📚 Essay Test Prompts: The Odyssey

With final exams in days, I’m working through essay prompts for The Odyssey. While there might be a million things to say about this text, I’ve settled on three for this year.

As always: “A” is the easier response and “B” and “C” get harder. I let students self-select their response, but I scale responses accordingly. It tends to work and I never have to grade the same essay time after time.

So anyways, there they are.

A. Monster Mayhem. In The Odyssey, Odysseus’s ten year journey is filled with story after story of gods and monsters.  Simply naming them feels like comic book rogues gallery: Cyclops, Lystragonians, Circe, the Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, and more.  That said, what constitutes a monster isn’t so straightforward.

How would you define monsters in The Odyssey?  Introduce three monsters then explain what they have in common.  Conclude by converting something from The Odyssey into a simple life lesson.

B. Pride or Prophecy? As Odysseus relays his story over dinner to King Alcinous, many important events stand out.  But his ten year journey from Troy to Hades to Calypso wasn’t a straight line.  In fact, Odysseus nearly made it home before greed and bad winds took over.

What single event caused Odysseus’ ten year journey?  Was it pride, prophecy, or misfortune?  Based on your answer, explain whether he could have made different choices to get home sooner.  Conclude by converting something from The Odyssey into a simple life lesson.

C. Spoilers.  Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus hears many prophecies.  From Telemus (Book 9) to Tiresias (Book 11) to Circe (Book 12), he learns about his fate many years before events transpire.  Yet spoilers aside, he does little to stop it.

What is the role of prophecy in The Odyssey?  Explain what he learns from each prophecy before highlighting common themes.  Explain whether these prophecies limited or encouraged his choices. Conclude by converting something from The Odyssey into a simple life lesson