Making Inferences
Assignment #1
You make an INFERENCE when you combine information that isn't directly from the text with the information in the text in order to draw new conclusions. To do this, you use background knowledge, prior knowledge, and your own life experiences to help you make guesses about the text.
Directions:
- Create a google document and title it "Making Inferences."
- Copy the questions below onto your document, and answer them in complete sentences. Aim to write at least three sentences in response to each question.
- Share your google document with Ms. G when you finish the assignment.
Question OneIn Ancient Greece, a glorious death in battle was considered a good death for a hero because it would bring fame and glory to the individual and his family. Achilles was famously given a choice between living a full life as a nobody, or dying at Troy but winning eternal fame in the process. Achilles chose the latter. Look at page 62. In the original text, as he is drowning Odysseus says, "Three and four times blessed are those countrymen of mine who fell long ago on the broad plains of Troy." Explain what Odysseus might have been thinking about when he said this.
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Question Three"This, we discovered, was Aeolia, the home of King Aeolus, whom the gods had made lord of the winds" (111). Look at the panel to the left. Describe the author's tone in this panel. You must use at least three different tone words from the list I provided to describe the panel. In your answer, you must tell us which word-choices and parts of the image help create the tone.
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Question FourAncient Greece was a patriarchal society. This means that men held positions of power while women were greatly restricted on the types of work they were allowed to do. In most Greek city-states, women raised children and served their husbands obediently. For this reason, Circe is a dangerous woman: she is sly and deceptive, using magic and strange drugs to exert power over men. This idea of the powerful witch-like woman was extremely disconcerting, even frightening, to the patriarchal Greeks. In the original text, Hermes says, "Threaten her with your sword, and she will shrink from you in terror and invite you to her bed." Look at page 122. Bearing this background knowledge in mind, why does Odysseus sleep with Circe?
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Question FiveThe panel on the left is from page 126. In the original text, Circe says, "find your way to the Halls of Hades and dread Persephone, to consult the soul of Teiresias." Teiresias was a blind prophet from Thebes who was involved in a number of famous myths including the story of Oedipus. Make predictions: what do you think Teiresias will do to help Odysseus?
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Question SixFor the ancient Greeks, part of showing proper respect to the dead involved making offerings at the grave. These might consist of gifts and libations. In The Odyssey, Odysseus is instructed to offer the blood of a sacrificial animal to the spirits of the dead. In normal religious sacrifice, the focus lies on burning the meat so that the smoke will rise up to the gods. When honouring the spirits and gods of the Underworld, however, it is important to spill the blood of an animal. Based on this information, why do you think Greeks spilled blood to appease the dead?
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