insight Comparisons · contents Character map: Ransom 4 Character map: Invictus 5 Section 1: Ransom 6 Overview 6 Background & context 8 Structure & language 10 …

by Claire Warr

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Comparisons

www.insightpublications.com.au

Insight Comparison Guides are written by experienced English teachers and professional writers with expertise in literature and film criticism. Each title provides a comprehensive, in-depth guide to a pair of texts, including a detailed study of their key elements and a close analysis of their shared ideas, issues and themes.

Features• Character maps• About the authors• Synopsis of each text• Context and background• Genre, structure and language• Chapter-by-chapter analyses• Ideas, issues and themes • Essay topics• Sample topic analysis and sample answer• References and reading

About the authorClaire Warr, BA (Hons), MA, Dip Ed, teaches senior English and Literature at Carey Baptist Grammar School in Melbourne. She is currently an English assessor and has also been an EAL assessor. Claire has written a number of textbooks and articles and gives lectures to students and teachers throughout Victoria.

insight

Comparisons

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781925 3167429

ISBN 978-1-925316-74-2

David Malouf’s

Ransom

Dir. Clint Eastwood’s

InvictusSAMPLE PAGES

contents

Character map: Ransom 4

Character map: Invictus 5

Section 1: Ransom 6

Overview 6

Background & context 8

Structure & language 10

Chapter-by-chapter analysis 14

Characters & relationships 23

Section 2: Invictus 29

Overview 29

Background & context 31

Genre, structure & style 34

Scene-by-scene analysis 37

Characters & relationships 50

Section 3: Comparison 55

Ideas, issues & themes 55

Questions & answers 73

Sample answer 77

References & reading 79SAMPLE

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insight Comparisons 4

Peleus and Thetis Parents of Achilles;

Peleus is mortal, while Thetis is goddess of

the sea.

Character map: ransom

Achilles Main character. Great warrior leader of the Myrmidons; father of Neoptolemus; deeply

fond of Patroclus.

Hector Prince of Troy; kills

Patroclus and is killed by Achilles. Central to

narrative as the object of Priam’s quest.

Hecuba First wife of Priam, mother of thirteen children including

Hector.

Somax Widowed carter who

owns mules Shock and Beauty. Accompanies Priam on journey to

retrieve Hector from the Greek camp.

Neoptolemus Sixteen-year-old son of Achilles; lives with his grandfather Lycomedes

in Scyros. Will eventually kill Priam.

Patroclus Son of Menoetius;

brought to Peleus for safety as a thirteen-year-

old after accidentally killing another boy.

kills

kills

kills

father of

travels with

married

adopted son of

adoptive brothers

son of

son of

Key: Greek characters

Trojan characters

Priam (formerly Podarces)

Main character. King of Troy; brother of Hesione;

husband of Hecuba; father of more than

fifty children including Hector. Employs Somax to retrieve Hector’s body.

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Background & contextAuthor’s contextAs Malouf explains in his Afterword, the kernel for Ransom can be traced

to 1943 when, as a nine-year-old Brisbane schoolboy, he was forced to stay

inside on a rainy day and a schoolteacher introduced him to the story and

characters of Troy. Brisbane was the starting point for many national and

international troops on their way to engage in World War II in the Pacific, so

the inhabitants of the Queensland city were used to the presence of soldiers

and the physical manifestation of war on their own shores. Thirty years later

Malouf wrote about the ‘ancient and fictional war’ (p.222), coupled with the

intervention of war into his own world in Brisbane, in his poem ‘Episode from

an early war’ (first published in 1972).

