Comparison and Contrast Chart:
Name: _Answer Key
Period: ______
Date: _____________________
Directions: Compare and contrast the excerpt Circe, the Grace of the Witch from the epic poem Odyssey (Homer)
and the short story Circe (Eudora Welty) as directed.
Who is the narrator?
Is the main character
flat or round? Explain,
citing examples from
the text.
Circe, the Grace of the Witch (Homer)
(Lit. P1124-1125)
Odysseus
*Circe: Round
(L3-4) “…wolves and mountain lions lay
there, mild in her soft spell…”--mysterious
(L14) “Low she sang in her beguiling
voice…”---charming
(L15-16) “she wove ambrosial fabric
sheer and bright, by that craft known
to the goddesses of heaven…”---crafty
(L28-31) “…she prepared…, to make
them lose desire or thought of our dear
father land.”---tempting
*Odysseus: Flat
Odysseus is retelling his crew’s
experience with Circe and there is no
direct or indirect characterization
about him.
Is the main character
static or dynamic?
Explain, citing examples
from the text.
Circe: dynamic
Circe appeared with a magical power to
tame wild beasts because these
animals “fed on her drug of evil” (L4)
and were mild. She treated Odysseys’
men the same, providing them with “a
meal of cheese and barley and amber
honey mixed with Pramnian wine…”
(L28-29), and turned them into swines.
However, when she realized Odysseus
was immune to her power, she turned
to help him and his men.
Odysseus: static
Circe (Eudora Welty)
Circe
*Circe: Round
(P531) “I threw open the door. A shaft of
light…the most dangerous word in the
world.”--conscious, self-aware
(P531) “That moment of transformation—
only the gods really like it! Men and
beasts…What tusks I had given them!”--contempt
(P532) “What makes you think you are
different from anyone else?...the
enchantment had met with a hero.”—selfaware
(P533) “Only frailty, it seems, can divine
it—and I was not endowed with that
property.”—conceited
(P533) “but he would not dine with me
until I would undo---he did not want the
first taste of anything new.”—exasperated
Circe: Static (if we only take her emotion
into consideration)
She was puzzled at humans’ value and
emotion and still was unable to grieve
towards the end of the story.
(P537) “I stood on my rock and wished for
grief. It would not come…I’m sure now
grief is a ghost—only a ghost in Hades,
where ungrateful Odysseus is going—
waiting on him.
If the main character
changes, is it for the
better or worse?
Explain, citing examples
from the text.
Circe changed for better because she
offered Odysseus valuable advice for
his future journey.
NA
What conflict does the
main character face? Is
it internal or external?
Explain.
Internal conflict (person vs. self):
should Odysseus sail away from Circe’s
island or save his men from the
enchantress?
External conflict (person vs. person):
Mortal heroes have the power to resist
whatever harm she might do them, but
the power she has does not enable her to
resist their harm---Circe doesn’t
understand that death gives time meaning
for humanity. She is irritated at the fact
that Odysseus cares only about his crew’s
safety instead of her beauty.
External conflict (person vs.
person/supernatural power): 1. will
Odysseus be turned into a swine like
everybody else or save his men as he
was determined to do? 2. Will Circe
turn Odysseus into a swine or help him
to get home?
How does the
resolution affect the
meaning of the story?
Circe’s decision enables Odysseus and
his men to continue their journey until
they fulfill their goal to make it home.
Circe couldn’t understand what death and
love mean to humans; therefore, when
Odysseus sails off, she has to stay on the
island and futilely strive to understand
humanity’s “strange felicity” (P537).
What is the theme
revealed in the reading
piece?
Nothing can stop a hero from achieving
his goal once he makes up his mind to
do so.
Love and grief triumph immortality.
Determination and good luck can help a
person to succeed.
Story-telling and story-loving are part of
the human nature.