English - Text Response [Ransom]

[Water]

 Are there any true heroes in Ransom?


The novel “Ransom “explores how the author, David Malouf, strips the nature of “true heroes” as one that is unrealistic and inessential. If a true hero is one that epitomizes the nature of “perfection” then no characters within the novel exemplifies this trait. Thus through the construction of Priam (King of Troy), Achilles (General of a Greek Army ) and Somax (a commoner), the reader is invited to explore how each character, removed from their social bearings are in fact just humans. Rather than depicting heroic qualities such as courage, perseverance and tolerance, Malouf examines the struggles of human existence. He also explores how relief can be found in our release from emotional entrapment.

Achilles foregrounds the sharp contradiction in what can be considered “true heroes.” His actions illustrate this. His emotions emphasize his inability to be considerate of others. And hence, he is flawed. Not a true hero that should supposedly be promised from his descent to Earth as a mixed breed between human and god, but a character who is depicted to be in turmoil from within. From the outset of the novel, Achilles’ flawed nature is established as he was “too proud too admit…he might be wrong” in his argument with Patroclus, his brother. Inevitably, it is this facet of his disposition that ultimately leads to his brother’s death. Patroclus is valuable to Achilles and his death by the hands of Hector exposes Achilles emotional instability. With Achilles murder of Hector and his refusal to offer the young defeated lord “his proper burial,” Achilles is branded as corrupt and merciless. He is labeled by Hecuba as a “jackel” and “murderer.” It is a product of his actions in which he attempts to find release from his grief and depression. He afflicts others in order to assuage his extreme lost. Many of those afflictions are hurtful and disgraceful according to the Greek conduct. Thus, the qualities of selfishness and arrogance are reverberated by Achilles’ actions. He is depicted essentially as human, a person who has a mixture of promising and corrupt qualities. He is in fact not the “true hero,” that the reader so yearns for.

Equally, Priam is a character who initially is portrayed to be indifferent and incapable of human emotions. However, with the death of Hector, Priam is thrust to go outside the barriers of social conventions. With this in consideration, Malouf explores the journey of the protagonist in his quest to retrieve of body of his son, Hector. He is able to learn of “a prattling word” where “water seemed to be “hopping over…stones” and “cicadas…creat[ing]…long racketing shrillness” – all elements of the natural universe. Here, the reader is beckoned to witness Priam’s transformation as he shows that he is capable to adapt to contemporary values and the rejection of a restrictive social hierarchy. He rejects a “world [where] man spoke only to give shape to a decision” and to relish the “cooling effect” of a greater universe where he is able to not feel compelled to follow the laws of society. His willingness to change is further explored by the emphasis of Priam’s confrontation with Achilles, pleading for the return of his son as he “speaks for [himself].” It is an action that he is not given the opportunity in his role as a symbolical king. By the image of his plead, Malouf invites us to recognize that Priam has learnt humility and is not willing to indulge in a lifestyle that restricts raw emotions. Priam epitomizes the essence of transformation as he progresses in the expansion of his own world. He is able to accept the universe of others and to reflect upon others who may have different perspectives and outlook in life. He shows that he is capable of change. Priam does not display heroic qualities initially but is observed to be a character that undergoes immense transformation. Perhaps through his experiences and a willingness to teach others, he may be considered a hero of himself.

Somax, though a commoner in social rank, illustrates that heroic qualities is one that is from within and not brought about through wealth and power. He is in fact, an unlikely hero within the novel despite his outward behavior of silliness and stature. This is exemplified in his reflection as he speaks “But the truth is, we don’t just lie down and die do we sir? We go on. For all our losses.” He offers his experiences and wisdom to catalyze Priam’s own transformation in which he indentifies as inexperienced in the way of life.  Unlike Achilles, Somax also illustrates that he is not arrogant as he is willing to “unlace” Priam’s shoes. With an attentive and caring disposition, Somax guiding Priam like an “obedient toddler” urges him to relax by the stream. Here, Somax is depicted to be the very meaning of a hero. However, with much suffering, a great many lost of “seven children,” it is his experience that perhaps has shaped him to be a hero. He is not born with heroic traits but rather gains them in his past journeys. Thus, he is imperfect. But if he is one who may be considered a hero, it is undeniable that he is a tragic one.

