April 29 100-word response due at the time of class: Odyssey 4

Write a 100-word minimum response to the following prompt. Your answer may be informal and exploratory, but should be grounded in the text itself.  In addition to answering the prompt, you are welcome to use this space to briefly record your reactions, thoughts, and/or questions about the content of the reading. The deadline for submitting this response is 11:30 on the day of class.

Prompt: What do you make of the conversation between Helen and Menelaos when they exchange stories about Odysseus at Troy in Odyssey 4 (starting around line 250 and ending around line 310 in Fitzgerald's translation)? What does it tell you about the relationship between these two? What might it suggest about telling of stories (a central concern on the Odyssey), their purpose, and their veracity? How do you understand Telemachus' reaction?