The Odyssey: book club questions by chapter

🦉 The Odyssey · meeting 1 of 3

Read: Part One, “The Long Way Home”; Part Two, “Winds, Witches and Ghosts” (pages 1–6, about 8 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 6, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. How did Penelope keep the suitors waiting for three years?
   The story's answer: She unraveled her weaving every night
2. Who have we met so far, and what does each of them want?
   Listen for: Make a list together on the board; keep it for next time and add to it.
3. The part we just read is called "Winds, Witches and Ghosts". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
4. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 The Odyssey · meeting 2 of 3

Read: Part Three, “The Sirens and the Sun” (pages 7–9, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 9, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
2. The part we just read is called "The Sirens and the Sun". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
3. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 The Odyssey · meeting 3 of 3

Read: Part Four, “The Bow of Odysseus” (pages 10–13, about 5 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 13, the end of the story.

1. Why did the crew untie Aeolus's leather bag?
   The story's answer: They thought it was full of gold he was keeping for himself
2. How did Odysseus hear the Sirens' song and live?
   The story's answer: He was tied to the mast while his crew had wax in their ears
3. What did Odysseus's boast to the Cyclops and his crew's choices on the sun god's island have in common?
   The story's answer: Both happened because someone would not wait or keep quiet, and both cost them dearly
4. How did Penelope finally know the stranger was Odysseus?
   The story's answer: Only he knew their bed was built around a living olive tree
5. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
6. The part we just read is called "The Bow of Odysseus". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
7. Now that you know the ending, was it the ending you expected?
   Listen for: Ask what in the earlier parts pointed to it, or pointed the other way.

About the whole story

1. What does this myth explain, or try to explain?
   Listen for: Many myths explain how something came to be: a season, an animal, a name.
2. Was the main character right or wrong? Was the ending fair?
   Listen for: Myths are often hard on people; let the group disagree.
3. If you could ask one character a question, who and what would it be?
   Listen for: A good last question: it shows what puzzled each reader.
4. Who would you give this story to, and why them?
   Listen for: A reader who can name the right person has understood what the story is like.
5. If you could ask the person who first told this story one question, what would it be?
   Listen for: Collect the questions; some have answers on the story's page in the library.