RANSOM BY David Malouf Class Notes

Characters:      Buck is one of the three people who are kidnapping the children. He is tempered easily. He doesn’t really care for others much. Rita is Buck’s wife. She is not very pretty and gets drug into schemes by Buck. She feels he will leave her if she doesn’t follow directions. Juan is the other kidnapper who does more of the dirty work. He is the one who calls the parents for the money. He’s the one who shot the bus driver. Glenn is one of the boys who were kidnapped. He’s very popular and has friends and thinks that nobody dislikes him. He’s handsome and very athletic. Glenn’s brother Bruce

In The Odyssey, the act of storytelling plays a significant role in revealing the story of Odysseus. Each storyteller reveals a part of the past of Odysseus and his heroic deeds. Each of their stories gives insight into what a hero should be, according to the standards of the Greek society, and they each reflect a different aspect of a hero. When pieced together, each story becomes part of a whole, however, each has a different function within the epic. Some may not contribute to the hero directly, but teach a moral or lesson to the audience listening to the story. The audience directed towards is the Greek society and the morals are taught by storytelling. By using storytelling, a hero is often

Throughout this course, I have learned about what a myth is and all of the themes that fit into myths. The most common themes seen throughout the myths we have studied during this course are fate, pride and hubris, heroism, justice and vengeance, and beauty. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about mythology throughout this course and I have always felt that the controlling question driving this course is, why is mythology so important to us, even today? It is important to know the answer to this question and to know about the different themes seen throughout the myths studied in this course.

Grief can play with one’s mind twisting and manipulating one to not be the same person they used to be, while grief can also change one for the better. In the book, Ransom, by David Malouf, Hector kills Achilles’ friend, Patroclus, so Achilles kills Hector. Priam wants to see his son one last time so he makes a plan to get to him. Somax takes Priam on a carriage to go find his son Hector. They have some troubles along the way, but they eventually get to Priam’s son. Priam brings Hector back to Troy and Hector is buried. In Ransom by David Malouf, the author teaches the reader the power of grief through the experiences of Priam and Achilles. Grief can be a controlling force, it can cause and individual to change as a person, and grief can strongly influence one’s actions.

The Odyssey is a story made up of stories. Because there is very little action that happens in the present, the presence of storytelling within the Odyssey is something that characterizes it and makes it unique. The spreading of stories serve to form legends and myths that can have the effect of shaping a culture. In addition, since stories were such an important aspect of entertainment in Greek culture, stories also shape the audience, either by entertaining them or creating feelings of sympathy in them. The function of storytelling in the Odyssey, is to evoke emotions and leave powerful, lasting impressions on the audience. However, the stories that are told

(HOOK) The characters that are present in short stories can leave an imprint on one’s vision of literature for an eternity. (CI) These memorable characters have made an impact on the way I view literature, primarily because of the way that I have been able to relate to them. (GS1) One character is a powerful, but envious princess. (GS2) Another is an abandoned orphan who seeks for love and companionship through his honesty and openness. (GS3) A final character shows her aptitude for her passions, but often finds herself quarreling with those that are closest to her. (GS4) When I read the stories involving these characters, I see myself in their places. (GS5) I relate to a multitude of their traits and characteristics, whether they are positive or negative. (THESIS STATEMENT) I can best relate to the short story fictional characters of (I) the princess in Frank. R Stockton’s “The Lady, or the Tiger?”, (II) Jerry in Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’s “A Mother in Mannville”, and (III) Waverly Jong in Amy Tan’s “Rules of the Game.”

25. Theme: “Wisdom through Suffering” may be said to be one of the leading themes of The Iliad. Discuss this theme and cite several examples (you may cite “The Book of Job,” if you do so sparingly).

Storytelling, in many ways, allows one to express their imagination through fanciful adventures and tales; thus, serving a purpose in terms of allowing an individual to cope with their tragedies, but also to entertain one another. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, and in Tim Burton’s Big Fish, the audience comes to realize that the conflict between fact and truth, combined with storytelling, are the central themes; it becomes clearer that facts have to be proven, whereas the truth is usually straightforward. These stories focus around the protagonists’ views, teaching the value, truth, and purpose of storytelling; in which, it is the pieces that collectively form the importance of storytelling. Storytelling allows the protagonists of both stories to cope with their struggles, and assists them in overcoming their adversities. It partly influences their decisions, and ideas; ultimately, changing their own perspectives in their struggles. Both show that stories can be incredibly meaningful and take on significant roles for the characters, which can be used to answer important questions about the truth.

The Iliad is an epic tale of war and hero's within the Greek way of life. A

1. The purpose of Greek and Roman mythology was to explain the unexplainable, and to show us how people of ancient times thought and felt. 2. The first written record of Greece is called the Iliad, and it was written by Homer. 3.

All stories consist of a few common structural elements found universally in myths, fairy tales, dreams, and movies. They are known collectively as The Hero’s Journey. Understanding these elements and their use in modern writing is the object of our quest. Used wisely, these ancient tools of the storytellers craft still have tremendous power to heal our people and make the world a better place (xxvii).

Before the Odyssey is explained, there is much historical information about Ancient Greece to cover. To begin, the time period that Odyssey is a part of is known as “Homeric society.” Homeric society is a concoction of diverging assortments in various points in history. Because the setting is a combination of different times from several coteries, the story includes many ideas and values particular to each one. In the 8th century BC, the Mediterranean saw a growth in population after the “dark age,” thus leading to the menagerie that the Ancient Greeks partook in. Moving forward, there is much evidence that suggests that epics were created between 750 and 650 B.C.E. These stories were set in Mycenaean Greece around the 12th century B.C.E, also known as the Bronze Age.

Thus muses Achilles, one of epic poetry's greatest heroes. Epic poetry, one of the earliest forms of literature, began as an oral narration describing a series of mythical or historic events. Eventually, these stories were written down and read aloud to an audience. Although the Epic of Gilgamesh was composed approximately fifteen hundred years prior to the Iliad, the heroes of both epics possess strikingly similar characteristics. Indeed,

The stories told in the Iliad and Odyssey are based on stories handed down over several generations, for they preserve (as we have seen) memories of an already quiet far distant past. The two pomes show clear connection in their language and style, in the manner in which their incidents presented, and in the combination of agreement with level, which distinguish their creation.

The Iliad was a masterpiece of a work, which entertained and gave a description of how the Greeks lived out their lives in battle and at peace. The Iliad, by Homer, is an epic classic set in Ancient Greece. The story ,in its own, contained the use of epic characteristics, which reveal further characteristics of the Greeks. A large influence on the book, was the Greek's religious and mythological stance along with their strengths and weaknesses that were also displayed. The Greeks, with both their strengths and weaknesses, reveal the overall character in Homer's tale..