the count of monte cristo pg 37.65

At Dantes and his Mercedes reception guards barge in and arrest him. The people there are confused and Dantes cant thinkg of anything that he has done to be arrested. In a different area there is another gathering happening. It is of the a man named Gerald who is the public prosecutor. He also talks about his father and anounces to the crowd that he will punish if they fall in his hands. I dont really know who I was confused at this part. He is taken away from his own feast when someone comes in and tells Gerald that they have found out someone who was plotting against them.

I see a difference in the two feast from Dantes and the one of Gerard. Gerard's feast seems much better than Dantes. Also I think they are going to charge Dantes with plotting against Gerard. I still cant believe Mercedes own cousin would betray her and try to get the man she loves imprisoned. Dantes hasnt did anything wrong or so he thinks he hasnt. Things are going to get way more interesting now because drama is now happening. This book is very different than the movie. In the movie they dont even say that he likes his own cousin.

the count of monte cristo pg20 - 37

Dantes goes and meets a girl named Mercede after he arrives back. He goes to see her and sees that she is with her cousin who loves her and wants to marry her. She gives him a hug and her cousin storms off because he is angry. Her cousin starts drinking with these two other men.The couple tells Fernand who is Mercedes cousin that are getting married the next day because Dantes has to fulfill his captains wish and deliver a letter. Fernand doesn't want to kill Dantes because his cousin said she would kill herself if he ever died. He wants to have him to prison instead. He and 2 other men decide to mail a letter to a prosecutor and get him imprisoned. They think he is arrogant and talk about how much they dont like him and think hes like his father.

Dantes seems like a good guy and Mercedes seems to love him a lot. Her cousin is jealous and wants to have her to himself. thats really weird that her cousin likes her like that. She has no feelings for him like that at all. He still respects her and doesnt plan to kill the man that she loves. He plans to get him put in jail though. Im not sure if he really thinks that Dantes is bad or if he is just jealous. Dantes is going to Paris to fill out his dead captains wish but he doesnt tell why or what he is doing. I dont think he is doing anything wrong. But then again how can a person be perfect? They have to have flaws maybe he is doing something against the law.

the count of monte cristo

The book starts of in France where a crowd watches for a ship at a port. The people hear bad news and find out the captain has died. The first mate reassures his peers that the trip went smoothly. His "boss" is excited to hear that the trip went smoothly and that the first mate stood up in the situation. this man who is responsible for all financial things for the ship tries to say that what he did was nothing important.. He also says that they they had to stop the ship and that cost them time. When the first mate confronts the other character about this he says that the captain wanted him to deliever some sort of package and thats why they were late. He also says why they were there he talked to the emperor of France.

I recently watched the movie of this book on HBO and my mom had the book and said it was good. RIght now this is pretty boring and from what i remember from the movie it kind of is boring the middle but maybe it is different from the movie. The who keeps making the first mate look bad is annoying. I dont like when people try to make people look bad. And i was sort of confused on the way the captain dies. He seems like a good guy though and he is very humble from what im reading. He also could ruin that guys career but he chooses to keep his mouth shut.

the odyssey

Penelope and Odysseus both have trouble sleeping. Odysseus worries that he and Telemachus will not be able to get so many suitors but Athena reassures him that anything is possible. Tormented by the loss of her husband and her commitment to remarry Penelope wakes and prays for Artemis to kill her. As the people in the palace start to wake up Odysseus and Telemachus meet in secret the swineherd Eumaeus, Melanthius, and Philoetius, a kindly and loyal herdsman who says that he has not yet given up hope of Odysseus’s return. The suitors enter, once again plotting Telemachus’s murder. Amphinomus convinces them to call it off. Athena keeps the suitors all through dinner to prevent Odysseus’s anger from losing its edge. Ctesippus, a wealthy and arrogant suitor, throws a cow’s hoof at Odysseus, in response to which Telemachus threatens to run him through with his sword. The suitors laugh and laugh, failing to notice that they and the walls of the room are covered in blood.

