“War is hell”, said General William Sherman, where young men have to kill others in order to survive. War is a concept known throughout the ages, transitioning from sword fighting in the Iliad, to modern warfare in Iraq. War is destroyer of normalcy, ruining families and cities. Kevin Power’s main character in The Yellow Birds, Private Bartle, would certainly agree with the sentiment, having experienced the war in Iraq. However, Hector from the Iliad would argue that war offered a way for someone to forge their legacy. Through the experiences of the main characters, Homer and Turner trace the perception of war, from a necessary source of honor, to an event with no redeeming qualities. Ultimately, the shift from seeing war as a necessary source of honor to something with no redeemable qualities reflect society’s treatment of soldiers.
In the Iliad, legacy was what drove the men to keep on fighting. In Greek society, timé and kleos were two concepts that were prized. The two were honor coming from accomplishments in the battlefield, and allowed heros to be remembered. To a soldier, the two concepts were the ultimate goal. From the text, it is clear that Hector had both. When rallying his troops, the Archaeans, the opposing force, thought that Hector was ,” some god swept down from the starry skies,” (Homer, 6.137). In the Iliad, gods were beings with immense power over the mortal world, and being compared to a god was a sign of honor and respect. Hector is able to reach
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While legacy could be won from the Trojan War, the Iraq war acted as an annihilator of humanity. While Homer’s soldiers were viewed with some sort of reverence, Power’s soldiers were seen as men just trying to survive another day in a foreign land. Soldiers, who once chased fame on the battlefield, now were seen as a statistics from an unpopular war. Finally, soldiers, who were once demi-gods, were seen as just
Immortality through Glory One of the most common tools writers use to put certain ideas into the spotlight is repetition. In Homer’s Greek epic, The Iliad, he applies the employment of repetition to the old horseman Nestor’s speeches. The context and tone of Nestor’s reiterated speeches serve as a window into Homer’s underlying message that in the context of war, glory is the key for men to gain some form of immortality.
William James once said in his book “ History is a bath of blood”, “Modern man inherits all the innate pugnacity and all the love of glory of his ancestors. Showing war’s irrationality and horror is of no effect on him. The horrors make the fascination. War is the strong life; it is life in Extremis; war taxes are the only ones men never hesitate to pay, as the budgets of all nations show us.” (303)
When talking about war, there are many books with few answers to what war truly is. Barbara Ehrenreich brings forth not only the possibilities towards understanding war but also the passion people from history have had towards it. One key issue she brings to light is humanities love for war, so much so that people would use excuses like holy wars to justify their need to fight in a war. She declares that war is as muddled as the issue of diseases and where diseases came from around 200 years ago. More so than that she even goes further on to state that these rituals that date back to prehistoric times are the cause of human nature during times of war rather than human instinct.
The first sign of the connection between epic heroes and veterans was when,“He told them stories of Achilles and Odysseus...guilt and loss among soldiers resonated with Vietnam Veterans” (Shapiro, 4). When he was reading to the vets they, understood the struggles of the epic heroes. Their troubles faded away when they were listening to the stories. Society has the tendency to feel that they “ have dealt with better man and never did they once disregard me” (Alexander, 13). The veterans are often ridiculed because
It glamorizes war into something that could be good and happy situations but this is also not the case. The concept of character makes the idea of a true war story, supposed to a fake one, more understandable. Malcolm Gladwell defines character and how it can change. He writes, “Character is more like a bundle of habits and tendencies and interests, loosely bound together and dependent, at certain times, on circumstance and context. The reason that most of us seem to have a consistent character is that most of us are really good at controlling our environment.”
Throughout Homer’s The Odyssey the after-effects of war, both on veterans themselves and their loved ones are shown. The events during war and the effects of war worsen the mental health of those involved in it. The way that war changes people as depicted in The Odyssey by having detrimental effects on their mental health is similar as compared to today’s world, however veterans are more emotionally closed and more recognized to have to deal with trauma caused it than depicted in The Odyssey. War changes people in The Odyssey mainly through affecting their mental state.
