Page 63 - SpringBoard_ELA_Grade8_Flipbook

aCTIvITy 1.7
continued
The Initiation
my Notes
23 With this he drove the ram away from him out of doors, and I loosed myself when the ram was a little way from the cave, then untied my men. Swiftly, keeping an eye behind us, we shepherded those long-limbed sheep, rich and fat, down to the ship. And a welcome sight, indeed, to our dear friends were we, escapees from death, though they wept and sighed for the others we lost. I would not let them weep though, but stopped them all with a nod and a frown. I told them to haul the host of fine-fleeced sheep on board and put to sea. They boarded swiftly and took their place on the benches then sitting in their rows struck the grey water with their oars. When we were almost out of earshot, I shouted to the Cyclops, mocking him: “It seems he was not such a weakling, then, Cyclops, that man whose friends you meant to tear apart and eat in your echoing cave. Stubborn brute not shrinking from murdering your guests in your own house, your evil deeds were bound for sure to fall on your own head. Zeus and the other gods have had their revenge on you.”
Second Read
• Reread the excerpt to answer these text-dependent questions.
• Write any additional questions you have about the text in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. Key Ideas and Details: Why does Odysseus go to the land of the Cyclops? What evidence in the first two paragraphs tells you this?
2. Key Ideas and Details: What does the following quote from paragraph 5 reveal about Odysseus’s character? “But I would not listen, though it would have been best, wishing to see the giant himself, and test his hospitality. When he did appear he proved no joy to my men.”
3. Key Ideas and Details: Based on the words and actions of the Cyclops, how would you describe his character and his perspective?
4. Key Ideas and Details: What does the following reflection reveal about Odysseus’s character? “His words were designed to fool me, but failed. I was too wise for that, and answered him with cunning words.”
36 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
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