Why do you think they changed the title to Smooth Talk from Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where

In the first passage, the best word to describe Odysseus is "cuirass". A cuirass is a type of defensive armor. Odysseus here has to be psychologically and emotionally armored for what is about to happen: the gruesome death of some of his sailor friends at the hands of Scylla, the mythical monster dwelling on the Strait of Messina. In the second passage the best word to describe Odysseus is "longing". The word is not only repeated several times, it is also the main theme of the passage, the pain of longing for a home that Odysseus has not seen in a long time.