LOTUS EATERS

SUMMARY

• Odysseus and his men land on an island in search of water. Odysseus sends some men to go meet the natives. They are welcoming and kind and feed the men lotus flowers. The flowers bring serenity to the men and are an addictive substance. The men who ate them soon forgot about what their goal was; they forget about their families and getting home. Odysseus has to drag the men back on to the boat and tied them down in fear that they will escape for more.
• Odysseus and his men land on an island in search of water. Odysseus sends some men to go meet the natives. They are welcoming and kind and feed the men lotus flowers. The flowers bring serenity to the men and are an addictive substances. The men who ate them soon forgot about what their goal was; they forget about their families and getting home. Odysseus has to drag the men back on to the boat and tie them down.

THESIS

• The addictive substance in the "Odyssey" is a drug within the flowers. Riordan substitutes modern day actions we are all guilty of, such as video games and comfort, to represent the addictive qualities in the lotus flowers to the readers.

VIDEO GAMES

• A substance Riordan substitutes for the lotus flowers is video games. The lavish hotel where Percy and his friends stay is filled with these. Their minds become wrapped up in the games. When you play video games the goals within them suddenly take priority over your real-life ones. Reaching the next level becomes a necessity in some people's lives.

COMFORT

• The addiction to the feeling of comfort is the other substance Riordan uses. For Percy, Annabeth, and Grover--and many other people--the idea of nobody demanding anything from you and being able to relax is extremely appealing. Once you are able to do this, you never want to leave or do anything else. Getting up from bed becomes a daunting task that you decide to just put off for later. People become addicted to being lazy.

MODERN DAY ADDICTIONS

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Social media is a newer form of addiction that is prevalent in many teens. It is not a physically nor mentally harming addiction. However, it does make you temporarily forget your goals and purposes. With such a large variety, it's easy to get caught up in social media and spend extended periods of time on it. You can tell yourself that you will spend five minutes on Twitter and then do homework. Then, before you know it, you've wasted upwards of an hour scrolling through.

ALCOHOLISM

• Alcoholism is a common addiction people have faced throughout history. Personal problems are the driving force behind the addiction for many people. Instead of facing them head on, they turn to drinking to forget all about fixing themselves--similar to how Odysseus' men forget about their homes. This leads to a downward spiral as these people become more reliant on the substance and more disconnected from their life.