Malouf centralizes on the three protagonists to explore how one may attain heroic qualities but the existence of “true heroes” cannot be accomplished. If all humans are flawed in one way or another, then it contradicts the characteristics of what creates a “true hero,” who should be imaged as the epitome of perfection. Thereby, through the construction of his novel, Malouf simply invites his readers to uncover the journey of his characters and how all human beings, with time, are capable of inner-development.




Writing: 60mins

Editing: 20mins ( I think somewhere between 8 - 20)

Reading Time: 5 minutes

[jane1234]

Are there any true heroes in Ransom?


The novel “Ransom “explores how the author, David Malouf, strips the nature of “true heroes” as one that is unrealistic and inessential. If a true hero is one that epitomizes the nature of “perfection” then no characters within the novel exemplifies exemplifythis trait. Thus through the construction ofI'd say something like characterisation here. Construction implies something physical. Priam (King of Troy), Achilles (General of a Greek Army ) and Somax (a commoner), the reader is invited to explore how each character, removed from their social bearings, are in fact just humans. Rather than depicting heroic qualities such as courage, perseverance and tolerance, Malouf examines the struggles of human existence. He also explores how relief can be found in our release from emotional entrapment. Introduction a bit short, and feel it doesn't address the question enough. Are there any true heroes? If not, then address why these characters are not heroes.

Achilles foregrounds the sharp contradiction in what can be considered “true heroes.” His actions illustrate this.Need specific reference to "actions" here. The word "actions" in itself means nothing. His emotions Again, what emotions? Angry, depressed, unstable etc.emphasize his inability to be considerate of others. And hence, he is flawed. Not a true hero that should supposedly be promised Is "promised" the right word here? Doesn't make much sense.from his descent to Earth as a mixed breed between human and god, but a character who is depicted to be in turmoil from within. From the outset of the novel, Achilles’ flawed nature is established as he was “too proud too admit…he might be wrong” in his argument with Patroclus, his brother. Inevitably, it is this facet of his disposition that ultimately leads to his brother’s death. Patroclus is valuable to Achilles and his death by the hands of Hector exposes Achilles emotional instability. With Achille's murder of Hector and his refusal to offer the young defeated lord “his proper burial,” Achilles is branded as corrupt and merciless. He is labeled by Hecuba as a “jackel” and “murderer.” It is a product of his actions in which he attempts to find release from his grief and depression. He afflicts others in order to assuage his extreme lost. Many of those afflictions are hurtful and disgraceful according to the Greek conduct. Thus, the qualities of selfishness and arrogance are reverberated by Achilles’ actions. He is depicted essentially as human, a person who has a mixture of promising and corrupt qualities. He is in fact not the “true hero,” that the reader so yearns for. Not a bad first paragraph, but it is pretty basic and doesn't really go into much depth. It lacks insight, as you seem to merely list all the things the character did wrong and how it degrades him from being a hero. I'd kind of go into the underlying emotions of the character and fully explain why he is not a hero at the core. You say he has "turmoil from within" but you don't fully explain the kind of turmoil that he experiences, and how his actions stem from this inner conflict. I'd relate his actions to his emotional struggles and how he didn't handle his emotions with the grace of a true hero blah blah blah.