To me the suitors laughing it seems that they dont take him seriously at all. They think he is a coward and cannot do anything. They dont think he is brave or like his father so they dont fear him. I think something is going to happen thats big between Telemachus and someone else and he will gain courage and bravery and he will be feared and he will slay one of the suitors. Also when Odysseus is revealed I think the suitors will be astonished and dumbfounded. The end of the story is near and I can tell things are getting hectic everyone is waiting for Odysseus to appear.

the odyssey

When the suitors went to sleep Telemachus and Odysseus remove the weapons as planned. Athena lights the room for them so that they can see as they work. Telemachus tells Eurycleia that they are storing the arms to keep them from being damaged. After they have safely disposed of the arms Telemachus goes to sleep and Odysseus is joined by Penelope. She has come from the women’s quarters to question him. She knows that he has claimed to have met Odysseus, and she tests his honesty by asking him to describe her husband. Odysseus describes himself, capturing each detail so perfectly that it makes her cry. He then tells the story of how he met Odysseus and eventually came to Ithaca. He tells her that he should be there within the next month or so. Penelope offers the beggar a bed to sleep in, but he is used to the floor he says and declines. Only reluctantly does he allow Eurycleia to wash his feet. As she is putting them in a basin of water, she notices a scar on one of his feet. She immediately recognizes it as the scar that Odysseus received when he went boar hunting with his grandfather Autolycus. She throws her arms around Odysseus but he silences her while Athena keeps Penelope distracted so that Odysseus’s secret will not be carried any further.

Odysseus is making a master plan so he can take control of his home. To me Penelope is getting even more anxious when she hears from the "begger" who is actully Odysseus is coming. When Eurycleia washes his feet and finds out its him to me it seems that everyone missed him not just his wife. She seems very excited and its good that she promises not to tell anyone becasue that would be very bad. It also shows that there is still trust in his house. Im just waiting for everyone thing happen and Odysseus to take over

Telemachus leaves Odysseus at Eumaeus’s hut and heads to his palace where he receives a tearful welcome from Penelope and the nurse. He tells Piraeus not to bring his gifts from Menelaus to the palace he thinks that the suitors will steal them if they kill him. When he sits down to eat with Penelope Telemachus tells her what little news he received of Odysseus in Pylos and Sparta but he does not tell her that he has seen Odysseus at Eumaeus’s hut. Meanwhile, Eumaeus and Odysseus set out toward town in Telemachus’s footsteps. Odysseus receives a similar welcome at the palace. The suitors give him food with great reluctance, and Antinous goes out of his way to insult him. When Odysseus answers insult with insult, Antinous gives him a blow with a stool that disgusts even the other suitors. Report of this cruelty reaches Penelope, who asks to have the beggar brought to her so that she can question him about Odysseus. Odysseus, however, doesn’t want the suitors to see him heading toward the queen’s room. Eumaous leaves Telemachus and Odysseus with the suitors

To me the suitors are scared now that Odysseus is back and they are listening to him and fearing him. Antinous is the only one who isnt scared of Odysseus he actually insults him more and more. He also throws a stool at him. To me that is very disrespectful. I think he is acting like that because he knows he and the other suitors can not live off Odysseus's wealth and land anymore. I think they are going to have a epic fight between the two of them and obviously Odysseus will win.