A further thirty years later, Ransom returns to the same story of Achilles,

Patroclus, Hector and Priam from Homer’s Iliad. The story also tells of the

simple carter, Somax, who ‘for one day became the Trojan herald, Idaeus’

(p.224). Malouf notes that Somax, like the child character whom Ovid

encounters in An Imaginary Life, ‘has no basis in fact’ (Malouf 1994, p.153)

and is his own creation. The early story of Troy deeply affected the young

Malouf, as did the notions and evocations of war, which often appear in his

work. Like many of Malouf’s tales, Ransom explores not only the lives of those

engaging in war, but also the experiences of those who remain and who must

endure, linger and struggle to make sense of change, loss and grief.

Homer’s Iliad and the tale of AchillesThe original tale of Hector’s slaughter and Priam’s subsequent visit to Achilles

to plead for his son’s body is found in Book 24 of Homer’s epic poem, the

Iliad. The exact date of the poem’s composition (and that of its companion or

sequel, the Odyssey) is uncertain but it is universally accepted as taking its

place alongside the oral tradition and Epic Cycle of poetry described by the

Greek scholar Photius, who lived in the ninth century BC. The Greek historian

Herodotus believed Homer lived around 850 BC, but a biography of Homer,

now attributed to an unidentified historian referred to as Pseudo-Herodotus,

establishes Homer as living around 1102 BC, approximately 168 years after

the fall of Troy. While academic conversations ensue over Homer’s exact dates,

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Chapter IV (pp.167–201)Summary: Achilles has a vision, mistaking Priam for his own father; Priam appeals to Achilles as a father and as a man. Achilles relinquishes Hector’s body and learns forgiveness.

It is evening inside the Greek camp. The noise, smell and palpable atmosphere

of the hut reflect the tension that can exist between men when they are ‘afraid

of where silence might take them’ (p.168). One warrior ‘begins a rambling

reminiscence … and is roughly silenced’ (p.168). This is not the place for

nostalgia: these men have been away from home for many seasons and

ruminations about loved ones encourages melancholy. Despite the intolerance

of such indulgent behaviour, Achilles’ own reflections are of Patroclus and

his ‘last breath’, shared and bestowed on Automedon (p.169).

Achilles’ waiting and reverie have not abated from Chapter I and his

contemplative mood primes him to acknowledge ‘the silvery notes of the lyre’

amid the clamour of the hut (pp.171–2). The auditory cue proclaims the

arrival of a god, in much the same manner as Priam caught the ‘echo’ of Iris’

words (p.44), and the hooting of an owl announced Hermes’ presence (p.141).

Although the gods deigned to utter ‘a response’ to Priam’s suffering (p.44),

Achilles has languished in his grief for Patroclus, his father and his son.

Finally, the ‘sounding strings’ (p.171) move him ‘into his mother’s element’

of water (p.172) – recalling the novel’s opening scene at the seashore, and

signalling a more fluid aspect of Achilles’ character.

The figure in white, ‘all hovering vagueness’, brings tangible relief to the

suffering Achilles (p.172). But Achilles’ preliminary hopes for the return of

Patroclus dissolve and give way to a further belief that the form is his father,

Peleus, who he has not seen for nine years. Attuned to his mother’s influence,

Achilles begins to weep, kneels and reaches forth to clasp his father’s robes.

Key point

Achilles’ actions embody a desire to repair the breach in the ‘sacred

bond’ (p.174) experienced by all mourning fathers and sons in

the text. These breaches include damaged relationships between

Laomedon and Podarces; Priam, Paris, Hector and Astyanax; Peleus,

Lycomedes, Achilles and Neoptolemus; Astrogon and Somax and his

deceased sons; Menoetius and Patroclus; Amphidamas and his son;

and all those lost in battle in the Trojan War.

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Hecuba Key quote

‘The wives are afraid of her … this small, straight-backed woman.’ (p.81)

Hecuba is Priam’s first wife and the mother of nine of his sons. Their

relationship is strong, surviving age, multiple childbirths, several wives, and

‘years of their marriage dealing with these visions that afflict him’ (p.55).

