The Land of the Dead
chapter 8
Summary
In this chapter Ulysses and his men were sailing to the land of the dead. Ulysses wanted to stay awake the whole journey, but after so many days and nights he decided that he could fall asleep. Before he was going to let himself sleep, since it was so foggy and dark all the time Ulysses and his men did not know whether they were close to the land of the dead or not. Ulysses wanted to know this so he sent one of his crew members Elpenor to climb the mast and see if he could see anything above the fog. The boat then hit a rock and Elpenor fell off the mast and drowned. After Elpenor fell Ulysses went to sleep and his crew was talking and thought that Ulysses meant to kill Elpenor and so they lost all their trust in him. Finally Ulysses and his men made it to the land of the dead. They needed to talk to the dead people because they could see the future so they killed goats and poured their blood into a hole so all of the dead people would come to them. Ulysses saw his mother, and the great Achilles, Achilles warned him about fair maidens singing that will attract any sailor because he knew that Ulysses was going to sail by them and he wanted Ulysses to be prepared. Next he saw Ajax who was from Ithaca and hated Ulysses because Ulysses had ruined Ajax's life. Ajax still warns Ulysses about dangers to come so he can maybe return to Ithaca. Finally Ulysses saw Elpenor and then burst into tears, and told him that he did not kill him on purpose and that it was an accident that Elpenor died. Elpenor says that Ulysses has to make his grave for him or Elpenor's ghost will cause Ulysses trouble. Ulysses agrees to build the grave so Elpenor warns Ulysses about more danger Ulysses will face. The last person Ulysses meets on the land of the dead is Teiresias who tells Ulysses where he will land next. After all the help the dead men gave Ulysses they made him leave and told him to return once he is dead. So Ulysses left and him and his crew were once again sailing.
Questions to Discuss
1. Do you think that Ulysses purposely killed Elpenor?
2. What do you think Ulysses will do when he reaches the rocks of Charybdis and Scylla?
3. Do you think Ulysses will heed the warnings he heard from the Land of the Dead?
4. Do you predict that Ulysses will make it back to Ithaca without dying?
Text Detective
Sensory detail pg 72: " grudging milky grayness"
Simile pg 73: "had shaken him from the mast purposely, as one shakes fruit from a tree"
Simile pg 75: "the ship floated easily into harbor, as if some invisible hand had taken the helm"
Important quotes:
"For it is better to lose six men than your ship and your entire crew."(pg.79)
The significance of this quote gives Ulysses time to prepare for an incident in the future that if he did not prepare his reaction in turning left or right at the two rocks would lead them into serious trouble. This piece of advice is important to Ulysses because he takes a three second preparation time, and turns it into a couple hours of preparation for his choice in turning left or right.
"And the sound of their singing will be sweeter than memories of home, and when your men hear them, their wits will be scattered and they will wish to dive overboard and swim to shore."(pg. )
This quote shows the dangers that are coming their way. But now since they have been awared of the dangers coming their way they can prepare. This quote shows how tempting the voices of the sirens are and how hard it is going to be to avoid these tempting voices even with the preparation ahead of time.
"Whereupon the crew began to whisper among themselves that the gull was the spirit of their shipmate, Elpenor, and that Ulysses had shaken him from the mast purposely"(pg.73)
the significance of this quote shows how untrustworthy Ulysses' crew thinks Ulysses is. But also how much Ulysses' crew really needs Ulysses because if they really did believe that Ulysses sacrificed Elpenor, then they would kill him because they would believe he deserves to die for what he has done. But Ulysses' crew isn't going to kill Ulysses because they need him to get home safely, and they have no chance in survival without him.
