Writer of the Week

Retelling a narrative in reverse order is one of the techniques learned in the Homer book of Classical Writing. (I've described our writing program here.) This writing exercise forces the writer to think logically as he writes a story which begins with the final scene and then move backwards, scene by scene, until the beginning of the story is reached. The writer must ensure that all details are presented only once and in the correct place so that the reader may easily follow the storyline.

Zachary and Ryan have been brushing-up on the skills learned in Homer. Here is Ryan's backwards retelling of The Cyclops.

The Cyclops
retold by Ryan (age 13)

Odysseus had not forgotten to carry off some of the many sheep of the Cyclops for his companions on the other shore. There had been sheep on every ship, and Odysseus had enjoyed the largest of the rams. That day his whole company feasted, then lay on the beach and slept. When Odysseus awoke he reflected on what had happened.

His thoughts first turned to their escape from the cave of the Cyclops. That morning the flocks of the Cyclops had exited the cave out into the many fields and pastures, and the Giant had not felt the men as they had passed by him while tied underneath the sheep. When the largest ram, which Odysseus had been clinging to, passed by the Cyclops’ hand, he had stopped the ram, and Odysseus thought he had been caught. The Giant had spoken: “Why is this? You are always first in the flock to leave the cave for the fields and always the first to come back to the pens at night. Surely, you are terrified of your Master’s gouged eye which that villain No Man hath removed.” Odysseus and his men had fled safely to their ships, but once they had cast off from the shore and had been a little way out to sea, Odysseus had very foolishly taunted the great Round-Eye. When The Giant heard these shouts, he threw a great boulder toward the voice of Odysseus. The wave caused by the stone had pushed the ship back to shore, but Odysseus had cast off again with a long, metal rod. Against the will of his men he had taunted yet again but this time the large rock the Round-Eye threw at his voice landed behind them, and had pushed them farther out to sea which had allowed Odysseus and his companions to quickly sail across the channel and reach the other ships in safety.

He also remembered how he had been greatly amused that his trick of naming himself No Man had succeeded, and then his thoughts had turned to escape. The Round-Eye, now blind, had sat at the mouth of the cave, feeling of everything that passed out of the entrance. Odysseus had thought of a brilliant plan, and he had tied each one of his men to the underside of six sheep strapped together so that the Giant would not feel them as they left the cave. Odysseus, who had had no one to tie him, clung to the fleece of the greatest of the rams with both hands.

He reflected on how, before they left the cave, he had stabbed the Round Eye with the spear which he had skillfully crafted. When the Round-Eye had returned home on the second evening they were in the cave, Odysseus had given him some of his strong wine to drink. The Giant had asked his name, and Odysseus told him that he was No Man. Odysseus had given him more wine, and after drinking it the Giant fell into a drunken slumber. He thought of how he and his companions had thrust the log into the fire, and when it was red hot they had crawled onto the Giant and had stabbed it into his eye, twisting it. The Round-Eye had cried out in pain, and when the other Giants came to help him in his distress he had told them No Man was hurting him, and the neighbors had left fearing it was the gods themselves hurting their beloved friend.

Odysseus thought about how he had planned their means of escape. In the cave, there had been a great log and, although it was still green, he had severed a piece six feet long and hardened it in the blazing fire. They had then concealed the log in the narrow crevices of the cave.

He had been very sad as the hours passed while they were trapped in the cave. When the Round-Eye had woken up, he had viciously devoured two more of Odysseus’ companions for breakfast and then had taken his flocks out to the pastures and fields. Much to the surviving men’s dismay, he had rolled the large boulder back over the entrance of the cave as he left.

On the evening of the first night they were in the cave, the Round-Eye had come home and tended to his animals and his other chores before he had built up a fire whose light had revealed Odysseus and his men. He had questioned Odysseus, who had lied and told him they had been shipwrecked onto the Island. The Cyclops then, without warning, ate two of the Greeks with long swigs of milk in between his large bites. Their captor had then fallen asleep, and Odysseus had pondered how to escape, for killing the great Giant would have meant that they would have been trapped in the cave, for the large stone was at the entrance.

They had come to the cave while exploring, and the small group thought it to be the home of a very skilled Farmer, for there were large goat pens and many baskets of cheese as well as containers of milk. His men had tried to persuade him that they should take some of the goods and leave, but Odysseus had rather foolishly decided to stay and wait for the Farmer.

What had first compelled them to explore that island was when they had seen it about a mile away from the first island they had explored. They had thought this new island might be inhabited, and had decided to search it, for the Island they were on had been void of any civilization. Odysseus had rowed his ship over to it and, once his ship was aground, he had taken ashore twelve of his bravest men along with food and a very strong wine he had acquired at Isma’rus.

He remembered when he had set foot on that first island, after they had drawn their ships onto the flat beach. They had found the island was full of goats, and they had feasted on these and drunk the wine from Isma’rus.

They had been on their way home from Troy when a great storm had blown his ships far to the south, and Odysseus had even passed his homeland of Ithaca, which had been very hard on him because he was not able to anchor his ships in the ports of his long sought Island home.

Prior to the storm, Odysseus had set out from Troy with his twelve ships, and he and his men had come upon the city called Isma’rus which they had sacked and plundered. The remaining citizens of the conflict had brought their countrymen from the mountains and had attacked the Greeks, who had remained on the beach to enjoy their spoils of the battle. This had forced them to leave the island, for their opponents had fought very fiercely. After counting his men, he had realized that six had been lost from every ship.

Odysseus’ adventures had begun many years ago, when there had been a great siege of a City named Troy, where many Greek warriors had fought against the Trojans over a woman named Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, who had been kidnapped by one of the Princes of Troy, named Paris. Odysseus had come to this Island on his way home from that terrible war.

After he had pondered these things, Odysseus and his men continued their homeward journey.