When Priam first imagines his plan to ransom Hector, his ‘good news is for

Hecuba’ (p.48). She grieves but is mostly filled with anger and fury that as

a woman she is powerless to avenge the death of her son. Her passion and

distress are measured by her desire to tear out Achilles’ heart ‘and eat it raw’

(p.51). She does not support Priam’s vision for ransom and responds with fury

rather than support, reminding him that he must share with her the impotent

sorrow of their loss and of the inevitable demise of Troy.

Yet despite all her ‘wiles, all her powers of firm but calm persuasion’

(p.58), Hecuba ‘needs the help of her sons’ and enlists their support to sway

the ageing Priam from his course (p.61). Though she is unsuccessful she

remains loyal to her husband: it is Hecuba, ‘standing small and emphatic

against the light’, who eventually welcomes home her husband and newly

ransomed son (p.215).

Hector

Key quote

‘The armour Hector wore was the armour he had stripped from the body

of Patroclus, Achilles’ own …’ (p.21)

Hector and his brothers Helenus, Paris, Deiphobus, Panyamus, Polydorus,

Gorgythion, Doryclus, Isus, Troilus ‘and the rest’ (p.136) are princes of the

royal court. They are some of Priam’s fifty sons, whose existence is predicated

on ‘an aggressive purchase on the future’ (p.137). Their number acknowledges

their expendability; some will be lost in battle or on a whim of the gods, but

the remainder will ensure Priam’s royal bloodline is passed on for generations.

Hector does not survive the narrative but fulfils his role as a progenitor of

the royal bloodline and a defender of the kingdom. He has a son, Astyanax

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Section 2: Invictus

insight Ransom and Invictus

Section 2: Invictus

overview

About the directorClint Eastwood is perhaps best known for his acting roles in ‘spaghetti westerns’

(westerns that were made in Italy or Spain, usually with an Italian director

and on a low budget) and as moody policeman Dirty Harry, who coined the

phrase, ‘go ahead, make my day’. He was born in San Francisco in 1930, and

after leaving school at the age of nineteen he left academic pursuits behind

to follow an interest in acting. His early film parts were largely unremarkable,

not earning him enough money to support himself, so Eastwood had to dig

swimming pools to supplement his income.

A more permanent move into acting came with the television series Rawhide,

which aired on American screens from 1959 to 1965, raising Eastwood’s

profile. However, films were his passion and, as he was unable to land roles

in America, Eastwood moved to Italy and played the lead role in a spaghetti

western trilogy, starting in 1964, culminating in The Good, the Bad and the

Ugly, which won him international and, more importantly, American acclaim.

He returned to America in 1968.

His 1971 incarnation of off-beat policeman Harry Callahan made Eastwood

a household name and launched a string of four more Dirty Harry movies,

finishing with The Dead Pool in 1988. Other famous roles include

Philo Beddoe, a brawling trucker with a companion orangutan, Clyde, in

Every Which Way But Loose in 1978 and the 1980 sequel, Any Which Way

You Can.

Eastwood’s directing career started in 1988 with Bird, and more than

thirty films have followed. He has won two Oscars for directing: for Unforgiven

(1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). Other well-known films that he has

directed include The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Mystic River (2003),

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Section 3: Comparison



IDeas, Issues & themes

Language and storytelling

Key quotes

‘Words are powerful. They too can be the agents of what is new, of what

is conceivable.’ (Ransom, p.61)

‘… man’s acts follow him wherever he goes in the form of story.’

(Ransom, p.6)

‘I learned their language, read their books, their poetry.’ (Mandela,

Invictus, 31:58)

‘We need to learn this song. We can’t just mouth the words any more.’

(Pienaar, Invictus, 1:03:24)

Stories and storytelling are important in Ransom and Invictus because they

reveal the nature of the characters, establish their contexts, and develop

the considerations and concerns of the narratives. The stories of Mandela’s

incarceration and subsequent release, Priam’s naming, Patroclus’ past and

Somax’s family history are all essential to our understanding of these characters

and their actions. The notion of storytelling is pivotal in defining Priam and

Achilles as ‘the stuff of legend’ (Ransom, p.216) just as it is in illustrating

the emancipation of South Africa from white minority rule.

