Sunday, February 3, 2013
Book 2
Aeneas retold the story of the Trojan War, and it struck a chord with all of us. I hadn't forgotten about the war, but hearing it retold, especially in such detail, was too much. The sights, smells, sensations, all came back to me. The horse. The cheating, disgusting, vile strategy that it was, it worked. Looking back on it, I can't see how Priam thought trusting it was a good idea. I'll admit, I was swept by Priam's trusting nature, and I sided with him. I cursed Lacoon with the rest of them as he swore against the horse and the Greeks. Our faith led to our demise; Priam's trust caused Troy's end. Then Sinon came and plead his story to us. Oh how strange it seems looking back on it, but once again, Priam and the rest of us fell for his story. We allowed him into our city after hearing his "fate" and exile from the Greeks. Once again, our trust led to our deaths, the city's death. When the serpents took Lacoon and his sons, we were sure that we had been correct. We were sure that our faith had been well-placed. Oh how wrong we were. Then, that night, the end of Troy began. Fire all over our city, my city. I went straight to Priam's house. A man deserves not to die because of his good-will and faith in fellow men, even those most hostile to him. But the gods did not think as such. The city fell, and when it fell, it fell like no other. Sons died before their fathers. Heroes died in their own city. All on account of the deceit of the Greeks. Trust and faith seemed right, but they were not. Prudence, wisdom, intelligence, wit all rule over faith. They betray the trust, and then drive their collective swords through it. I followed Aeneas into the mountains with tears in my eyes. And here I am being forced to relive it all.
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Great job retelling the story. I really liked how you integrated trust & truth in with fate. This post also gives emotion from Achates while he tells the story. You did skip a couple parts (the Helen and wife scenes) so I would include what Achates was doing then, either following Aeneas or waiting somewhere else for him to get back; you also missed the scene when they swapped armor, which is a key part of the "truth" aspect of the book.
ReplyDeleteGood jab. Like Teh said you did a good job but skipped some important parts of the story that aid character development. Achates is becoming more defined as a character so good job with that. Teh says it pretty well actually.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good blog post, Dom. You capture the story really well---I didn't miss the missing scenes much at all. The theme is well-integrated, and the character of Achates is growing. A cool direction to go in now would be to work on Achates' voice as well as his character. Does he like a high level of speech or does he talk like a common man? Push him in a direction with his words as well as his characterization. Good luck! -KN
ReplyDeleteThis is a well organized and detailed summary of book 2. You demonstrate with your analysis that you truly understand not only the book but also the mindset of Achates. Good job.
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