For Monday

Theme: Working & Jobs

1. Traveling Salesman- Stuart Dybek

2. Banking Coal- Jean Toomer

3. Mowing- Robert Frost

4. Day and Night Job- Andrew Hudgins

5. Laundry- Ruth Moose

6. What work is- Phillip Levine

Odysseus finds Eumaeus outside his hut. Although Eumaeus doesn’t recognize him he invites him inside. There Odysseus has a hearty meal of pork and listens as Eumaeus praise upon the memory of his former master, whom he fears is lost for good, and scorn upon the behavior of his new masters, the vile suitors. Odysseus predicts that Eumaeus will see his master again quite soon, but Eumaeus will hear none of it. Still, Eumaeus takes a liking to his guest. He puts him up for the night and even lets him borrow a cloak to keep out the cold. When Eumaeus asks Odysseus about his origins Odysseus lies that he is from Crete. He fought with Odysseus at Troy and made it home safely. He was settled to poverty and on a trip to Egypt he heard about Odysseus and how he was still alive.

My reflection on this is that Eumaeus has no faith that Odysseus is alive even though he has heard from many people and he still does not believe it. Odysseus try's to tell him that he is still alive but he still does not believe. I do not know why he is in disguise maybe he does not want people to know until he claims his home again. Also Eumaeus is so kind to him he does not even know who he is and he takes him in and feeds to him and everything. He shows great hospitality. This has to make Odysseus feel really good. He gives him a blanket for the night so he does not get cold. Eumaeus is showing to be a great man and a kind man. He has a good heart and a good soul.

The Odyessy

Odysseus returns to Aeaea where he buries Elpenor and spends one last night with Circe. She describes the obstacles that he will face on his voyage home and tells him how to negotiate them. As he sets sail, Odysseus passes Circe’s counsel on to his men. They approach the island of the Sirens and Odysseus, as instructed by Circe, plugs his men’s ears with beeswax and has them tie him to the ship. He alone hears their song flowing forth from the island, promising to reveal the future. The Sirens’ song is so seductive that Odysseus begs to be released but his faithful men only tie him tighter. Once they have passed the Sirens’ island, Odysseus and his men must navigate the straits between Scylla. Scylla is a six-headed monster who, when ships pass, swallows one sailor for each head. Charybdis is an enormous whirlpool that threatens to swallow the entire ship. As instructed by Circe Odysseus holds his course. As he and his men stare at Charybdis on the other side of the strait the heads of Scylla swoop down and gobble up six of the sailors.

I remember freshman year when we read this we debated whether Odysseus had god like characteristics and we talked about all of the obstacles he went through and if that made him god like. Then I thought he was like a god but the more im reading now I think he isn't. The only reason he is accomplishing these tasks and reaching home is because the gods are helping him and he is getting lots of help. He is told where to go, what to do, and how to do it. Pretty much he is just listening to the gods and goddesses. That is just what I think I don't know if im correct on that but from what I understand that is what I think.

The odyssey

Odysseus travels to the River of Ocean in the land of the Cimmerians. He pours something and performs sacrifices as Circe earlier instructs him to do to attract the souls of the dead. The first to appear is Elpenor, the crewman who broke his neck falling from Circe’s roof. He begs Odysseus to return to Circe’s island and give his body a proper burial. Odysseus then speaks with the Theban prophet Tiresias, who reveals that Poseidon is punishing the Achaeans for blinding his son Polyphemus. He tells Odysseus his fate and that he will return home, reclaim his wife and palace from the wretched suitors, and then make another trip to a distant land to appease Poseidon. He warns Odysseus not to touch the flocks of the Sun when he reaches the land of Thrinacia; otherwise, he won’t return home without suffering much more hardship and losing all of his crew. When Tiresias departs, Odysseus calls other spirits toward him. He speaks with his mother, Anticleia, who updates him on the affairs of Ithaca and relates how she died of grief waiting for his return. He then meets the spirits of various famous men and heroes and hears the stories of their lives and deaths.


