Introduction
Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens- J. Tolkien. Loyalty is demanding. It requires that one take the path that others have feared. Loyalty is demanded for in relationships, friendships, and family relations, although it can be a double-edged sword that could cut or cure. While it cuts when the most trusted of friends or family betray, it cures when they remain loyal to death. As the battle gets tougher and the situation more desperate, only the strong stand. Loyalty demands for a fight and endurance for the sake of loved ones. This paper delves into the depiction of loyalty in the literature works Ransom by David Malouf and Triumph of Achilles by Louise Glück.
David Malouf uses poetic language to describe vividly the last days of the Trojan War and heroes who ate the humble pie for the sake of loyalty. “He had entered the rough world of men, where a man's acts follow him wherever he goes in the form of the story.”(Conrad, 2009).This summarizes the storyline of the book Ransom. Loyalty is a significant motivating factor for the heroes who choose to fight for their loved ones (Royce, 1995). When Hector killed Patroclus, Achilles was driven to insanity, and finally captures and kills Hector. After hearing the news of Hector, his son’s death and the disgrace Achilles was treating his corpse with, Priam decides to put aside his king cloak and talk to Achilles as a father to invoke him to return Hector’s corpse ( Cayley, 2011) . These two kings are an illustration of loyalty, and how demanding it can be, especially for a person of the high stratification class.
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Revenge and guilt in this novel stem from loyalty. While Hector did not kill Achilles’s closest friend intentionally, Achilles goes insane and decides to revenge, no matter the price. He is willing to hunt for Hector all over, just to punish him for killing Patroclus. When he finally finds Hector and kills him, the pain he feels for losing his friend does not subside. Patroclus had been a good friend, with whom they had spent almost half their life together. The loyalty he held towards him, thus drove him to punish his killer in insane ways since it was the only way left to show love for his best friend.
After he had killed Hector, Achilles goes against the custom of leaving the corpse for burial by the family. He instead ties it to his cart and drags it around the city without remorse. In so doing, he is showing solidarity with Patroclus and is using the humiliation to pay tribute to his friend. However, for the eleven days that he drags the body across the city, the wounds are healed. No single mark is left after the mutilation, which shocks Achilles. The grief that took him over was great that he felt empty and a different person altogether. The loss of his friend could not be replaced by mutilating the dead body of his killer. Regret later filled him, and the need to show his loyalty to Patroclus was never fulfilled. When he finally gave up Hector’s body, he still pleads with Patroclus to understand he reminded loyal even after he died at war. “Be not angry with me, Patroclus,” he said, “if you hear even in the house of Hades that I have given Hector to his father for a ransom. It has been no unworthy one, and I will share it equitably with you.” (Conrad, 2009)
When Priam heard of Hector’s death and the humiliation with which Achilles was treating his body, he seeks the intervention of the gods to help him recover his son’s corpse. Priam knew that he faced a major challenge since Achilles was angry with him and entering into the camp of the enemy was a great risk. However, loyalty and love for his on demanded that he risk his life to save his son from disgrace. The gods play a significant role in the recovery of hectors body. The king of the gods, Zeus, is displeased with Achilles’s behavior, and use thus mother to persuade him to return the corpse.
Priam is so determined to recover his son’s body that he does not consider his kingship as important at the time. When he tells his wife about it, she is reluctant. She says, "Alas, what has become of that judgment for which you have been ever famous both among strangers and your people? How can you venture alone to the ships of the Achaeans, and look into the face of him who has slain so many of your brave sons? You must have iron courage, for if the cruel savage sees you and lays hold on you, he will know neither respect nor pity?” (Brennan, 2011) However, no fear can stop Priam, so he is willing to eat the humble pie for the sake of his son, although he is already dead. His last show of loyalty can only be rescuing his corpse from the humiliation. After seeking the help of the goddess Iris, Priam is ready to take the risk and beg for his son’s body. He no longer thinks of himself or Achilles as kings but as fathers. Not taking into account the value of ten talents of gold, he packs it and other treasures to bring as gifts for Achilles and leaves for the enemy’s land.
It was a humbling moment for Priam when he had to go on his knees and kiss the same hands that had slain his son and other soldiers of the Trojan army. His pride in being king came after his loyalty ( Cayley, 2011) . Achilles was shocked to see Achilles, considering the relationship between them was not as good. However, Priam was oblivious of the stares from him and his servants and said to him “Think of your father, O Achilles likes unto the gods, who is such even as I am, on the sad threshold of old age. It may be that those who dwell near him harass him, and there is none to keep war and ruin from him. Yet when he hears of you as being still alive, he is glad and his days are full of hope that he shall see his dear son come home to him from Troy; but I, wretched man that I am, had the bravest in all Troy for my sons, and there is not one of them left.” (Brennan, 2011) Giving him the ten talents of gold, Priam begged Achilles for his son’s body. Although Achilles did not trust Priam at first, his begging finally convinced him. Achilles received the gold and let go of Hector’s corpse.
The poem Triumph of Achilles by Louise Gluck is also an illustration of Achilles’ loyalty. When his mother tells him that he will die if he goes to battle in Troy, does not hid to. The poem is built on Achilles’s character and how the events of the war change his personality (Gluck, 1985). For his loyalty to the land, Achilles still goes to war. He is a caring soldier, sympathetic and ready to help others who are wounded during the battle, and even worse those affected by the plague. He, therefore, approaches the king and argues him to return what he took so that the god Apollo would take away the plague. His loyalty to his country cannot allow him to leave the battlefield despite the challenges, yet he is the son of a god. His mother’s warning does not deter. However, the king does not agree with him as he sees it as a disgrace to his power. This greatly angers Achilles, and he refuses to fight against the Trojans.
His friend Patroclus tries to persuade him, but he refuses. Patroclus goes to war but gets killed. This news awakens the loyalty of Achilles (Yenser, 2015). He goes to war with the Trojans to revenge for the defeat of his army and the killing of his best friend. He forgets about the king’s actions and places the love for his country ahead of his anger. In the end, he conquers the war because he was driven by loyalty.
In conclusion, loyalty is depicted as a major motivating factor for characters in both of the works of literature. Despite how insane the actions may seem, loyalty drove the characters to behave so. Ego, social class, past experiences, or misunderstand before did not hinder them from achieving their purpose since loyalty demanded so. Loyalty is intertwined with love in these texts, and is sometimes motivated by revenge and need to feel and space due to regret. The characters act in certain ways in such of fulfillment since they feel their loyalty had not met standards before.
References
Brennan, B., (2011). Singing it anew: David Malouf's Ransom. Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature , 11 (1).
Cayley, M.(2011) Textual Representations of Loyalty: Macbeth and Ransom.
Conrad, P., (2009). Troy Revisited Homer’s “Iliad” & David Malouf’s "Ransom." The Monthly , 45 .
Glück, L., (1985). The triumph of Achilles (Vol. 32). Ecco Press.
Royce, J. (1995). The philosophy of loyalty . Vanderbilt University Press.
Yenser, s. (2015). Poetry in review: Louise glück. The Yale Review , 103 (1), 155-168.