War plays a large role in The Iliad by Homer, as Homer describes the battlefronts at Troy between the Trojans and the Akhaians, especially focusing on major leaders of the fights. With describing war, and the concept of war, overall Homer does not glorify war itself. However, Homer praises and honors some of the men involved in the war. Based on the readings thus far, Homer does not glorify war.
War isn’t glamorous or heroic and Vonnegut makes it clear in Slaughterhouse-Five, “For Vonnegut, war is not an enterprise of glory and heroism, but an uncontrolled catastrophe for all involved, and anyone who seeks glory and heroism in war is deluded” (Telgen, Hile). Vonnegut shows how war shouldn’t be seen as an accomplishment, but as a weapon. War can get out of control and can result into something that will typically destroy humanity. The justification of war and the violence and murder that goes along with it shows the flaws in humanity, “Thinking in a military manner,” as Vonnegut (1969/1991) notes, entailed dehumanization and an apathetic acceptance of human suffering and death. Additionally, militarization demanded an unconditional obedience (P.J. Ramsey, 212).
War is a time where we can justify the taking of another person’s everything. Vonnegut displays that humanity forgets the true nature of war by glorifying it as heroic, romanticising the thrill of battle, and
In the epic poem, the Iliad written by Homer, several characters taking part in the warfare between the Achaeans and the Trojans are portrayed as embodying the heroic code of courage, physical strength, leadership, arete of value of honour, and the acceptance of fate. The heroic code is illustrated by the actions of the Trojan prince, Hector and the Achaeans strongest warrior, Achilles. Both of these characters display the Greek’s image of a hero, and can also let the reader discern what the society admires, looks up to and aspires to in its heroes. There are also characters who fail to be heroic, such as the Trojan “vivid and beautiful” prince, Paris. These characters in the Iliad illustrate the qualities that Ancient Greek society values.
Hector is a man who cares about his family and believes in honor. He is shown to care for his family when he goes to visit his wife and son before going off to a battle he might die in. During his visit he tries to comfort his crying wife and prays his son will be a better man than him when he grows up, along with says a final goodbye to both of them. His honor comes from when Hector was telling Paris to go out and fight with their men on the battlefield rather than staying locked up in his bedroom in safety. Hector’s behaviors affect his heroic image by making him seem like a hero to the Trojan people.
In the time of the Greeks and Romans honor was of significant value. In the Iliad, one can see that military honor was crucial in Hector’s actions. The love of family is strong in Hector's life. However, the desire of having a good reputation and being courageous and admiration was stronger. The Greeks, Romans, and gods all value different things in the family aspects.
The Ancient Greeks value specific qualities in a person, however they did not value other. Ancient Greeks valued these qualities based on certain achievements or on a performances in war or even inside the city walls making substantial decisions. The Iliad is an epic novel by the Greek poet Homer. The Iliad is based off of the Trojan war between the Achaeans led by King Agamemnon and the Trojans led by King Priam of Troy. This novel focuses on the actions of several characters and how the disparate gods interfered with the war to help one or the other side have a chance to win.
War doesn't see their many personalities nor the distinct traits they each have. War only sees soldiers, pawns in its endless game. Casualties and fatalities are just viewed as inconveniences. There is little or no compassion as men are left to die drowning in a pool of their own blood. The fallen soldier is tossed away like the broken toy of a child.
Iliad is recognized as one of the most famous ancient monuments of literature. The full understanding of this epic poem is hardly possible without thorough analysis of its main characters. Among all the episodes of the Trojan War, Homer chooses the moment of Achilles’ wrath and thus creates a poem in which he becomes the central figure. From the Ancient Greeks’ point of view, Achilles represents the ideal of manliness and pure heroism, for he is brave and fights for heroics, not profits. Today, one can agree with this interpretation, yet Achilles is probably the most controversial character because he combines various personality traits and acts in accordance with his ambiguous nature.