paper about odysseus from the odyssey

Research Project

For your research topic, I want you to choose one character from one of the tragedies we are

reading in class this term (i.e. a play by Aeschylus, Sophocles or Euripides). You should choose a

character with a significant role in the actions of the play. In general, this project will be easier to do if

you do not choose a god. Your paper should be about why this character is depicted in this way by the

author. I other words, you need to suggest a reason why the author chose to write this particular play

(and there may be multiple reasons). You then need to figure how the depiction of your character fits

into the author’s purpose.

Annotated Bibliography (Due Friday of Week 6) For the first part of your research project you will need to submit an annotated bibliography

with at least 5 primary and 5 secondary sources, in Chicago style. At the top of this bibliography you

will tell me your research question (which need be no more than a single sentence).

For your primary sources find five ancient texts that mention your character (ideally Greek, but

some may be Roman). Do not use modern resettings or retellings of the story. It is possible that some

of your sources may be in the visual arts. If so make certain that your visual source material comes

from a context useful for making an argument about the intent of a 5th century BCE Athenian author.

A painting by a 16th century Italian or a 19th century Englishman would probably not be useful at all.

You probably should concentrate on the particular story in the play we have read, though this is not

always possible and depends in part on your research question.

The second part of your bibliography will be secondary sources. For this I want you to look

only at scholarly material. You will need to look at books and journals (peer reviewed) to find what

modern scholars have to say about the character and play you have chosen and each of these plays does

have a large bibliography.

Ancient authors were perfectly willing to adapt mythical tales to achieve their own literary

ends. There was no one correct version of any of these stories. This is why I want you to look at what

other writers did with the myths. The variations can give clues to the intent of the author you are

studying. Modern scholars have also had a lot to say about these plays. Ideally, looking at this material

should help you clarify your own ideas and find arguments to support those ideas.

The annotated bibliography will be due on Friday of week six. Please note that this

bibliography will count for 5% of your final grade for the class. While your bibliography must have a

minimum of 5 primary and 5 secondary sources, you will be rewarded for going beyond this minimum.

Research Papers (Due Friday of Week 8) Once you have you topic and sources in hand you need to begin reading and writing. Editable

text must be brought to mentor session of week 8. Anyone not bringing text will be graded down for

that mentor session.

Final versions of the papers should be approximately five pages in length. (If you run over a

bit or a bit under 5 pages do not worry. I will not grade anybody down based on the length of a paper.)

Papers must include footnotes (or endnotes) which for this paper must be done in Chicago style. (If

you are not familiar with Chicago Style a brief and useful summary can be found at:

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html )

You must also include your bibliography which should be on a separate sheet(s) of paper (also

Chicago style, annotations now optional).

The project will make up 20% of your final grade, 15% for the actual paper and 5% for the

annotated bibliography.

On research papers in general

Remember that a research paper is not a collection of facts gathered through research on a

particular topic. It is not an encyclopedia entry. It is an argument defending a particular idea or point

of view. The purpose of the research is to find evidence that can be used to develop a strong and

coherent argument. Normally one begins research with a question (E.g. Why is Klytaimnestra so

masculine in her behavior?) The answer to that research question is your thesis. This is the idea or

point of view you are trying to support with your evidence. A research paper should begin with a

statement of this thesis. The main body of the paper is the evidence and ideas gathered through

research. No facts or ideas not related to the thesis should be included in the paper. It does not matter

how interesting this material is. If it is irrelevant to your argument, leave it out.

On thesis statements

The opening of most papers you are likely to write for University Classes should contain a

thesis statement. This is most easily thought of as an answer to a question. In a research paper this

would be the answer to your research question. The ideal thesis statement does not simply give the

answer, but also establishes a basis for the argument that follows in the body of the paper. Another

way to explain this is that a thesis statement has two parts, a simple statement of what you are going to

prove, and an explanation of why it is true. On the Klytaimnestra question above (Why is

Klytaimnestra so masculine in her behavior?) the opening paragraph might read something like this:

In the Oresteia, Aiskhylos does all that he can to make the actions of Klytaimnestra fall

outside the realm of acceptable behavior. Therefore she must be masculine in her actions. Were she a

meek and “proper” Greek female, her revenge for her murdered daughter might have engaged the

sympathy of the audience, a result that could undermine the central message of the play. Aiskhylos

was trying to justify the ordering of the universe using the logic and law of Greek males living in a

polis (nomos). For this to work, his audience had to accept the acquittal of Orestes at the end of the

trilogy. The ending becomes far more just if Orestes kills not his terribly wronged mother acting out

of grief for her murdered daughter, but an oikos destroying monster trying to gain power for herself at

the expense of the males who properly should be in charge.

Notice that there are no general statements here. There is no “From the dawn of time people

have been thinking about justice”. “Women in the ancient world were not treated as well as they are

today” is not to be found here. You do not need this sort of statement. Go directly to your main point

and do not be shy. Make a strong point, sound confident about it and then get to your argument. In a

paper of this length over half a page is far too long.