In this chapter Ulysses and his men were sailing to the land of the dead. Ulysses wanted to stay awake the whole journey, but after so many days and nights he decided that he could fall asleep. Before he was going to let himself sleep, since it was so foggy and dark all the time Ulysses and his men did not know whether they were close to the land of the dead or not. Ulysses wanted to know this so he sent one of his crew members Elpenor to climb the mast and see if he could see anything above the fog. The boat then hit a rock and Elpenor fell off the mast and drowned. After Elpenor fell Ulysses went to sleep and his crew was talking and thought that Ulysses meant to kill Elpenor and so they lost all their trust in him. Finally Ulysses and his men made it to the land of the dead. They needed to talk to the dead people because they could see the future so they killed goats and poured their blood into a hole so all of the dead people would come to them. Ulysses saw his mother, and the great Achilles, Achilles warned him about fair maidens singing that will attract any sailor because he knew that Ulysses was going to sail by them and he wanted Ulysses to be prepared. Next he saw Ajax who was from Ithaca and hated Ulysses because Ulysses had ruined Ajax's life. Ajax still warns Ulysses about dangers to come so he can maybe return to Ithaca. Finally Ulysses saw Elpenor and then burst into tears, and told him that he did not kill him on purpose and that it was an accident that Elpenor died. Elpenor says that Ulysses has to make his grave for him or Elpenor's ghost will cause Ulysses trouble. Ulysses agrees to build the grave so Elpenor warns Ulysses about more danger Ulysses will face. The last person Ulysses meets on the land of the dead is Teiresias who tells Ulysses where he will land next. After all the help the dead men gave Ulysses they made him leave and told him to return once he is dead. So Ulysses left and him and his crew were once again sailing.
Questions to Discuss
1. Do you think that Ulysses purposely killed Elpenor?
2. What do you think Ulysses will do when he reaches the rocks of Charybdis and Scylla?
3. Do you think Ulysses will heed the warnings he heard from the Land of the Dead?
4. Do you predict that Ulysses will make it back to Ithaca without dying?
Text Detective
Sensory detail pg 72: " grudging milky grayness"
Simile pg 73: "had shaken him from the mast purposely, as one shakes fruit from a tree"
Simile pg 75: "the ship floated easily into harbor, as if some invisible hand had taken the helm"
Important quotes:
"For it is better to lose six men than your ship and your entire crew."(pg.79)
The significance of this quote gives Ulysses time to prepare for an incident in the future that if he did not prepare his reaction in turning left or right at the two rocks would lead them into serious trouble. This piece of advice is important to Ulysses because he takes a three second preparation time, and turns it into a couple hours of preparation for his choice in turning left or right.
"And the sound of their singing will be sweeter than memories of home, and when your men hear them, their wits will be scattered and they will wish to dive overboard and swim to shore."(pg. )
This quote shows the dangers that are coming their way. But now since they have been awared of the dangers coming their way they can prepare. This quote shows how tempting the voices of the sirens are and how hard it is going to be to avoid these tempting voices even with the preparation ahead of time.
"Whereupon the crew began to whisper among themselves that the gull was the spirit of their shipmate, Elpenor, and that Ulysses had shaken him from the mast purposely"(pg.73)
the significance of this quote shows how untrustworthy Ulysses' crew thinks Ulysses is. But also how much Ulysses' crew really needs Ulysses because if they really did believe that Ulysses sacrificed Elpenor, then they would kill him because they would believe he deserves to die for what he has done. But Ulysses' crew isn't going to kill Ulysses because they need him to get home safely, and they have no chance in survival without him.
Research:
The land of the dead is a the far ends of the ocean and is were Ulysses and his crew must go. the land of the dead (the underworld) is hades' kingdom. There are 4 areas or fields in the underworld:
the field of punishment: where you go if you committed any crimes in your life
the field of asphodel: Where you go if you didn't commit any crimes, but didn't achieve greatness
the Elysium fields: where you go if you achieved greatness in your life, you can stay at the Elysium fields of be reborn here
the isle of the blessed: you go here if you are reborn 3 times and Achieve Elysium fields all 3 times, the isle is eternal paradise
The land of the dead is a the far ends of the ocean and is were Ulysses and his crew must go. the land of the dead (the underworld) is hades' kingdom. There are 4 areas or fields in the underworld:
the field of punishment: where you go if you committed any crimes in your life
the field of asphodel: Where you go if you didn't commit any crimes, but didn't achieve greatness
the Elysium fields: where you go if you achieved greatness in your life, you can stay at the Elysium fields of be reborn here
the isle of the blessed: you go here if you are reborn 3 times and Achieve Elysium fields all 3 times, the isle is eternal paradise