Scylla and Charybdis
chapter 11
Summary
In this chapter Ulysses and his crew had to sail down the straight of Charybdis, daughter of Poseidon who is now a monster that drinks the sea and spits it out to form deadly whirlpools, and Scylla who is a monster spider that eats humans. They had to sail directly in between the two too stay alive so they would not fall in the whirlpool or be eaten by Scylla. They almost made it, but Ulysses forgot that Scylla could reach and grab their oars. Scylla was able to eat 6 men because she grabbed them with her 6 arms, but Ulysses and the rest of the men were able to escape.
Questions to Discuss
1. If you were sailing would you have sailed toward Charybdis or Scylla?
2. Was it Ulysses fault that 6 of his men died in this chapter?
3. Do you think Ulysses would be a better captain if he had died in order to save his men or did he do the right thing by rowing away and leaving the other 6 men?
4. Do you predict that this will be the last of Ulysses and his crews troubles?
Text Detective
Personification pg.92: "Stuck her head out of the cave and drank down the sea".
Simile pg.93: "Something that looked like a huge, fleshy spider, with twelve legs and six heads".
Simile pg.95: " He saw tentacles arching over him, they were like the arms of an octopus".
In this chapter Ulysses and his crew had to sail down the straight of Charybdis, daughter of Poseidon who is now a monster that drinks the sea and spits it out to form deadly whirlpools, and Scylla who is a monster spider that eats humans. They had to sail directly in between the two too stay alive so they would not fall in the whirlpool or be eaten by Scylla. They almost made it, but Ulysses forgot that Scylla could reach and grab their oars. Scylla was able to eat 6 men because she grabbed them with her 6 arms, but Ulysses and the rest of the men were able to escape.
Questions to Discuss
1. If you were sailing would you have sailed toward Charybdis or Scylla?
2. Was it Ulysses fault that 6 of his men died in this chapter?
3. Do you think Ulysses would be a better captain if he had died in order to save his men or did he do the right thing by rowing away and leaving the other 6 men?
4. Do you predict that this will be the last of Ulysses and his crews troubles?
Text Detective
Personification pg.92: "Stuck her head out of the cave and drank down the sea".
Simile pg.93: "Something that looked like a huge, fleshy spider, with twelve legs and six heads".
Simile pg.95: " He saw tentacles arching over him, they were like the arms of an octopus".
Direct Quotes:
In this chapter there were some quotes that illustrate character development, well-written, or had a great meaning to the plot of the story. The following are some direct quotes that i have found and interpreted.
" Your hunger will become thirst. As you once devoured land belonging to me, how you shall drink the tide thrice a day, swallow it, and spit it forth again, and your name will be a curse to sailors forever."(pg.92)( Zeus speaking to his daughter, Charybdis)
This quote shows character description for the gods, in this case it is Zeus overreacting. This quote is Zeus speaking to his daughter, Charybdis punishing her for devouring his land. As we learned in the earlier chapters, Poseidon is also overreacting about Ulysses. So the significance of this quote shows character traits for the gods, which are dramatic, cruel, and self-centered.
"Poseidon himself spied her swimming once a day and fell in love with her so provoked the jealousy of his wife, Amphitrille that she cried. I will make her the most hideous female that man or gods had ever seen!"(pg.92+93)
This quote also backs up my thought about the gods always overreacting. But this quote mainly shows the characteristics of Poseidon being very self-centered because Scylla did absolutely nothing to deserve what she got. Poseidon punished her to fix his marriage because of his wives' jealousy.
"Ulysses stood at the bow of the ship nosed slowly up the straight."(pg.93)"If veer of course it must be toward the other monster. I can fight any enemy i can see."(pg.94)
These quotes show Ulysses at least attempting to learn from his mistakes. He is being much more careful about conserving his men and doesn't want to lose their respect. He refuses to lose any men by doing all he can do to pass right in between the rocks, but also putting his own life at risk before his crew members by being in the front of the ship.
In this chapter there were some quotes that illustrate character development, well-written, or had a great meaning to the plot of the story. The following are some direct quotes that i have found and interpreted.
" Your hunger will become thirst. As you once devoured land belonging to me, how you shall drink the tide thrice a day, swallow it, and spit it forth again, and your name will be a curse to sailors forever."(pg.92)( Zeus speaking to his daughter, Charybdis)
This quote shows character description for the gods, in this case it is Zeus overreacting. This quote is Zeus speaking to his daughter, Charybdis punishing her for devouring his land. As we learned in the earlier chapters, Poseidon is also overreacting about Ulysses. So the significance of this quote shows character traits for the gods, which are dramatic, cruel, and self-centered.
"Poseidon himself spied her swimming once a day and fell in love with her so provoked the jealousy of his wife, Amphitrille that she cried. I will make her the most hideous female that man or gods had ever seen!"(pg.92+93)
This quote also backs up my thought about the gods always overreacting. But this quote mainly shows the characteristics of Poseidon being very self-centered because Scylla did absolutely nothing to deserve what she got. Poseidon punished her to fix his marriage because of his wives' jealousy.
"Ulysses stood at the bow of the ship nosed slowly up the straight."(pg.93)"If veer of course it must be toward the other monster. I can fight any enemy i can see."(pg.94)
These quotes show Ulysses at least attempting to learn from his mistakes. He is being much more careful about conserving his men and doesn't want to lose their respect. He refuses to lose any men by doing all he can do to pass right in between the rocks, but also putting his own life at risk before his crew members by being in the front of the ship.
Research
David Cameron fell between Scylla and Charybdis in Europe trying to tack his EU speech.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/
David Cameron fell between Scylla and Charybdis in Europe trying to tack his EU speech.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/