Can anyone marks my practice essay and provides me some feedbacks? Don't be lenient, I really need some advices on my essay.
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“We don't just lie down and die, do we sir? We go on. For all our losses.” What motivates the characters in Ransom to transform their lives?
In the novel ‘ransom’, David Malouf examines the underlying forces that stimulates individuals to undertake movement that was pivotal to individual’s reformation of one’s identity. Malouf illustrates that the emotional bonding between mortals and the grief and anguish followed over beloved one’s demise leads to remoulding of oneself. Moreover, Malouf underlines the notion of ‘chance’ in governing of human’s life and emphasizes the existence of free will as the determining power over the trajectory of human life. Ultimately, the novel addresses the consciousness and realization of human mortality as the strength that catalyzes the transformation of characters.
In Ransom, the emotional attachment between individuals and the unanticipated consequence of death enables utter transformation in characters. For Achilles, the entry of Patroclus into his life filled the painful void the desertion of his goddess mother left in youthful Achilles. The emotional bonding developed among Patroclus and Achilles assists in Achilles’ establishment of his own individuality, evident from Achilles’ admission that ‘[his] world resolved itself around a new centre ‘ and thus ‘his true spirit leapt and declared itself’. Consequently, when the sudden demise of his ‘soulmate’ Patroclus comes, apart from the momentous grief he felt and and his sense of remorse over his prior condescending tone, part of his identity evolved from his ‘mating’ with Patroclus associates with love and affection was also lost and this creates a sense of emptiness in Achilles that result in his adoption of escapism through a form of physical vengeance on Patroclus’s murderer-Hector . After the death of Hector under Achilles’ sword, ‘his soul changes colour’ denoting the extinguishment of Achilles’s humanity and ultimately his transformation into someone who deprived of ‘feeling’. The status of Achilles likewise undergoes changes as he is perceived as insane by his Myrimidons and in a language of ‘he’ when they referring to Achilles. Malouf constructs shift in time narrative structure - inserting an embedded narratives of Achilles’ childhood, as to accentuates the transformative impact of departure of beloved one had on individual as Achilles was portrayed in the recollection as an child who craves for maternal love and be ’ rocked and comforted’ and capable of great emotion of love. Moreover, the novel juxtaposes the divergent change the affliction over beloved one triggered through protagonist Priam and the utilization of shift in perspective. In the other side of battle line, Malouf depicts the devastating scene of Troy through employment of figurative language ‘headless, limbless corpses’ and element ‘fire’ to denotes the savageness and carnage of war and the impact of wars on third party civilians, and implies his condemnation of warfare and violence though his exposure of ruthlessness that prevails. In this gloomy atmosphere, Priam was introduced to the readers as a helpless and frail man whose city ‘stands under his weak protection’. Nevertheless, the death of his son Hector catalyses him to be determined to fulfill the duty of being a father by going into Achilles’ camp and retrieve the body of his son, thus enables Priam to ends in a proactive position and positive outlook, starkly contrasted with Achilles’ submersion in a state of passivity. Hence, the grieving process of a beloved one changes individual’s life in a unforeseen way.
In addition, Malouf stresses the concept of chance and signifies the power it unleash within individual could lead to different outcomes in life. Even though the novel was set in ancient 8th century, the present tense of Malouf’s writing in ransom creates a sense of immediacy and urgency to the plot, emphasising the question of free choice- whether a decision made in that moment can actually rewrite the characters’ futures. Immediately as Priam was enlightened by epiphany from goddess Iris that ‘ in a world that also subject to chance’, Priam rebuilds himself from a helpless king solely ‘mourns’ and ‘ done nothing’ into a self-motivated person with unwavering resolution to retrieve the body of his son by taking on a hazardous journey into Achilles’ camp. Meanwhile, the charming black mule of protagonist Somax -Beauty embodies the chance and probability of the world as it is the concealed driving force of the plot of story unfolds in ransom. Additionally, the narrative resonances Priam’s journey into the Achilles’ camp as a hero’s descent to the underworld- katabasis. The protagonist Somax was introduced as ‘common carter’ of Priam and epitomizes as working class commoner. His resignation towards gains and loss in life and endowed character of resilience exhibits through his plain and honest statement ‘we don’t just lie down and die, do we, sir? We go on.’, and showcases the durability and hardness of human heart. When his son died incidentally, his attitude of acceptance in the world of chance detached him from experiencing the radical emotion of Achilles in the grieving process, instead he converts his grieve into deep affection in his mule Beauty, demonstrates that different attitude people possesses leads into according path in life. Furthermore, while Somax was essential in preparing Priam ‘s emotional strength and spiritual growth required towards his final confrontation of Achilles, god Hermes provides physical assistance ensuring their safety while guides them to their destination. Hermes is an unexpected arrival in the narrative and his appearance suggests that gods have a vested interest in this event, but his departure at the gates of the Greek camp implies the power of mortal’s free will as the ultimate decision of their fate. In the end of Priam’s expedition, Priam connects with his son Hector deeply when he emotionally and solely mourned for his son ‘wordless but not silence ’ while casting aside his prior concern over ‘his country’ and defying his ‘king's discipline’, signifies his degree of transformation from a king into an emotional father. Thus, the free will within individual was a crucial element for characters in ransom to reshape themselves.
Malouf also underlies the Classical Greek concept of Kleos and the awareness of their own mortality as the impetus for characters to change their current situation. In the era of Ancient Greek time, storytelling ensures immortality and utmost honor. For Priam, one of chief motivation to follows his outrageous plan was due to his desires to maintain ‘a living one image’ to his posterity. Malouf inserted an embedded narrative - The traumatizing past of Priam- to addresses the repercussion of his childhood exposure to slavery and the first hand experience of brutalness of warfare on Priam. Malouf utilizes’ the foul smiling’ as a motif to signifies the link between Priam’s disgraceful past and now and personifies it’ so there you are, old man Podarces’ as a reminder of Priam’s frailty and his vulnerability in the crisis of war ‘ [someone] has no more weight in this world than a dropping of a leave’ . His experience also leads to his in-depth comprehension of one’s impermanence in this world and this imparted him levels of wisdom as manifested through his resignation to his mortality ‘they also made me a man, and mortal’. Thus it is perhaps the realization of transience of life comes from Priam that motivates him to pursue his inner power of courage and humility and face Achilles in a plain and modest way. In the other hand, Achilles’ sudden consciousness of his own temporality of his life in an everlasting expanse of time and human intertwined destiny as all found in death engenders gentle fellow feeling in him that ensued in his acceptance of Priam’s offering. In consequence of this enlightenment, Achille was able to rejoin himself and discovering an optimistic and calming sense of new meaning in his life, acknowledges Hector’s glorious death as well as ‘ honor intended also to himself’. In conclusion, the understanding of human’s congruent outcome namely death sparks different attitude on life that prompts individual to change.
In conclusion, Malouf observes the external and internal pressure that impels individual to rebuilt themselves. The grief and loss people feels empowers individuals to reshape their identity either in positive or negative way. Meanwhile, the epiphany that chance is an element of world releases power of free will within chapters. Ultimately, the realization of human’s mortality and frailty was notable in transforming one’s outlook on life
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