Iliad :: essays papers

IliadAchilles passion and Unreconciliation Reassessing the Concepts of Mortality and Honor The subject of Homers epic poem, the Iliad, is genuinely clearly stated--it is the rage of Peleus son Achilles. The reader remains continually assured of the extent of Achilles rage, yet is never told the reason why Achilles remains savage and unreconciled. There is no definitive answer to this question. Achilles is not a distillery character. He is constantly changing thus the question of why he remains angry solicits resistent answers at various stages throughout the poem. To regain an answer, the reader must(prenominal) carefully examine Achilles ever-changing dilemma involving the concepts of fatality rate and keep. At its simplest, Achilles dilemma is that if he goes to war, he will die. But he will die with reputation. Achilles true nature is that of a warrior. The son of Peleus must fight. When he denounces Agamemnon and the Achaeans, he does not go home. His ship is last in line, near Troy. Subconsciously, he has already made the choice of accepting a short life filled with glory. Subconsciously, he wants to go back to war. He needs to. However, he also needs to insure his possession of glory and awarding. But what kind of glory, what kind of mention? He already possesses the honor of the gods. He says, my honor lies in the great decree of Zeus (IX.741.p.272). By book IX, material wealth is no longer what Achilles wants. He spurns Agamemnons offers. The typical mortal concepts of heroism no longer concern him his ideals differ from those of his peers. Phoenixs Meleager is no example to him. However, at this point Achilles still does not know what he wants. Pride and stubbornness still append his rage, but now his anger appears to be a manifestation of his hero-worship and confusionStop confusing my fixed resolve with this (IX.745-746.p.272). Achilles knows that he wants honor and glory, but in what form?What Achilles does know, and w hat he must deal with, is the detail that his life will be short if he chooses to have honor and glory. Thus, the choices he makes concerning his honor are crucial. At this point his life is go on the decision he makes. It is inevitable that Achilles will choose admission 2--to go to war, live a short life, and have much glory.