In this extract, Bennett reveals the fate of all the boys, the eulogies told by ‘’Hector’s boys’’ seem to stem the realisation the true extent of Hector’s importance to the boys and how his lessons – though understood late, has managed to shape the boys and contribute to who they are at the ending of the play. The extract reflects an elegy in which we see Hector though obscured by his paedophilia, is a tragic ‘hero’ as he saves the boys from being lost in the system of clichéd education in which there is no individualism.
The extract mainly explores the ‘true’ opinions of Hector and his character from those around him. Scripps’ narrates the most part of the extract, it contains comic reflections lightening the situation but also suggesting it isn’t important how he died as it has already served its consequences which Rudge seems to agree with as he believes ‘’History is just one fucking thing after another’’ Bennett uses repetition of the phrase possibly to
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Bennett uses Hector as a device to embody teaching and education and through Hectors death; we see the slow death of his teaching style. His death summaries the whole message of the play – that education is a treasure and is supposed to be treated so, it shouldn’t have monstrous pedestals that make achievability impossible to students like Rudge but rather place everybody on the same level and let them find their own individualism, Hector is a tragic hero as he tries to make the boys realise this and pass this realisation on but is ultimately defeated by the pressures of society for dominance of elite universities and the fact that the only thing schools want is to gain ranking in league tables rather than help students explore themselves and find their own
Within book six of the Iliad, we see how warfare interferes with personal relationships such as a marriage. Homer wants us to see not just how the soldiers suffer and feel alone during war, but also how their families feel as well. Hector’s wife doesn’t want him to go to war, because she knows how strong the Greeks are and Andromache also knows that Hector will be killed. Hector also knows he will be killed, but he makes this sacrifice to fight in the war, not only for his city of Troy but also for his family. Within this scene, we see the irony of war. Although war is terrible, and it dehumanizes soldiers and leaves them often emotionless, they also develop a sense of belonging, they gain new leadership traits and valuable human qualities such as comradeship, loyalty, and most of all- courage. These are all virtues Hector shows us in book 6. Homer wants us to see the very few but positive effects war has on soldiers. Although war tears families apart, soldiers become part of a family; a brotherhood and these relationships help them develop qualities they may have never developed before. Hector is courageous enough to finish fighting, although he knows he will lose, he is still loyal to his family by trying to provide a better life for them after the war has ended, and also to his brothers, by standing by them and fighting the Greeks off together, finishing this fight strong, representing his city as a leader, not as a scared soldier who chose to run away and be safe. Hector shows us he thinks critically, logically, not emotionally like Agamemnon did, which led to the Greeks being
Given his strong familial bonds, it is ironic that Hector’s first real introduction involves him harshly berating his brother, Paris, for his unworthiness on the field of battle. He angrily proclaims that it would have been better had his sibling never been born or had been killed young (3.39-40). Despite this, one must understand that this outburst was likely due to frustration at the long war incited by Paris’ kidnapping of Helen and his subsequent unwillingness to fight in his own war. It is important to note that despite his anger at his brother’s actions, Hektor nevertheless leads the charge against those that would attack his home and family despite seeming to understand that Paris was in the wrong in his actions (3.46-51). Because of his own strong sense of duty, it is likely that he is unable to tolerate the absence of responsibility in others, especially in those related to him, who he most likely feels also have a duty to Troy given their noble positions. Despite his brother’s shortcomings, Hektor feels th...
Homer’s Iliad focuses on the war and its heroes, their emotions and their ultimate glory. In Book 6 of the Iliad, Hector comes home for the last time and shows tenderness as a father, “Then his beloved father laughed out and his honored mother, and at once glorious Hector lifted from his head the helmet… Then taking up his dear son he tossed him about his arms, and kissed him.” This quotation shows us the tender and fatherly nature of Hector while he is still fighting a war. Homer is emphasizing that although one can love his wife and his children, fighting for the city is always the highest duty for a soldier, which transcends all his other personal responsibilities. As Hector leaves, his wife cries; “so glorious Hector spoke and again took up the helmet with its crest of horse-hair, while his beloved wife went homeward turning to look back on the way letting the love tears fall.” Hector’s wife understands that the ultimate glory of a soldier lies in carrying fighting the war bravely and fearlessly, Even though she ...
Both Achilles and Hector enter the war knowing that they are going to die. This is the war that will end their life. “Sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed…” Achilles was going to die and there was no way to change the outcome of his life. Hector who was fighting for the other side also knew that he would die in the war, fighting for his family. These men knew that if they went to the war they would die, but they went anyway. Their fate was already laid down. Each day there are students who wake up and know that they are doomed. Bullies have tormented them every day and in their heart they know that the pain will come. They want to run; they want to hide from their pain. However, deep down their pride has stopped them. When they show up at the school after being ridiculed and abused, maybe they will be able to find a way out of their misery. They show up, but their fate has already been decided. The Comics have already chosen what is to
“Boys” by Rick Moody summarizes the life journey of two stereotypical boys and how they gain power from the experiences they face. The boys face both positive experiences and tragedies that impacts their amount of power. In the short story, the author is conveying the idea that as the boys mature they obtain more power. He shows this through the literary devices conflict, tone, and repetition.