Equally, Priam is a character who initially is portrayed to be indifferent and incapable of human emotions. However, with the death of Hector, Priam is thrust to go outside the barriers of social conventions. With this in consideration, Malouf explores the journey of the protagonist in his quest to retrieve of body of his son, Hector. He is able to learn of “a prattling word” where “water seemed to be “hopping over…stones” and “cicadas…creat[ing]…long racketing shrillness” – all elements of the natural universe. Here, the reader is beckoned to witness Priam’s transformation as he shows that he is capable to adapt to contemporary values and the rejection of a restrictive social hierarchy. He rejects a “world [where] man spoke only to give shape to a decision” and to relish the “cooling effect” of a greater universe where he is able to not feel compelled to follow the laws of society. His willingness to change is further explored by the emphasis of Priam’s confrontation with Achilles, pleading for the return of his son as he “speaks for [himself].” It is an action that he is not given the opportunity in his role as a symbolical king. By the image of his plead, Malouf invites us to recognize that Priam has learnt humility and is not willing to indulge in a lifestyle that restricts raw emotions. Priam epitomizes the essence of transformation as he progresses in the expansion of his own world. He is able to accept the universe of others and to reflect upon others who may have different perspectives and outlook in life. He shows that he is capable of change. Priam does not display heroic qualities initially but is observed to be a character that undergoes immense transformation. Perhaps through his experiences and a willingness to teach others, he may be considered a hero of himself. Way too many examples here and not enough explaining how they relate back to the question. Also, this paragraph contradicts with the stance in your introduction. You didn't mention anything about the development of heroic qualities, you just said that heroic qualities were not really depicted in the novel. Think this could also be expanded a bit more, and pick maybe one example and really explain it in depth how heroic qualities were brought out of the incident.

Somax, though a commoner in social rank, illustrates that heroic qualities is one that is from within and not brought about through wealth and power. He is in fact, an unlikely hero within the novel despite his outward behavior of silliness and stature. This is exemplified in his reflection as he speaks “But the truth is, we don’t just lie down and die do we sir? We go on. For all our losses.” He offers his experiences and wisdom to catalyze Priam’s own transformation in which he indentifies as inexperienced in the way of life.  Unlike Achilles, Somax also illustrates that he is not arrogant as he is willing to “unlace” Priam’s shoes. With an attentive and caring disposition, Somax guiding Priam like an “obedient toddler” urges him to relax by the stream. Here, Somax is depicted to be the very meaning of a hero. However, with much suffering, a great many lost of “seven children,” it is his experience that perhaps has shaped him to be a hero. He is not born with heroic traits but rather gains them in his past journeys. Thus, he is imperfect. But if he is one who may be considered a hero, it is undeniable that he is a tragic one. Again, this kind of contradicts your introduction in saying that there was a "hero" after all. I kind of get that you are saying that the true heroes in the novel are flawed, but it's not clear in your introduction. Also, you say that the author doesn't depict heroic traits, but you have just described them here?

Malouf centralizes on the three protagonists to explore how one may attain heroic qualities but the existence of “true heroes” cannot be accomplished. If all humans are flawed in one way or another, then it contradicts the characteristics of what creates a “true hero,” who should be imaged as the epitome of perfection. Thereby, through the construction of his novel, Malouf simply invites his readers to uncover the journey of his characters and how all human beings, with time, are capable of inner-development. Okay this kind of clears up some of the points of your essay, but re-read your intro and see that you say "Rather than depicting heroic qualities such as courage, perseverance and tolerance..." in the intro but here you say that "Malouf centralizes... how one may attain heroic qualities".


Writing: 60mins

Editing: 20mins

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Okay, I understand that you wrote this to time which is probably why it is shorter and has a few mistakes in it.
However, it seems pretty simplistic and at times you contradict your own stance. Using one character per paragraph seems very generic and I feel that you could have explained your stance a bit better by exploring what it means to be a hero and how this is portrayed in the novel in your body paragraphs rather than just focusing on the characters. Also felt it lacked insight and was just a list of examples at times, and you failed to really show detailed understanding of the character development and the events behind this development.

Sorry if this sounds too harsh, overall it's not too bad, and feel free to disregard any or all of what I have just said - I'm no expert.