The Free Will of the Iliad Characters - Research Paper Example

? Individuals do well, when free will prevails. September 22, Draft I. Introduction . Enthymeme: Individuals do well, when free will prevails. II. Body A. Achilles exercised free will. B. Paris exercised free will. C. Helen exercised free will. D. Agamemnon exercised free will. E. Fate can be adjusted. III. Conclusion Evidently, the characters of Homer’s Iliad do perfectly well, when eagerly exercising their free will, giving a correct enthymeme. Individuals do well, when free will prevails. Introduction: Homer’s Iliad centers on fate. The research delves on the free will of the Iliad characters. The research delves on the evidences to prove free will exists in Homer’s Iliad. Enthymeme: Individuals do well, when free will prevails. Body: Achilles exercised his free will. The characters are freely encouraged to accept their fate. In the same light, they are free to refuse compliance with their fate. Achilles shows several occasions when he exercised his free will. Free will is the individual’s exercise of one’s freedom to do what an individual wills or chooses (Begley 13). Achilles also had the free will to give his prized slave to King Agamemnon, against the King’s instruction to turn over the slave to the King stating in Book I Line 236, “You bloated drunk, with a dog’s eyes and a rabbit’s heart!...confiscating prizes from any Greek who talks back and bleeding your people day (Lawall 112)” The above paragraph shows that Achilles chose to exercise his free will. Achilles chose to be angry. Likewise, Achilles can choose to bring out his disgust for King Agamemnon’s unfavorable act of taking Achilles’ prized slave. The hero can choose to keep his mouth shut. The hero can freely choose to let the King freely take his prized possession. The hero can exercise his free will to pick up his sword and angrily approach King Agamemnon. Instead, Achilles prayed that Zeus will punish the king for his betrayal (Homer, The Iliad, 147). Lastly, Achilles freely chose to kill Hector in revenge for killing Achilles’ friend encouraging Hector fight stating, “You’d best remember all your figthing skills. Now you must declare yourself a spearman, a fearless warrior. You’ve got no escape…Right now you’ll pay me back, the full price of those sorrows I went through when you slaugthered my companions (Lawall Book XXII 335).” Paris exercised his free will. In addition, Paris exercised his free will in the Iliad story. Paris had the free will to accept or reject Menelaus’ single battle proposal (Homer 10). Paris used his free will to entice Helen to leave her husband, King Menelaus. Paris had the free fill to fight King Menelaus. King Menelaus dared Paris to determine who will keep Helen. “Menelaus had in mind taking revenge on the man who’d injured him (Lawall Book III 26).” Initially, Paris ran away from the fight fearful that King Menelaus was too powerful to defeat in battle. Paris’ brother, Hector, persuaded Paris to fight Menelaus by stating to Menelaus, “He and war-loving Menelaus here will fight it out alone between the armies for Helen and for her property… (Lawall Book III 100)” Forced against Paris’ free will to avoid fighting a more powerful King Menelaus, Helen’s husband, Paris used his free will to stand and fight for his love for Helen. Before entering the fight arena, Paris agreed to Hector’s persuasion stating, “Put me and war-loving Menelaus in their midst to fight it out for Helen, all her property (Lawall Book III 76).” Helen exercised her free will. Further, Helen exercised her free will in the Homer classic story. Helen freely chose to leave her husband. Helen stayed with Paris within the walls of Troy (Homer 6). In response, King Menelaus’ army, led by the invincible Achilles, attacked the impenetrable walls of Troy to take Helen home. Going further, Helen could have saved the lives of the Trojans and her people by preventing the battle, but she refused. Helen used her free will to stay with Paris stating to King Priam, the father of her new husband (Paris), “My dear father-in-law, whom I respect and honor, how I wish I’d chosen evil death when I cam here with your son, leaving behind my married home, companions, darling child, and friends my age (Lawall Book III 186).” The above character truly exercised her free will. The king’s love for Helen triggered the attack on Troy. Helen’s exercise of her free will caused the lives of her people. Likewise, Helen’s preference to stay within the embracing arms of Paris caused the lives of many of Troy’s soldiers. Hector’s died because of Helen’s decision to stay in Troy. Agamemnon exercised his free will. King Agamemnon used his free will abusively. King used his free will to kidnap Chryseis. Chryseis’ father prayed to Apollo to punish the soldiers of Agamemnon for kidnapping. Apollo brought sickness to Agamemnon’s’ soldiers for nine days. Agamemnon can freely obey the father’s request to return the kidnapped daughter. In response, the captive daughter’s father prays to the gods for revenge on Agamemnon stating in Book I Line 57 “For Nine days Apollo rained death down upon the troops (Lawall 108) …” Finally, Agamemnon decided to return Chryseis to her father. Agamemnon freely decided that the lives of his soldiers were worth more than keeping Chryseis from her father (Homer 7). Seeing Achilles angry, King Agamemnon used his free will to change his plans to take Achilles’ wife. The hero successfully persuades King Agamemnon to exercise his free will, as Achilles’ king. Fate can be adjusted. The four characters clearly show that the characters can make their own fate. King Agamemnon’s exercise of his free will indicates free will changes one’s fate. Achilles’ changing free will acts reminds everyone that fate should not be taken seriously. Helen’s choosing to stay with Paris indicates Helen can freely establish her own favorable fate. Paris’ persuading Helen to move to Troy indicates Paris is responsible for his own fate. The father shifts fate by freely praying to Apollo to rescue his captive daughter from King Agamemnon. Hector’s decision to persuade Paris to fight King Menelaus shows Hector can contribute to changing Paris’ fate. Apollo can intervene to change the fate of Chryseis. Conclusion: Summing the above discussion, Homer’s Iliad scrutinizes the fate issue. The research delves on the free will of the Iliad characters. The research delves on the evidences to prove free will exists in Homer’s Iliad. The characters used their free will to alter their unfavorable fate. Evidently, the characters of Homer’s Iliad do perfectly well, when eagerly exercising their free will, giving a correct enthymeme. Works Cited Begley, Carl. Afraid to Believe in Free Will. New York: WestBow Press, 2010. Homer. The Iliad. New York: Windmill Press, 2009. Homer. The Iliad. New York: Richer Resources Press, 2006. Homer. The Iliad. New York: Richer Resouces Press, 2007. Homer. The Iliad. New York: University Press, 2004 Lawall, Sarah. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. New York: W.W. Norton Press, 2005. Read More