As tempting as it is to admire the aura of Achilles as a great war hero, his character flaws, as outlined throughout The Iliad, prove his actions to be no more heroic than they are merciless acts of rage. Driven primarily by personal glory, Achilles will do anything for his name to be remembered through time. As great as he is on the battlefield, he ultimately fails as a hero on the grounds of poor morality, dishonourable behaviour, and a severe insensitivity towards his love for Patroclus. Achilles lead a life of malicious and violent behaviour, revealing little to no moral conduct. The death of his lover Patroclus unleashed a rage that provoked perhaps the most cruel of all his mean spirited endeavours, the mutilation of Hectors body and
It is his rage that makes him both withdraw from and, later, rejoin the war with a fury. His rage is a personal choice and, at times, is created by the gods. Homer uses Achilles’ rage towards Agamemnon to show how counterproductive rage can be to both the overall goals of the Greeks and to Achilles himself. The book opens in medias rest, meaning the reader is introduced to the battle of Troy at the height of the cities siege. The idea of Rage is introduced at its most extreme due to the first instance of rage being depicted in this epic is an example of the wrath of a God.
The Iliad is a riveting tale of violence and rage amongst heartbreak and tragedy, where a range of emotions are evoked through various events and decisions made by the characters throughout. Some of these characters act on impulse, while others think over with others and themselves to find the best course of action and do what they feel would be the best, be it for their families or their people, or for themselves alone. Through such feelings, certain events play out that either work out to the favor of the characters, or the exact opposite. Characters like Achilles and Agamemnon act on their anger, often going beyond what would be deemed reasonable and even affecting the events following. Achilles’ anger was triggered by Agamemnon’s arrogance
Beowulf has an even temper, and does not get angry as easily. This shows the difference between how Beowulf reacts to certain events, and how Achilles reacts. So, the two heroes have as many differences as they do have
“ Mistakes made by a foolish mind, cruel mistakes that bring on death.” (1406 to 1407.) In this quote, King Creon of Thebes is acknowledging that he has made tragic mistakes, because he wanted to the laws of his state, that he put in place, instead of preserving the safety of his family, which consequently lead to suffering for many. In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, the character Creon makes decisions based on what he feels is right, and refuses to pay attention to other’s advice. His stubbornness and selfishness prove fatal, and as a consequence of his moral deficiency, he kills an innocent woman, and loses his son in the aftermath.
Response Paper 2 In Achilles speech in book 9 he says he will not help the Achaeans in the fight against Troy. Up until this point, Achilles main reason for not fighting has been that he was mad at Agamemnon for taking away Brises. Although this is still the case, Achilles’ speech in lines 397-413 suggest that he has other reasons for not fighting as well. Achilles has known forever that he is destined to die young, in a glorious battle, and he has good reason to believe that if he fights in this war it will kill him. Achilles is known by now to be very emotional, and, for a demi-god, he has an overwhelming sense of humanity.
Also when Owen is
(2. 1. 61-63.) The idea of killing his best friend, Caesar, for what Cassius portrayed as the good of the republic is an absolute shock to Brutus. He can not pinpoint how he feels about these thoughts and and the actions that this would demand. It is the effect, the insomnia and how upset his thoughts are causing him to be that truly displays the struggle of personal ethics as
Man’s Worst Angel War is one of the most violent and primitive things ever done by man. In “My Brother Sam is Dead” by Collier and Collier, war is the focus point in the novel. The main characters consist of: Sam, Tim, and Mr.Meeker. Mr. Meeker is Sam and Tim’s father, and has certain views on politics that Sam doesn’t agree with, while Tim is unsure. Tim is torn between the gruesome realities of war and the fantasy of glory Sam is in love with.
The Gods have shown him already the wrath of a man scorned the anger of a man who's woman has been taken, yet he ignores the wornings and it proved to be deadly. He shows us how stuborn men truly
John 's marriage to Isabella was highly controversial, and made John a great deal of enemies in France. For this reason, it could be argued that John was to blame for the loss of Normandy, due to the fact that he would have been fully aware of Isabella 's betrothal to Hugh le Brun, and had the chance, which he did not take, to resolve matters with Hugh by meeting with Philip Augustus. In fact, many historians may hold the view that John 's stubbornness and undiplomatic nature had a huge part to play in the loss of Normandy, and that 'John made errors in refusing to attend Philip 's court. ' (Dicken, Holland &
However, when the ambition in question becomes the individual’s sole focus, the outcomes can be negative, both for the individual, as well as for surrounding parties. The excessive ambition and desire of characters in William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, leads to their downfall. Characters such as Cassius Longinus, Marcus Brutus and Julius Caesar obsess over the end goal without care of how they get there and the consequences that follow. Cassius Longinus’ love for Rome is his sole focus, and when this focus becomes excessive, it impairs his judgment resulting in his downfall. When Caesar returns from the battle against Gaius Pompey, Cassius becomes aware of Caesar’s desire of becoming King.
In the Iliad, Achilles confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his responsibilities. When Agamemnon steals Achilles war-prize, Briseis, Achilles quits the war. He is passionate about the idea that he deserves Briseis, which conflicts with his responsibilities in war. Achilles hubris’ overpowers his role in battle; he chooses his war-prize over helping lead the Greeks to victory.
Achilles anger increase with the death of patrocles by him wanting to kill all of the Trojans. Achilles started to throw their bodies in the river which displayed that he showed no remorse or compassion for them. Achilles treated Hector’s body as if he wasn’t a person. He dragged him and kept torturing him for twelve days even thought he was already dead. The burial of hector is a symbol of how Achilles anger is calming down.
Commonly the protagonist of a story is the hero, showing the typical characteristics of bravery, strength, and ingenuity, while always undertaking dangerous tasks to help others. However, there are different kinds of heroes, who range in their attributes. An anti-hero has both good and bad qualities to their character and generally has moral flaws. The personality of anti-heroes is more of a villainous nature and is the character of a story that is more relatable. R.P. McMurphy from Ken Kesey’s One