David Malouf's Ransom

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Malouf’s novel Ransom highlights the ways in which people can transformed by grief. Discuss In David Malouf’s text “Ransom” it portrays how main characters Achilles, Somax and Priam are transformed when experiencing grief. Achilles turns into a beast when his best friend, Patroclus was killed by his greatest enemy, Hector. Whereas, Somax who has lost his wife and all his children and only left with his daughter-in-law and granddaughter grieves in silence but has anger issues. Priam mourns only for his eldest son, Hector which makes him set on a journey not as a King but as a father and to “ransom” his son’s body. Achilles, “the great Greek warrior” is half mortal and half god feels up with rage when his “companion”, Patroclus is killed by his nemesis, Hector, “the great Trojan warrior”. This makes Achilles furious and is transformed into a “man obeying the needs of some darker agency”. Challenges him to a battle and kills him. Taking Hector’s life didn’t give Achilles satisfaction hence he ties his corpse to the chariot and desecrates his body for eleven days. Later on his realises that his barbaric actions were caused by the “grief” his was experiencing “before his hear was clogged with a smoky poison”. Somax, “ordinary carter” who has lost his wife and all his children, left only with his daughter-in-law and granddaughter, grieves in silence but he does experience few anger issues but it is only expressed on a few occasions only. He had “punched” his eldest son out of anger because he had questioned him. After that he had felt like “punching” Beauty “the beautiful mule” who had knocked his second son into the stream but “that wouldn’t have bought him back”. Priam, “the pampered son of Laomendon, now the King of Troy”, Mourns for the loss of his son eldest son Hector, who was killed right before his eyes and could not take any action as he was helpless. Priam
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