Essential question
What is the cost of Ulysses withholding the truth about Scylla from his crew?
Marked passage
- Passage location
- Book XII
- Start anchor
- “So they did as I told them; but I said nothing about the awful monster Scylla
- End anchor
- This was the most sickening sight that I saw throughout all my voyages.
Ulysses withholds Scylla
Ways to teach it
Listening
Listen to the exact passage; visual following is optional. Same question and evidence demand.
Solo
Read the exact passage independently.
Supported
Use narration and sentence highlighting while reading the same passage.
Teacher guide
Close
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and explain why.
Evidence
Use Ulysses' reason for silence and the consequences that follow while the crew remains uninformed.
Mark
Underline Ulysses’ reason for not telling the crew about Scylla. Circle the consequences that occur while the crew remains uninformed. In the margin, note what information might have changed their choices.
Instructional move
Evaluate leadership by comparing information withheld with consequences
Notice
• What outcome is Ulysses trying to prevent by withholding the truth? • What does the crew lose when they are denied that information? • Can a leader’s successful tactical reason justify keeping people ignorant of a mortal risk?
Strong answer
Withholding Scylla may prevent panic and keep the ship moving, but it denies the crew informed choice about a mortal danger. The cost is not only deaths; it is loss of agency.
Think
Answer provisionally: What is the cost of Ulysses withholding the truth about Scylla from his crew? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
Watch for
Do not judge leadership only by whether the tactic works. Compare the practical benefit with the human cost of withholding information.
Why this passage
Ulysses withholds the truth about Scylla because he fears the crew would stop rowing, but the concealment means they enter danger without the chance to understand or consent. The scene makes leadership measurable by both results and information control.
Write
Write a short evidence-based response to: What is the cost of Ulysses withholding the truth about Scylla from his crew? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
Student tasks
Mark
Underline Ulysses’ reason for not telling the crew about Scylla. Circle the consequences that occur while the crew remains uninformed. In the margin, note what information might have changed their choices.
Notice
What outcome is Ulysses trying to prevent by withholding the truth? What does the crew lose when they are denied that information? Can a leader’s successful tactical reason justify keeping people ignorant of a mortal risk?
Think
Answer provisionally: What is the cost of Ulysses withholding the truth about Scylla from his crew?
Write
Write a short response using at least two pieces of evidence from this passage. Use evidence from the assigned passage. Show what you noticed and how the text supports your interpretation.