What is book 21 about in the Odyssey?
What is book 21 about in the Odyssey?
Summary: Book 21 Penelope gets Odysseus’s bow out of the storeroom and announces that she will marry the suitor who can string it and then shoot an arrow through a line of twelve axes. Telemachus sets up the axes and then tries his own hand at the bow, but fails in his attempt to string it.
How does Odysseus prove his true identity in Book 21?
The suitor Leodes tries the bow and fails: it is too stiff to bend. Other suitors lack the strength to string it as well. Meanwhile, Odysseus speaks to Eumaeus and the cowherd, Philoetius, outside the palace: he tells them his true identity, shows them his scar as proof, and enlists them in the coming battle.
What is ironic about Penelope’s suitors in Book 21?
Why are the angry outcries of the suitors ironic? They believe Odysseus killed Antinous on accident and unintended but rly the suitors are fools that they don’t comprehend Odysseus is planning on killing them all.
What is the conflict in Book 21 of the Odyssey?
Conflicts. ~ The suitors are all trying to win over Penelope and her wealth through winning the contest. ~Odysseus wants to be the king again, and bring his palace back to order.
What does the contest of the bow symbolize?
The ruse failed only when Penelope was betrayed by a disloyal maidservant. Primarily, the bow symbolizes the physical superiority of the king — an important point in a world in which the mighty prevail. But the bow also symbolizes the maturity and perhaps the character of the king.
What characters are in Book 21 of the Odyssey?
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- Odysseus- Main character; when he doesn’t return from battle, people thought that he was dead.
- Penelope- Odysseus’s wife; in search of a new suitor.
- Eumeaus & Philoteus- Two servants that Odysseus reveals his identity to.
- Antinous- Suitor of Penelope’s who ridicules Odysseus.
How does Telemachus react to his mother’s contest in Book 21?
2. How does Telemachus react to his mother’s contest in Book 21? a. He’s going to try the bow, for it he can wield it, then she can marry whoever she wishes.
What is the moral lesson of The Odyssey?
The story of Odysseus reveals moral lessons of bravery, heroism, pride and honor relevant to the Greeks and their culture. Odysseus was a symbol of Greek culture because he was brave, intelligent, and strong.
What does Penelope’s loom symbolize?
The story of the loom symbolizes the queen’s clever tactics. For three years, Penelope worked at weaving a shroud for the eventual funeral of her father-in-law, Laertes. She claimed that she would choose a husband as soon as the shroud was completed.
What do Eagles represent in The Odyssey?
Birds Symbol Analysis Several bird omens foreshadow the final battle between Odysseus’s men and the suitors. Early on in the book, two eagles tear each other to death; later, an eagle kills a goose (as in Penelope’s dream); and toward the end, an eagle flies by with a swallow in its mouth.