Achilles Character Analysis

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Recommended: Development of the character of Achilles

The Trojan War had many heroes and warriors that participate in combat during the war. All of the characters were all very proud characters which led to a lot of conflict between some of the characters in the war effort. Achilles is such a proud man that he allowed his pride to get in the way of his better judgment and ends up costing the life of one of his dear friends, Patroclus. His pride and ego which many would consider to be a vice that makes Achilles unlikable to some is actually what makes him likeable. This is a warrior who has his honor and his pride hurt by characters and the consequences of his honor and pride being hurt is harming the Greeks effort to win the war, as well as causing the death of his good friend Patroclus. Achilles is a likable character despite his prideful attitude and is a relatable character to the readers.
In book one “Plague and Wrath,” Achilles has his honor and his pride hurt for the first time when Agamemnon refuses to return his hostage Chryseis for his own selfish needs and is causing the Greek to suffer a great wrath of Apollo and the Plague he has bestowed upon the Greeks for taking the daughter of the priest Chryses. Achilles knows that the only way to stop the plague is to return Chryseis to her father. Agamemnon sees Chryseis as a prize for the war effort and losing his prize does not make him a happy man. He then tells Ajax, Odysseus, and Achilles that because he lost his prize, he shall take one of their prizes. Achilles, who is now angry with Agamemnon, threatens to leave the war effort saying “It was with no quarrel with the Trojan warriors that brought me here to fight. They have never done me any harm.” (The Iliad P.8 152-154). Agamemnon with all of the pride he has says that Ach...

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...ships. Achilles is likeable because of his honor and pride. He does not do wrong to anyone until he felt wronged about the death of Patroclus. Achilles is a victim, it is easy to feel empathy towards the victim of the story and it is hard to dislike the victim in the story because it is easy to relate to the victim. Achilles is a victim of loss, pride, and anger. He is a victim of loss simply by losing his dear friend Patroclus. He is a victim of pride because he does not want to fight for Agamemnon because of their argument early on which affects other people around him. He is a victim of anger because he cannot control his anger; once he loses his temper he is blinded by rage and makes bad decisions. In the end Achilles is a likable character because of his humanity, not because of his heroics. His similarities to the average human make him relatable and likeable.

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