My reflection on this is that since Odysseus knows his fate now he can relax a little bit. He knows he makes it home safe and reclaims everything if he sticks to the path. He just has to follow the directions and listen to the Gods. Also i would feel a little on edge because he finds out he has another task after reclaiming what is his. I would not want to do that because after everything that has happened I would probably be afraid of losing it all all over again. I dont know what I would do in these circumstances. It would be a tough decison on my part wether to keep going after I reached home.

the odyssey

Odysseus tells the Phaeacians his story. From Troy, the winds sweep him and his men to Ismarus, city of the Cicones. The men plunder the land and, carried away by greed, stay until the reinforced ranks of the Cicones turn on them and attack. Odysseus and his crew finally escape, having lost six men per ship. A storm sent by Zeus sweeps them along for nine days before bringing them to the land of the Lotus-eaters, where the natives give some of Odysseus’s men the fruit of the lotus. As soon as they eat this fruit, they lose all thoughts of home and long for nothing more than to stay there eating more fruit. Only by dragging his men back to the ship and locking them up can Odysseus get them off the island. Odysseus and his men then sail through the y night to the land of the Cyclopes, a rough and uncivilized race of one-eyed giant. After making a meal of wild goats captured on an island offshore, they cross to the mainland. There they immediately come upon a cave full of sheep and crates of milk and cheese. The men advise Odysseus to snatch some of the food and hurry off, but, to his and his crew’s detriment, he decides to linger. The cyclops is the son of Poseidon. Polyphemus makes a show of hospitality at first, but he soon turns hostile. He devours two of Odysseus’s men on the spot and imprisons Odysseus and the rest in his cave for future meals.

My response to this is that while he is telling this story he is probably going through the emotions he felt in all of these encounters. Dragging his men back to the ship? That would of made me very angry tired and frustrated. All I would want to do is go home and this speed bump would frustrate me greatly. Then with the cyclops that had to be very scary. I would not know what to do but he is brave and can take care of the situation. He is not afraid and if he was it didn't show in him very well. These two encounters show home much Odysseus wants to make it home and reach home.

The next day Alcinous calls an assembly of the Phaeacian counselors. Athena back from Athens ensures attendance by spreading word that the topic of discussion will be the godlike visitor who recently appeared on the island. At the assembly Alcinous proposes providing a ship for his visitor so that the man can return to his homeland. The measure is approved and Alcinous invites the counselors to his palace for a feast and celebration of games in honor of his guest. Theres a blind bard named Demodocus sings of the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles at Troy. Everyone listens with pleasure except Odysseus, who weeps at the painful memories that the story recalls. The king notices Odysseus’s grief and ends the feast so that the games can begin.

To me Odysseus is weeking because the memories are to hard for him to recall. He is being torn up through thinking of it. More and more he does the more and more he hurts. I can relate to this because if something happens to me and it makes me mad or sad I try not to think of it much because if I do I get more and more mad or more and more sad. The king notices this so he tells them to end it and begin the games. The king is looking to be a good man and good king to me throughout of what ive read. He is helping Odysseus out greatly and seems to be really kind and nice towards him

the odyssey

Later that evening when the king and queen are alone with Odysseus Arete recognizes the clothes that he is wearing as ones that she herself had made for her daughter Nausicaa. She interrogates Odysseus alot. While still withholding his name, Odysseus responds by recounting the story of his journey from Calypso’s island and his encounter with Nausicaa that morning, which involved her giving him a set of clothes to wear. Odysseus claims that it was his idea to come alone. Alcinous is so impressed with his visitor that he offers Odysseus his daughter’s hand in marriage. He respectfully declines and says he has a child and wife of his own.

To me when Odysseus declines marriage it is showing his drive or love for his wife. He respects her so much that he hasnt given up on their love. He could of easily had altercations with Nausicaa or even married this girl but he doesnt want to. Even though he was used on Calpysos island he still hasnt given up on his love. This impresses me greatly. Also how he can make up a story to tell Arete and make it sound as if it is true. He is just doing this to pertect himself and the gods.

