Book+Assignments+(Wonjune)-Ulysses

**Journal 1: Please describe Ulysses-What does he look like and act like? Try to be specific.**
Ulysses is a man who lived around the time of the Trojan War. He was one of the Greek soldiers during that war and also the person who thought of using a wooden horse to trick the Trojans into thinking that they had won. After the war, Ulysses and one hundred-fifty men sailed back to their homeland, Ithaca; however they encountered many ordeals along the way, resulting in Ulysses losing his whole crew.

Although the book does not give us an exact description of Ulysses, it can be assumed that he looked like a typical Greek. He would have, of course, looked wild after his many hardships. On page 71, it says that "His shoulders were bleeding, his legs muddy, and his hair crusted with salt."

Ulysses was a very stragetic and clever man. His intelligence came at hand before the Trojan War (When he suggested that all of the suitors of Helen should say an oath that would refrain them from killing her husband and join together) and during the Trojan War, when he came up with the Trojan Horse trick. When at Circe's island, he was told by Circe that he would be turned into a fox by her when he was close to death, to match his swiftness and cunning ways.

Ulysses usually thought about saving his sailors' lives instead of saving his life. For instance, in the land of the Lotus Eaters, he resisted the effects of the flowers and dragged every one of his crew to the ship so they could escape. However, there was one exception where during the trip to meet the ghosts, he deliberately killed one of his own men in order to find the entrance to the Underworld.

On whole, Ulysses was a great hero who proved himself to be worthy of any challenge. In my opinion, he was even greater than any other hero who came before his time.

****Journal 2: Why did Ulysses' men betray him and open the bag of winds from Aeolus? What happened to those men?****
Two of Ulysses' men betrayed him and opened the bag of winds when he was asleep. Ulysses had not slept for eight days and eight nights, so he fell into a deep sleep when Ithaca was in sight. The two men who opened the bag were curious what was in the bag that Ulysses had guarded for so long without even sleeping. As they were wondering what was in the bag, Poseidon, passing by, clinked his armlets. The men thought the clinking came from the sack and was caused by gold coins. They decided to open the sack and take the "gold" in it.

As Ulysses lay asleep, the two men took the bag of winds off the spar and hurried away with it. They tried to undo the knots that Aeolus tied the bag with, but could not open it. One of the men took his knife out and slashed the bag open. At that instant, a howling gale arose as the winds came out from the bag. The man who slashed open the bag was swept up by the gale and hurled overboard into the sea. Since it was so windy, he most likely drowned in the water. Although the book does not tell what happened to the other sailor, he probably suffered the same fate as well.

Answering the question above as simply as possible, the two men betrayed Ulysses and opened the bag of winds because they were greedy and thought the bag contained gold. These men were thrown away from the ship and drowned in the sea.

==**Journal 3: What would it be like to live on Cannibal Beach? What problems would it create to have a quicker cycle of day and night? How do you think this kept Ulysses from discovering what the trees were?**==

To live on Cannibal Beach would be very odd. Since day and night counter-existed, it would be possible to sleep in the day and do activities at night, or vice versa. It may be interesting to live there, but it would also be a problem because the giants inhabiting the island would keep on trying to eat me. I would have to spend my time running away from the giants.

To have a quicker cycle of day and night would create many problems. For example, since it is light only for short periods of time, plants and such would not be able to live there, as well as animals. There would be no edible things on the island. Eventually, I would die of starvation if I wasn't eaten by the giants first.

Since it was almost never light and was dark for most of the time, Ulysses and his men were not able to spot the giants' heads or bodies. They could only see the giant's legs, which they took as large trees. When Ulysses sent up two men to climb the tree, they did not return. It was later revealed that the men were eaten as they climbed up.

==**Journal 4: In Chap. 9,The Wandering Rocks, Ulysses has to decide what to do for himself. All of the advice that he has been given turns out to be useless. What does he decide to do? Have you ever been in a situation that required you to make an important decision on you own? How did you decide what to do?**==

Ulysses had been told by the ghosts to be careful of the Island of the Sun, Sicily. As a precaution, he decided to steer his ship south of the island and go to Ithaca in a slightly longer way. However, he met a barrier of rocks that blocked passage south and prevented him from going in a safe way. In addition, when he went north, the rocks followed, blocking him from going south again. Facing no choice, Ulysses decided to take a risk and go through Sicily, choosing the path of the Sirens and Scylla and Charybdis.

Yes, I have been in multiple situations where I had to make an important decision. One such situation was when I had to decide on whether I should run for Student Council President or not in 5th Grade. If I became President, I would have had the right to suggest ideas and such that could help the school. I would also become more well known, which would raise my social status. On the other hand, it would mean much more work and time, and I would be more tired. I decided to run for president in the end; I lost in the election, but I think it was a good experience for me.

==**Journal 5: Ulysses has gone through much physical and mental hardship. Through all of this he has been determined to return to Ithaca. What peopled and/or places in your life would you be willing to fight as hard as Ulysses to get to/see? Explain you answer.**==

There are several people and things I am willing to suffer or fight for like Ulysses. However, some things I would truly be willing to suffer for are reminders of my friends in the United States. My best friend gave me a small gift before I left California and came to Korea, and so did some of my other friends. For some reason, my friends in the U.S. seem as friendly as my friends at KIS now, even though I have known my friends at KIS longer. Because of that reason, I miss them more and am willing to sacrifice myself in several ways to keep those objects from being lost.