Question

Read each passage. Then, answer the questions. Which word best describes Odysseus in the first passage? Which word best describes Odysseus in the second passage? Which step in the hero’s journey is reflected by Odysseus’s behavior in the second passage?
But as I sent them on toward Scylla, I told them nothing, as they could do nothing. They would have dropped their oars again, in panic, to roll for cover under the decking. Circe's bidding against arms had slipped my mind, so I tied on my cuirass and took up two heavy spears, then made my way along to the foredeck – thinking to see her first from there, the monster of the grey rock, harboring torment for my friends. —The Odyssey,
Homer Now from his breast into his eyes the ache of longing mounted, and he wept at last, his dear wife, clear and faithful, in his arms, longed for             as the sunwarmed earth is longed for
by a swimmer spent in rough water where his ship went down under Poseidon’s blows, gale winds and tons of
sea. —The Odyssey,
Homer

Answer 1

In the first passage, the best word to describe Odysseus is "cuirass". A cuirass is a type of defensive armor. Odysseus here has to be psychologically and emotionally armored for what is about to happen: the gruesome death of some of his sailor friends at the hands of Scylla, the mythical monster dwelling on the Strait of Messina. In the second passage the best word to describe Odysseus is "longing". The word is not only repeated several times, it is also the main theme of the passage, the pain of longing for a home that Odysseus has not seen in a long time.

Answer 2

Answer:

1. Cuirass.

2. Longing.

Explanation:

1. The best word to describe Odysseus in the first passage is the word "cuirass" that is a kind of armor that encloses the body in order to protect it.

2. In the second passage, the best word to describe Odysseus is the word "longing" because he had not been seen during a long time.