Question 8:
In Book 6, Hector replies his wife firstly with a concession, saying that he also worried about the same situation himself. By admitting that he also wants to retreat from the frontline and stays behind the wall, he acknowledges that Andromache offers a reasonable request to him as his wife. Yet, he emphasizes his honours as a commander of the Trojan army, and this title means he should stand on the very frontline of this battle to lead his soldiers. To me, Hector is such a complexed character that shows both selfless and selfish aspects in a simple conversation. From my perspective, his decision of rejecting Andromache’s proposal can not be judged with moral criteria as he values the broad definition of family(Ilion) more than the family of his own—-the narrow one. In this sense, Hector is selfish to his wife and his little son but selfless to his people. Frequently, warriors who engaged in the war can not be perfect in balancing both his personal issues and his duty.
In Homer’s world, men treasure their honours and responsibilities to their city, especially if they have specific job titles. In Iliad, it is always the most important thing for men to win glory and respect from allies on the battlefield through the talk between Hector and Paris. He believes in a society which men and women both stay in their positions. Warriors go to the battlefield while women perform waits in the city and pray to gods for victories. However, women share a different point of view which they usually regard her marriage/ husband as the fundamental thing in lives just like what Andromache says to Hector—-The marriage is the only thing she left. So basically Hector means all to her and what she believes to be a good society is plain and simple in which Hector stays by her side. Still, the difference in values which men and women possess finally leads to a tragic ending for most families in trojan.

Blog Post Two

I found this article very persuasive as the author employs many scholars’ argument and the overall tone for this passage is very objective. “ And I want to emphasize here again that this is not about pathologizing individuals. This is not about anyone’s personal mental health. This is a cultural problem of dysfunction and social organization that has neither simple explanation nor simple solution”  This part provides the audience with the author’s insight on toxic heroism as he believes it is not an individual phenomenon rather than a collective behavior. From my perspective, this sentence is indispensable to this article as it conveys the audience with a sense of objectivity by illustrating the logic behind the author’s argument.

In Sophocles Ajax, the main character displays the toxic heroism in the same way as the author describes. After failing to inherit Achilles’ legacy—his armor, Ajax feels that he has been disrespected and dishonored. Thus, holding the notion of heroism, Ajax turns himself against the Greek army because of his sick sense of honor. He tries to kill the high king Agamemnon, his brother Menelaus, and Odysseus, the man who takes over Achilles’ armor for revenge. Fortunately, Athena saves them by exerting illusion on Ajax and makes him believe that he has fulfilled his desire. There will be a catastrophic disaster if Ajax does complete his revenge in which the Greeks might lose their ten-year efforts.Just like what the author argues in his passage, toxic heroism is always related to a man’s honor. Even now, some criminals commit felony only because they feel ashamed or being dishonored . Hence, the toxic heroism is now still poisoning the social well-being as it posts a threat to safety issues

Blog Promo Three. Question 1

The first encounter is confronting the song of Sirens, who always bewitch all men and make them unwelcomed by wife and children. To deal with this problem, The crews have sweet wax in their ears which prevents the lure lyrics from interfering with their mindsets. Moreover, Odysseus himself has been tied up on the ship as he decides not to miss the chance to hear the Sirens singing. The second encounter is facing Scylla, an evil monster that even a god would not be glad to see. Sailing upon the narrow channel, Odysseus and his crew clash with this monster right in the face. Without mentioning a word about Scylla, Odysseus loses six of the best men from his ships in this part of the journey. The perfect island of the Sun marks the last encounter. It is this place that ruins all the efforts that Odysseus put on his way home. Because of Eurylochus and his lousy advice, Odysseus and his crew have been punished by Zeus as his crew members betray their oath and slaughter cattle and cows without noticing Odysseus.