[Note: the assignment sheet below is meant to provide answers to possible questions or problems, not to paralyze you with fear. If you have questions that aren't covered here, feel free to contact your section instructor].

Due Date

The paper is due in lecture on Thursday, October 2.

Topics

Please write on ONE of the following topics:

1). The Iliad and the Odyssey are poems with very different themes, settings and characters. Some readers have even thought that the differences point to different authors (whatever that might mean in the context of oral poetry). Others see the same intelligence at work in both epics. With this issue in mind, examine the role played by female (human) characters in each of the two poems. Do they play the same sorts of roles in both poems and are they presented in a similar way? Are they more numerous or prominent in one than the other? Do they take a more active role in one than the other? If they speak, what sort of things do they say? If you see differences, do they point to a difference in authorship, or might there be other explanations?

Some advice: Be sure to support your argument by reference to specific examples and episodes. You may find it helpful to begin by paging through the poems and making a (two-column?) list of the major female characters. Bear in mind that differences between the two works might be relative, not just black and white. Note that the question asks specifically about human characters, not about the gods. 

2). One function of literature is to provide models of behavior--both positive and negative. What characters in the Homeric epics are presented as negative examples? What codes of behavior do they violate (implicitly or explicitly)? What light do these negative characters shed on the Homeric value system (how do examples of rule-breaking help to clarify the rules?).

Some advice: Note that you are trying to see and judge these characters through the eyes of the poet and/or his original audience—not to evaluate them by your own standards of morality or proper behavior. Ask yourself in particular how the poet tries to guide our judgment of these characters. How do we know (i.e. how does the poet tell us) that they are not meant to be admired? Explicit statement by the narrator? Statements or reactions of other characters? Some other way? You may find it helpful to begin by paging through the poems and making a list of unsympathetic or disreputable characters. There are various ways to organize your paper, but keep an eye out for similarities among the examples. What are the three or four most important ground rules for living in the Homeric world, as illustratedby characters who don't follow them? This may be a more effective structuring device than going character-by-character. For reasons of space I'd also advise steering clear of the following: Achilles, Odysseus and the Olympian gods.

Length and Format

• Your paper should be at least five pages double-spaced, in a font no bigger than 12-point Palatino and with standard margins. Papers longer than five pages are fine.
• Please include a one-sentence abstract in italics at the beginning of the paper, stating the central argument or thesis.
• Quotations of three lines or less should be included within the text. Mark the end of the line with a "/". Quotations of more than three lines should be set off from the text and indented, and quoted as they appear in the text (i.e. as poetry, not prose!).
• Note that this is a very short paper. It's good to back up your claims with evidence from the text (see below), but don't waste space by quoting more than you need.
• References for quotations should be in parentheses following the quotation, and should be to poem (abbreviated Il. or Od.), by book and line number (e.g. "Il. 14.236-8"), NOT by page number. We will assume you are using Lombardo's translation unless you indicate otherwise in a footnote and give an appropriate citation.
• Grammar and spelling matter—just as they do in resumés, cover letters, publicity materials, business documents and any other form of writing in which you want to make a good impression on the person reading your work.
• Please write out and sign the honor pledge in full (don't just write "pledged"). You may modify the pledge if appropriate (e.g. if you have received help from the Writing Center or if religious beliefs require you to state or affirm rather than pledging).

Other Guidelines & Suggestions
 

• It's very important that you justify your statements by citing evidence from the text. Lack of evidence is the single most common problem in student papers, especially first-year papers.
• Resist the temptation to psychoanalyze imaginary people. Achilles, Odysseus, and their colleagues are fictional characters; they have no existence outside the poem. We know only what the poem tells us about them, or what we can reasonably deduce from the poet's statements.
• The focus should be on material in the Homeric poems, not on mythological background (like the Judgment of Paris or the Trojan horse) that doesn't occur in the poems themselves.
• Bear in mind that you're not being asked to write a definitive statement about the whole of Greek culture--just about one feature of the Homeric epics. Avoid extravagant generalizations that can't be supported in a five-page paper ("Throughout the entire course of human history ..." or "The Greeks believed that ...").
• You do not need to use secondary sources for this paper. If you do, they should be cited appropriately. You'll find helpful information about citation practices and avoiding plagiarism at this site. If you have doubts or questions, check with your section instructor.

Extensions and Rewrites

• Remember that we'll grant extensions of up to 48 hours automatically—you don't even have to give us a reason—as long as you ask in advance.
• Because of the size of the class, we can't accommodate requests to rewrite papers that have already been read and graded. But both of us are happy to talk to you about your paper while it is in progress and/or read drafts if you would like us to do that.
• You can also make use of the Writing Center. You'll find them most helpful if you have something to bring along with you—a draft, partial draft, or even just an outline. Discussing your paper with a writing tutor is not a violation of the Honor Code, although as with any help, you should acknowledge it in a footnote. (If you do visit the Writing Center, I'd also appreciate hearing about your experience. Did you find it helpful? Would you recommend it to others?)