Famous Last Words: The Week with ALL the Practicum

This was the week I felt like I spent every waking moment at my practicum site or doing something related to practicum. I ended up with half the reading done, again, and haven't found the time to finish off part B as extra credit. But I read The Iliad, which I first read decades ago, so do I have some idea of what I missed.

From now on I need to try to stack all the reading on Mondays again. I am not sure how that will work this week with my afternoon class having a group paper due next week, but we'll see. Maybe I can run through it all after class is over around 7pm.

Practicum looks like it is going to continue to be a little wild, maybe through October. In the words of Dory - Just Keep Swimming. Hopefully by that point some things will have settled back out, hours won't be quite as wonky (I hope) and everyone will be back at the agency. 

This is not Dory. Maybe Dory's cousin?

This week I feel like I wrote SO MANY THINGS, but many of those things were in social work speak. For my writing in this class I did try to use the first-person perspective in my story. I am not sure how I feel about the outcome. I don't think the story would have worked well in another perspective, but I also don't know if I was committed to that style as I was writing.

My social work writing seemed to come out pretty well, but so far, everything this year has been relatively short. In previous semesters we were going through so many pages that these small one to two-page papers feel like practice. While that is good, it also leads to putting things off longer than I should. Plus the whole haven't been to campus since March thing really just throws everything out of whack.

(Image information: "Palette Surgeon Fish" by Stefan David, CamperCo.de is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Week 4 Story: I, Agamemnon

I listened to this prophet tell me to send the girl back to her father. Then he had the gall to say I should also send back the money and the animals I had won as well? Who did this fool think he was talking to - philosophers drunk on wine? If there really was a curse on the girl, then we should get rid of her, but the money, the coins, and jewels, those are mine. 

"You expect me to return what I have gained? Who are any of you to tell me, Agamemnon, what to do? I rule over all Greeks. I have earned these things by my name and status. None of you are above me."

The assembled Greeks looked at me, most in fear of my rage. They were right to be afraid. Others looked on in awe at my might. Everyone seemed appropriately cowed, except for Achilles. He spent too much time fighting to use his brain and know his place.

 

Achilles spoke, "Why do you always claim so much? You sit here, cozy in your tent while we fight and die. You don't risk yourself, you don't lead from the front. Why should we even listen to you anymore if you won't risk what others do and won't share with those who take the risks?"

This Achilles brought men to fight, it's true. But he is far too outspoken. People are listening and watching. I cannot let this stand. 

"You are not king here, Achilles. Since I cannot keep this cursed girl, I'll just take the one you have. It is my right as king to take what I like when I like. If you don't like that, I'll come take her, your life and your money."

Achilles stormed out of my tent after that. But everyone else seemed impressed with how I handled him. I'll send someone to collect that woman of his a little later. I hope he fights me about it. It will give me a great excuse to end him and take his gold and take over his ships. This turned out to be a pretty good day after all. 

 

 

 

 

Image information: "Mosaic depicting Achilles confronting Agamemnon from the House of Apollo in Pompeii Roman 1st century BCE-1st century CE" by mharrsch is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Reading Notes - Homer's Iliad Part A

 http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-homers-iliad-retold.html

Notes on The Quarrel.

 Agamemnon was head of Greek kings. Achilles had many warriors. 

Agamemnon didn't go out and fight like other people did - he waited for fighting to happen and then claimed victory and prizes because he was in charge. Money, land, people. One of his captives was the daughter of a priest of Apollo. He wanted his kid back, Agamemnon said no. Apollo cursed everyone it was a bad scene. 

The Greeks knew the kid needed to go back, Agamemnon was a stubborn fool. Achilles argued with him and said forget this, I'm out. You all can keep dying while he sits up in his tent with his head in the sand. Obviously that went over like a lead balloon. Everyone is mad, no one knows how to share or talk or compromise. (Presumably because all the ladies were left at home or held captive or only showing up as visions/goddesses to talk a bit of sense into people.)

Anyway. Everyone is mad, Achilles went back to his camp to be mad, Agamemnon stayed mad in his tent. Then Aga. sent messengers to take back Achilles captured woman. Achilles did not shoot the messengers and let her go, although the text notes she wasn't happy about it. Meanwhile the priest's daughter is being taken back home so Apollo let up on the cursing. 

But Achilles called up his mom, who was Thetis a water goddess/sea nymph. And so the cursing will resume in another fashion once she can convince Zeus to do her a favor. 

Achilles' surrender of Briseis to Agamemnon, from the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, fresco, 1st century AD, now in the Naples National Archaeological Museum

Story source: The Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church (1907)