Documentary and dramatised stories

Eastwood utilises the media to tell a number of stories in Invictus, emphasising

the power of language and images to shape our view of significant events and

individuals. At the beginning of the film he compresses the four turbulent

years between Mandela’s release and the beginning of his presidency into

the first four minutes. This compression of time employs news footage

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‘consecrated priest’ whose insight into the world of the gods takes ‘a sleek

professional form’ (p.43).

These women’s stories remain unofficial and untold, lost in Priam’s and

Achilles’ quests for immortality.

Identity

Key quotes

‘When I slipped back into my old place in the world it was in a ghostly

way and under a new name.’ (Priam, Ransom, p.76)

‘From now on your name is Idaeus.’ (Priam, Ransom, p.97)

‘You represent me directly. The rainbow nation starts here.’

(Mandela, Invictus, 13:26)

‘I cannot talk to them hiding behind men with guns.’

(Mandela, Invictus, 09:31)

Challenges to identity

Many characters in these two texts face a crisis or circumstance where their

sense of identity is challenged. In Invictus, these challenges arise largely

from the bringing together of different cultures and races to form the rainbow

nation; they also arise from the difficulty of reconciling the new with the old.

In Ransom, though, many of the challenges to identity are internal ones.

Priam, for instance, has a clearly defined ‘kingly role’ but he must now

experience ‘what is merely human’ in order to fulfil his role as ‘a father’

(p.85). Achilles, too, must negotiate the different elements within him that

identify him as both ‘a child of earth’ and a child of water, ‘his mother’s

element’ (p.4), in order to clear ‘his heart of the smoky poison’ (p.190) and

redefine who he is. Somax is challenged to alter his identity so that he may

fulfil his role as a dutiful citizen of Troy. While he is obedient, he is reluct-

ant to discard ‘the life he has lived all these years’ and accept the identity

others thrust upon him (p.99).

Common identities

The sense of place and tradition as an integral component of a group’s identity

is strong in both Ransom and Invictus. The Trojans identify themselves through

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9 How do the characters come to understand the notion of

leadership in Ransom and Invictus?

10 Compare the ways in which Ransom and Invictus explore the

impact of the past on the present.

Analysing a sample topicCompare Ransom and Invictus, using the following quotations as the basis for

your response:

‘It will end here on the beach … or out there on the plain. That is fixed, inevitable.’

Ransom

‘Do you hear? Listen to your country … This is our destiny.’ Invictus

The question is asking you to examine both quotations and determine what

each one means in terms of the text as well as in a broader context. You also

need to identify some connections between the two quotations and the ideas

they express.

• Achilles is thinking about his destiny, his impending death and the

likelihood that he will die in battle.

• Pienaar is urging his rugby teammates on to victory in the last

moments of the World Cup final.

Similarities:

• Both Achilles and Pienaar believe in fate and destiny.

• Both texts examine the events preceding outcomes that are

perceived as fated or destined.

• Fate and destiny are motivating forces that precipitate action.

• Pienaar, Mandela and Priam share a positive attitude to dreams

(with ‘dreams’ including hopes and aspirations for the future).

Differences:

• Achilles is a mortal child of the gods and believes that his fate is

predetermined.

• Priam believes in destiny, yet he also attempts to make his own

decisions by contemplating the concept of chance. This is an unusual

way of thinking for such a staunch defender of and believer in the gods.

• Mandela believes he is in charge of his fate and destiny, and has

drawn inspiration from the poem ‘Invictus’.

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insight Comparisons · contents Character map: Ransom 4 Character map: Invictus 5 Section 1: Ransom 6 Overview 6 Background & context 8 Structure & language 10 …

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