serpent, she wouldn't have caused this mess. As for Man, God gave him dominance, responsibility, and similarity of God himself. However, he listened to his wife when in reality, he should've told her no or talked to the serpent himself.

5) Personally, I think the Tree of Knowledge is a huge tease. Why provide the Tree if Adam and Eve couldn't eat from it. There is always a desire of knowledge within everyone so I don't know how God thought that they would be any different, even if they were the first people on Earth. Humans always want the desire to know more about their surroundings and life itself. Then again, he did give them the options of many other trees to eat from. However, I personally would've eaten from the Tree of Knowledge if I was in their position. I think the point of God's plan to have them not eat from that tree was so they didn't have to know what evil was. He wanted them to live a life of only knowing the good and being pure/innocent. However, the serpent (Satan) went against God himself and tried to tempt Eve to join him. After the whole scandal, not only did Adam and Eve ruin their pure evil-less relationship with each other, they ruined their relationship with God. God wanted them to trust Him and live a life of good. Also, God made sure that thetree was lovely to look at. God tried to almost to seduce them and see how far they would go trusting him. Obviously, they did not trust God's advice that much seeing as the first sin happened fairly early. This being said, I do believe there is a link between vision, desire, and knowledge. If something is visually appealing to you, you develop a strong desire to have it. In this case, Adam and Eve were not knowledgable of anything so when presented with the opportunity to be like God (as the serpent put it), they chose to take it.

6) Personally, I think there are some positives to Adam and Eve's punishments. If they stayed in Eden eternally, with no knowledge of evil, this type of life would not have accurately reflected the true human experience here on Earth. God wanted humans to have a life of no sin and enjoy His company to the fullest extent. However, I personally have learned and gained so much from making mistakes ("sins" if you will). How can we better ourselves if we can't mistakes and learn by them. How are we supposed to know how great our life is or how good we are doing if we have nothing to measure it up against (for example, evilness in the world)? This is why I think that there are some positives gained by Adam and Eve's punishment. For example, one of the consequences of Eve's actions was pain during childbirth. To many mothers out there, the pain shows their children in the future what they went through in order to have a child to love and call their own. The pain represents the extent to which our parents went to give us life. Also, God said they must work or kill for food. This is relevant to today because it shows to have determination, strength, and proactiveness in order to get that we want. In other words, we have to work for what we want. We don't necessarily have everything handed over to us. Lastly, God also said the lifespan will be limited, also known as everyone will die. This gives people a motive to live life to the fullest and appreciate the life they were given by their parents and by God himself. Therefore, I think that the punishments God gave Adam and Eve did, in fact, taint the overall view of humans and disobedience but it also shows how we take these punishments and make the most out of them.