The odsessy

On his way to the palace of Alcinous who is the king of the Phaeacians Odysseus is stopped by a young girl who is Athena in disguise. She offers to guide him to the king’s house. She keeps him in a mist so that the people dont harass him. She also advises him to direct his plea for help to Arete who is the wise and strong queen who will know how to get him home. Once Athena has delivered Odysseus to the palace she leaves to athens. Odysseus finds the palace. As soon as he sees the queen, he throws himself at her feet, and the mist about him dissapears. At first, the king wonders if this wayward traveler might be a god, but without revealing his identity, Odysseus puts the king’s suspicions to rest by declaring that he is indeed a mortal. He then explains his predicament, and the king and queen gladly promise to see him off the next day in a Phaeacian ship.

This shows that he is on his way home. Athena is a great help to him and he is giving him the directions and is doing everything she can to help him go home. The book has changed from telamachus to now Odysseus. It is changing to how he is going to get back home. This whole book is on how he is trying to get home and all the things that are going to happen on their way there. The king and queen see where Odysseus is comming from and they want to help. They think he may be a god in disguise but he really isnt. Athena may have made him look like one a little but he is immortal.

the odyssey

The gods except Poseidon gather on Mount Olympus to discuss Odysseus’s fate. Athenas speech in support of the hero prevails on Zeus to intervene. Hermes, messenger of the gods, is sent to Calypso’s island to tell her that Odysseus must be allowed to leave so he can return home. . She complains that they are allowed to take mortal lovers while the affairs of the female gods must always be frustrated. In the end she talks to and listens to Zeus. After eighteen days at sea, Odysseus spots Scheria, the island of the Phaeacians, his next destination appointed by the gods. Just then, Poseidon, returning from a trip to the land of the Ethiopians, spots him and realizes what the other gods have done in his absence. Poseidon stirs up a storm, which nearly drags Odysseus under the sea, but the goddess Ino comes to his rescue. She gives him a veil that keeps him safe after his ship is wrecked. Athena too comes to his rescue as he is tossed back and forth, now out to the deep sea, now against the jagged rocks of the coast. Finally, a river up the coast of the island answers Odysseus’s prayers and allows him to swim into its waters. He throws his protective veil back into the water as Ino had commanded him to do and walks inland to rest in the safe cover of a forest.

My personal response to this is that Poseidon is angry that the gods did something without him. He is angry that they made a decision on what he opposed and did the opposite of what he says. He trys to hurt Odysseus this doesnt make snese to me. Why is a god trying to hurt or kill a person. Arent they supposed to be good and not like the underworld gods? Im confused on that but oh well. All of the other gods want him to go back home and claim what is his he is trying to as fast as he can. The other gods seem to help him throughout so he can do his duty or job and that is to reach home. They seem to guide him in what to do and do everything they can to make this come true.

the odyssey

Antinous blames Penelope who he says seduces every suitor but will commit to none of them. He reminds the suitors of a promise that she mentioned to getting married. Penelope maintained that she would choose a husband as soon as she finished weaving a burial shroud for her elderly father-in-law Laertes. But each night, she carefully undid the knitting that she had completed during the day, so that the shroud would never be finished. If Penelope can make no decision, Antinous declares, then she should be sent back to Icarius so that he can choose a new husband for her. The dutiful Telemachus refuses to throw his mother out and calls upon the gods to punish the suitors.



Telemachus is getting angry because the suitors want to just throw his mother out until she picks a husband while they use up all of their food, drinks, and house. This angers him so much he wants them to be punished so he tells the Gods and Goddesses to punish the suitors. Also Penlope doesnt want to get married to one of the suitors because I think deep down she believes that her husband is still alive and doesnt want to give up her love. That is why she undoes the shroud. This shows that she still has hope and that she at all costs does not want to marry again.

the odyssey

When the assembly meets the next day Aegyptius a wise Ithacan elder speaks first. He praises Telemachus for stepping into his father’s shoes mentioning that this occasion marks the first time that the assembly has been called since Odysseus left. Telemachus gives a speech in which he states the loss of both his father and his father’s home his mother’s suitors, the sons of Ithaca’s elders have taken it over. He insults them for consuming his father’s oxen and sheep as they pursue their courtship day in and day out when any decent man would simply go to Penelope’s father and ask him for her hand in marriage.

