Ransom: What Defines a Man
‘Ransom’ demonstrates that it is a man’s actions that define him. Discuss.
While Priam’s decision to defy kingly conventions and act as ‘an ordinary man’ shows that a man’s actions can indeed make up a significant element of one’s identity, Malouf also makes it clear that a man’s emotional connections with others define him. Priam’s humble request of Achilles, and Achille’s agreement to this, humanize the two men and highlight their compassionate sides as opposed to their societal statuses. However, the love both men have for their sons is, and always has been, entrenched in their identities, and prompts these life-changing actions.
In dismissing his royal obligations and appealing to Achilles as a man and a father, Priam defied his lifelong identity as a ‘ceremonial figurehead’ and redefined himself as ‘simply a man.’ Tormented by the idea that his fate lay with the gods, whom he believed were making a ‘mockery’ of him, Priam had previously believed that his identity was defined by their whims, and that he was powerless to change what they had predetermined. However, upon being awakened by the Goddess Iris to the concept of ‘chance,’ Priam is empowered to try ‘something that might force events into a different course,’ going against the Gods’ wishes and defining himself by making his own decisions. In this way, Priam is able to escape the identity that has been forced upon him- that of a ‘ceremonial figurehead that might just as well be of stone and wood’, by personally taking action as an ordinary man and a father. From this angle, it was indeed Priam’s actions as a man, ‘stripped of all glittering distractions and disguises,’ that redefined him as a human being.
Through his encounter with Priam, Achilles is ‘ransomed’ in that he is given the opportunity to make a decision as a father and a man of compassion in order to salvage his identity. Contrary to Priam’s notion that he is offering Achilles the chance “to break free of the obligation of being
While Priam’s decision to defy kingly conventions and act as ‘an ordinary man’ shows that a man’s actions can indeed make up a significant element of one’s identity, Malouf also makes it clear that a man’s emotional connections with others define him. Priam’s humble request of Achilles, and Achille’s agreement to this, humanize the two men and highlight their compassionate sides as opposed to their societal statuses. However, the love both men have for their sons is, and always has been, entrenched in their identities, and prompts these life-changing actions.
In dismissing his royal obligations and appealing to Achilles as a man and a father, Priam defied his lifelong identity as a ‘ceremonial figurehead’ and redefined himself as ‘simply a man.’ Tormented by the idea that his fate lay with the gods, whom he believed were making a ‘mockery’ of him, Priam had previously believed that his identity was defined by their whims, and that he was powerless to change what they had predetermined. However, upon being awakened by the Goddess Iris to the concept of ‘chance,’ Priam is empowered to try ‘something that might force events into a different course,’ going against the Gods’ wishes and defining himself by making his own decisions. In this way, Priam is able to escape the identity that has been forced upon him- that of a ‘ceremonial figurehead that might just as well be of stone and wood’, by personally taking action as an ordinary man and a father. From this angle, it was indeed Priam’s actions as a man, ‘stripped of all glittering distractions and disguises,’ that redefined him as a human being.
Through his encounter with Priam, Achilles is ‘ransomed’ in that he is given the opportunity to make a decision as a father and a man of compassion in order to salvage his identity. Contrary to Priam’s notion that he is offering Achilles the chance “to break free of the obligation of being