Throughout the Iliad, heroic characters make decisions based on a specific set of principles, which are referred to as the “code of honor.” The heroic code that Homer presents to readers is easy to recognize because the heroic code is the cause for many of the events that take place, but many of the characters have different perceptions of how highly the code should be regarded. Hector, the greatest of the Trojan warriors, begins the poem as a model for a hero. His dedication and firm belief in the code of honor is described many times throughout the course of the Iliad. As a reward for heroic traits in battle, prizes were sometimes awarded to victors of war. In Book 1 Achilles receives Chryseis as a prize and a symbol of honor. Heroism had its rewards and its setbacks which ultimately was the backbone of the Illiad in the case of Achilles prize. Hector, arguably the greatest Trojan warrior or even the bravest of the Homeric heroes is very fierce and fights for what he believes is his destiny. In book VI Hector expresses his bravery when Andromache pleads with Hector not to fight when Hector says, “But I would die of shame to face the men of Troy and the Trojan woman trailing their long robes if I would shrink from battle now, a coward. Nor does the sprit urge me on that way. I’ve learned it all too well. To stand up bravely, always to fight in the front ranks of Trojan soldiers, winning my father great glory, glory for myself” (VI, 387).
“The thing is – fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream” (“William Golding quotes.”). Fear lives to haunt and torment the person to a point of destruction and can be within everyone. Although a person is able to overcome fear, it is still very dangerous because it affects the person as well as everyone and everything around. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boys are all so overwhelmed by fear that the island starts to recede into a state damaged beyond repair. In this case, Jack’s fear of not being leader originally starts to affect him, but it gradually starts to affect Ralph, and the rest of the boys. Ralph’s fear of survival brings out his inner savageness and an innocent life is taken away. Lastly, the boys’ fear of the beast causes them to feel so unsafe and uncertain that they are willing to do anything. As a result of the boys being consumed by these fears, it becomes the most destructive force on the island.
Society tries to place many rules upon an individual as to what is acceptable and what is not . One must decide for themselves whether to give in to these pressures and conform to society’s projected image, or rather to resist and maintain their own desired self image. In the story “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro, Munro suggests that this conflict is internal and external and a persons experiences in life will determine which of these forces will conquer. In terms of the unnamed protagonist’s experiences in the story, it becomes clear just how strong the pressure of society to conform really is, as it overcomes and replaces the girl’s self image.
“ My Hector. It is for him I have come to the Greek ships, to get him back from you. I’ve brought a fortune in ransom. Respect the gods, Achilles. Think of your own father, and pity me. I am more pitiable. I have born what no man who has walked this earth has ever yet borne. I have kissed the hand of the man who killed my son” ( Book 2...
...battle that Achilles’ ego needed. However, Hector tried to do the right thing by offering the deceased be returned to their respective camps after the battle was over. It is at this point that Achilles is beyond the common courtesies of war and flat out denied Hector’s request. This action by Achilles shows his arrogance and the bloodlust that was truly in his heart rather than the courage that so many people claim that he had.
The Iliad by Homer is an epic poem separated in different books or chapters that shows a fictionalized account of the Trojan War. Book 6: Hector Returns to Troy is the specific portion of the poem that is being covered in this essay. Hector from the Iliad shows a very clear aspect of his personality, a strong sense of loyalty and tenderness for his loved ones and also his people by being on the front lines during the war and showing his people he is willing to fight with them and essentially sacrificing himself for his family. Hector even knows his forgiveness towards his brother, Paris even though Paris is the main reason the Trojan War is in existence.
Throughout the text, major characters seem to be at constant battle with their different emotions. This inner conflict is mirrored by the everyday conflicts between the gods. Just as Zeus and Hera are constantly at odds with one another, so are the different sides of Achilles: his cultural responsibility, pride, honor, and revenge. No one is completely at peace with his or her conflicting emotions in The Iliad – and therefore, neither are the gods, who represent these emotions. Hector is a prime example of a human who finds himself torn between two forces: his love for his growing family, and his duty as a prince of Troy. He admits to Andromache that he worries about his own mortality, but emphasizes that “I would die of shame to face the men of Troy…if I would shrink from battle now, a coward.” (Homer 6: 523, 525). Hector’s deeply ingrained sense of honor and loyalty to home is clearly established in the beginning of the text. Therefore, when Zeus later grants Hector “power to kill and kill till you cut your way to the benched ships” (Homer 11: 241-242), it is not too much of a stretch to attribute Hector’s dodged perseverance to his upbringing and rigid sense of duty, rather than to the
Absolute in every child’s mind is the belief that they are right, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Until children grow up to raise children own their own, a parent’s disputation only inflates that desire to prove. Part and parcel to this, as one may find out through personal experience or by extension, cruelty towards parents is a reflection of a child’s own inadequacy (whether in large or small scale). In this sense, King Lear is a story of children with a desire to break past their hierarchal status. Whether it is the belief that a woman shall take a husband, and with that guard her inherited land, or what role bastards truly deserves in a society that preemptively condemns them. Cruelty at the hands of children accounts for almost
In Alice Munro’s “Boys and Girls” she tells a story about a young girl’s resistance to womanhood in a society infested with gender roles and stereotypes. The story takes place in the 1940s on a fox farm outside of Jubilee, Ontario, Canada. During this time, women were viewed as second class citizens, but the narrator was not going to accept this position without a fight.
Hector value of duty towards his country is demonstrated through his grave attitude towards Paris’ lack of duty, as he stated “how wrong it is, this anger you keep smoldering in your heart! Look, you people dying around the city…and all for you” (6.485-488). Furthermore, the absence of the importance of duty in the character of Paris is demonstrates through his priorities, shown in the text when he confides in Hector that “it’s not so much from anger or outrage at our people that I keep to my rooms so long. I only wanted to plunge myself into grief” (6.397-399). This line demonstrates that the highest priority to Paris is simply himself, his comforts and desires rather than the safety of his city as he “wanted to plunge himself in grief,” considering his desires before the needs of the people. Therefore, this conflict unmistakably reveals the differences between these two brothers, the different priorities and ideals which they possess, mainly Hector’s understanding that his duty is to his city and people, whereas Paris believes that his duty is to pleasing his desires before the needs of his