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March 28, 2024, 09:07:33 pm

Author Topic: Can someone please mark my ransom/the queen essay?  (Read 3964 times)  Share 

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S_L1003

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Can someone please mark my ransom/the queen essay?
« on: September 22, 2021, 02:57:15 pm »
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Compare the ways in which The Queen and Ransom convey the importance of humility and humanity

Set in times rocked by crisis, David Malouf’s novel Ransom and Steven Frears’ film The Queen celebrate those who show humanity in their responses and interactions. The creators dictate the importance of humility on ones’ external identity, as characters representative of the ‘common man’ serve as physical embodiments of modesty. The texts also convey the importance of humanity through providing a glimpse into the intimate spheres of legendary sovereigns, endorsing their journeys as they connect with their own humanity. The film and novel depict the value that is to be found in civil interaction, portraying the benefits of treating one another's adversaries with humanity.

The common man is celebrated in both mediums for his innate humility. In Malouf’s text, Somax is representative of the ordinary soul, as his very figure emanates modesty. Malouf conveys his simplicity through his clothes, as he wears a “homespun robe and broken sandals”. Indeed, his self-image reflects his outward modesty, as he constantly refers to himself as a “lowly carter”. Malouf celebrates the carter’s modesty through the respect he gained from Priam, as the king “finds so much honest goodwill in the man”, he “begins to look at him with growing respect”. In this way, Malouf indicates that humility of spirit garners genuine respect. In a like manner, Frears also celebrates Tony Blair for his modesty. Providing insight into his home life, Frears imagines the prime minister's humble home with contemporary furnishings. Blair, walking around his house, dons a football jersey. Frears suggests, that in his modesty, Blair is better able to appreciate and represent the culture of the modern population. Freeze indicates the importance of this humility on Blair, as he is thus better able to connect with his people and is celebrated as “the only person who seems to have read the situation correctly”. Frears does, however present Blair’s humility as a deliberate image. As a politician representing the ‘modernizer’ ideology, his humble image is, to an extent, calculated to capture his political identity. Indeed, the omnipresence of the media reinforces this view. Blair is hailed in the media narrative as “the man of the moment”. Thus, in this respect, Frears endorses leaders who are able to project a humble image in the social sphere. In a different vein, Malouf's characterization of Somax’ integrity is purely genuine. His repetitive habit of “rubbing his nose” is a gesture that serves to comfort him but also those around him in its unpretentiousness. Malouf highlights how Somax’ basic manner is genuine, and a man who has “never had to do with any bit simple folk like himself”, the image of modesty he exudes comes not to gain a political foothold but is rather as he is. His “lack of knowledge of the forms” projects his inexperience in the sphere of power, as he is pure of all of the affectations that accompany influence. As such, Malouf celebrates the carter instead for the authenticity of his humility. Thus, the creators depict the value of integrity as it manifests in the outward view, celebrating the 'common man' for his intrinsic modesty.

Leaders in both texts, while depicted as human on the inside, must take spiritual journeys before realising the importance of maintaining humility in a position of power. In his introspective narrative style, Malouf divulges Priam's inner humanity, exposing the “real man inside so much empty shining” that is hidden to the outer view. It is only when he embarks on a journey, however, that this humanity is exhibited in his actions. In his river crossing, Malouf suggests that a leader must step out of their “royal sphere”, and expose

themselves to the natural world if they are to understand the “small pleasures” that are to be found in being simply human. Malouf, then, celebrates the price, or' ransom' of royal pride that Priam trades for a more modest life experience. Frears, too, provides insight into the Queen's inner humanity. The film permeates into the Queen's intimate sphere, as she is shown in a pink robe behind the walls of her palace. Such a personal image conveys the Queen’s human vulnerability that is kept hidden from the outer view. Like Malouf, Frears also suggests that a leader must take a journey to recognise the importance of incorporating modesty in their royal image. As she crosses the stream, she must call for help, and is forced to reject the instilled sense of her regal infallibility to ask for aid. In conjunction with this, Frears’ zoom-out shot exaggerates the Queen's small figure against the scrolling landscape. In this way, Frears visualises Elizabeth as any human, conveying her change in accepting her human faults. Frears, then, explores the importance of this journey in the Queen’s coming to terms with the need to relinquish some of her pride. In Ransom, however, Priam’s journey culminates in success, as he reaches that Achaean camp. As it was his own desire to go “as a man... with nothing to with nothing but a simple cut”, Malouf rewards the king's efforts with his “triumph”. In this way, the king is celebrated for his pursuit of his humanity. By contrast, the Queen's river crossing is not successful, as her car breaks down in the stream. The car itself is the old model of a Jeep, symbolising the Queen's refusal to change. Through this journey, Frears condemns the problems that arise when one ignores the need to alter tradition. Thus, through the narrative device of a river crossing journey, Malouf and Frears explicate the importance of foregoing one’s entrenched pride in navigating unprecedented circumstances.

The resolutions of the text and film are brought about as leaders break cycles of hatred and forgo revenge. The deal between Priam and Achilles is ground-breaking, and the two leaders are able to overcome the division of the war and forge a new understanding “as one poor soul to another”. As the great hero Achilles “falls to his knees” to the king he has shamed, just as Priam had planned to do at the feet of the warrior, Malouf explicates the humility of both men, who are willing to reject their pride in reverence to one another. As their deal is successfully executed, Priam proclaims himself “a man remade” and Achilles feels a “lightness that is both new and a return”. Malouf celebrates the spiritual benefits of both leaders’ ability to cooperate with one another. Frears conveys a similar message, as the Queen “bend(s) a knee to Blair”, and Frears celebrates the benefits this brings her, as she is able to recover the love of her people. As she expresses “great humility” by joining her people in front of the palace gates, she receives a bouquet of flowers as the crowd begin to bow. Frears visualises the reconciliation between the Queen and the people, as the flowers are symbolic of the public’s admiration, and the people began to fall into gestures of reverence. The Queen's own gesture, however, is revealed to be ingenuine as Elizabeth reveals she feels she did not “have a choice”. The motif of press agents also works to convey the inauthenticity of her statement, as it is not her who writes the words that touch the nation. Nevertheless, Frears celebrates her humility in her acquiescence to a response that, while not being reflective of her inner feelings, supports the public emotion. In Malouf's text, the affinity between Achilles and Priam is much more profound, as they share “a kind of intimacy” in their connection as fathers. Malouf endorses instead the leaders’ genuine connection on a human level. At a comparative glance, then, the texts divulge the necessity for leaders to display their outer humanity leaders to recover what they have lost.

The Queen and Ransom divulge the power to be found in ones’ own humanity, and how individuals with the humility to connect with others through their emotions are better able to navigate crises. The texts consider the path that must be taken to access one's own humanity, celebrating those who represent modesty, and lead others to engage with their own. The creators, then, endorse leaders as they “learn a little of what (human experience) might be, and what it is to bear it as others do”, imparting the importance of understanding the sentiment of ones’ people on true leadership.