Final Fall Blog Post Dec. 12

1. I think reading Maus was most meaningful to me because I got to learn about a really interesting topic, the Holocaust; however it was told in a very different way. It was not the standard fact after fact that one usually sees when reading about the Holocaust.
2. I think that the most challenging thing was making my presentations engage the audience.
3. I would like to add a section about poetry, especially slam poetry!!!
4. I liked how we did the blog posts.
5. The books we read were great and I am so excited to do mood rooms!

Purpose of Violence in the Odyssey Journal Dec. 7

3. Throughout Books 22-24, Homer describes Odysseus's fight against the suitors to reclaim his house. I believe that this violence is necessary for Odysseus to receive nostos. If he hadn't fought and killed all the suitors would he actually be home? I mean, yes he would be in the land where his home was located, but it wouldn't be like how he remembered. I believe nostos means that one's homecoming is not only returning the location of their home, but also returning to how their home was before they left. With this definition, if Odysseus hadn't killed the suitors he wouldn't have returned to how his home was before he left. Also if Odysseus hadn't killed all the suitors, he probably wouldn't have the same respect from the people of Ithaca as he did before he left. Without this respect, his home wouldn't be like how he remembered so he wouldn't have nostos.