More and more that I am reading Telemachus is encountering some hardships in order to make things go as planned. People are starting to see the role Telemachus has taken to become the " man of the house." People are seeing him as growing up and taking responsibility. He is growing as a person with this deed. He has some encounters with the suitors and has a few scuffles but all is going well. He is trying to get the suitors to quit using up of all of their wealth and prosperities and leave but the suitors do not wish to leave. I can imagine how he is feeling. Things arent going as fast and how he wants them to. Somtimes I want things to hurry up and just happen but patience is key and is a virtue.

The Odyssey

After a conversation, Telemachus encounters Penelope in the suitors’ quarters, upset over a song that the court bard is singing. Penelope is more miserable than she usually is. Telemachus reminds her that Odysseus isn’t the only Greek to not return from Troy and that, if she doesn’t like the music in the men’s quarters she should retire to her own 'chamber' and let him look after her interests among the suitors. He then gives the suitors notice that he will hold an assembly the next day at which they will be ordered to leave his father’s estate. Antinous and Eurymachus, two particularly defiant suitors dont like this news and ask the identity of the visitor with whom he has just been speaking. Although Telemachus suspects that his visitor was a goddess in disguise, he tells them only that the man was a friend of his father.


My personaly response to this is that Telemachus is taking command of his household and doing everything he can to make everything in order. He calms Penelope down and takes care of the suitors as he is told by Zeus and Athena. He takes command of Antinous and Eurymachus and pursuades them to leave. Time will tell if they do listen to him and follow his orders. Except from the begining this book right now is mostly about Telemachus and what he is doing and how he is listening to Zeus and Athena the God and Goddess.

The odyssey

The story begins ten years after the end of the Trojan War. All of the Greek heroes except Odysseus have returned home. Odysseus lives on the remote island Ogygia with the goddess Calypso, who has fallen in love with him and refuses to let him leave. Meanwhile, a mob of suitors is devouring his estate in Ithaca and courting his wife Penelope in hopes of taking over his kingdom. His son Telemachus who is an infant when Odysseus left but now a young man, is helpless to stop them. He has resigned himself to believe that his father is dead. Zeus, Athena travels to Ithaca to speak with Telemachus. Assuming the form of Odysseus’s old friend Mentes, Athena predicts that Odysseus is still alive and that he will soon return to Ithaca. She advises Telemachus to call together the suitors and announce their banishment from his father’s estate. She then tells him that he must make a journey to Pylos and Sparta to ask for any news of his father.



I chose this book because during freshaman year I read it and I did not really understand much of it. I was confused alot but after reading other books this year I have a new mentality towards harder readings such as this. I understand more when I read than when I was a freshman. To me this book can be confusing. I think that Telemachus has overall concurred that his father is dead. He gets news from Zeus and Athena that his father is not dead and he kind of gets the role of becoming the leader of his family. He has to get all of the suitors out of his house. The book starts off with his father and then later goes on to his son Telemachus. This book is more interesting to me now that I understand it more and can relate things to it to make it make more sense. This looks like a great book.

Senior Interviews

The senior interviews were really interesting. All of them had something different that they were trying to do or get across. I can relate to the one who wants to become a sports executive because he wants to make his parents proud. His parents came to the US in 1994. My parents came before that in like 1978 but still I can still relate to how he wants to make his parents proud. The one who seems deluded is the one who is undecided. He just knows he wants to be wealthy but he doesnt know how he is gonna get there.


I see myself in 10 years graduating college and having a steady job. I want to be wealthy but so does everyone. I am very materialistic in my wants. I will do whatever it takes to be happy and get what I want. I will take actions and fulfilling my dreams. I plan on living here in Fort Wayne and having spending my life here in 10 years. I want t0 do something in business.