Summary: Near home, one of Odysseus' men opens Ailos' bag of winds, causing a storm to blow them back to the Ailoian island, where Ailos refuses to help them again. After sailing to the land of the Laistygones, where many of Odysseus' companions are killed by the powerful inhabitants, the men come to the island of Aiaia, where Odysseus earns the trust of the goddess Circe, through the help of Hermes, and she informs them that they must make a journey to Hades in order to be able to return home.
Paraphrase: Book 10, Lines 270-280
The man said something to me, and I responded to him: 'I will let you stay here with food and drink, or you may go back to the ship if you'd like. I will go alone. I feel within me a powerful urge to go.' This is what I said, and I went on my way. Once I had walked through the beautiful valleys and the massive house of the medicinally skilled goddes was in sight, the god Hermes, disguised as a young, bearded man, approached me.
Close Reading: Line 273: 'I shall go. For there is strong compulsion upon me.'
I chose this line for a few reasons. First of all, I found the use of the word 'compulsion' to be interesting. Compulsion is defined by dictionary.com as 'a strong, usually irresitible impulse to perform an act, especially one that is irrational or contrary to one's will.' Throughout this work, Odysseus is very diligent and thoughful when deciding when and how to act. The thought of Odysseus performing an act based upon impulse seems very contradictory. This lead me to examine the surrounding text more closely. The word 'upon' seemed interesting to me. This word places Odysseus' compulsion outside of himself. He does not say that he feels a compulsion, or that one is within him, but rather says that there is one 'upon' him. Therefore, this compulsion must have been placed on him by an outside force. Eight lines later, after heading out on his way, Odysseus encounters the god Hermes, who aids him. Because of this encounter with a god so shortly after Odysseus' 'compulsion' is placed 'upon' him, I believe that the gods influenced Odysseus to act. This makes sense within the context of the story, as characters are often influenced by the gods.
A good start to exploring this line. I especially like your pondering the problem of impulse, because your'e right, Odysseus is typically less impulsive (he's always been enjoined to contain himself and his companions). You might consider who else besides the gods put the compulsion on him. Is it his men? Consider as well the situation in which Odysseus is saying this--who's he talking to? Perhaps even more importantly, what does this moment reveal about the relationship between Odysseus and Eurylochos.
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