Ma. Chrisel P.

Maniebo AB- Political Science

World Literature Tues/Thurs; 8:30-10:00 AM August 1, 2013/Ms. Osial

Analysis on Troy

The movie Troy centers on love and power. Love between the Prince of Troy and the Queen of Sparta; the love between the older Prince to the younger Prince of Troy; the love between the King of Troy to his sons who are also warriors/heroes in Troy; and most especially, love between cousins that was seen through the life of the great Greek warrior, Achilles. Who as many of the characters concluded, was unbreakable nothing or no one will make him fall. He was admired as the strongest Greek of all time and his name will forever be remembered, and thats how he wanted it to be. Basically, Troy was based on the stories told within Homers Iliad, and of course it gives us (those who doesnt understand much after reading the epic) what really happened in the Trojan Horse. Although Achilles was the strongest warrior of all Greeks, he was never a soldier to Agamemnon of Mycenae who wants power over all the civilizations. Thus Achilles despises him and wants him to beg him to fight for him in which Agamemnon always do. The war has become necessary because of the love of the young Trojan Prince, Paris to the Queen of Sparta, Helen. Who while during a peace mission to Menelaus of Sparta with his older brother, the great warrior, Hector. His love for Helen sets everything on fire with the Spartans to the Trojans; and thats when everything started. You can only imagine a fortress city wherein everybody thinks its unbreakable was burned on the ground in the time wherein the Trojans are unprepared for anything. Helens leaving Sparta is clearly the mark to start the war, where Menelaus asked for his brother, Agamemnons help. In the surface, it can be seen that a war will begin because a brother wants to take revenge on someone who bullies his own flesh and blood but that wasnt the reason why Agamemnon helped Menelaus. He uses that alibi so that he can take Troy for his own and for the entire world to know him as the King who took over the world. He uses that story so that he can gather all of the great soldiers of Greek to take revenge in. Again, the story is not just about love; underlying it is the fact that one person wants power and he would do everything and sacrifice everything to have that power, that person is Agamemnon. From my point of view, Achilles doesnt believe that he is the greatest warrior of all time. If he was anything, he was a man who believed his own press release he doesnt take any order from anyone except himself. He doesnt have any second thoughts nor did he conflicts with anything. He mopes on the flanks of the Greek army with his own independent warriors that only

do what he says, carrying out a separate diplomatic policy which really pisses off Agamemnon. He thinks of Agamemnon is a poor leader with a bad strategy and doesnt really listen to him until Hector accidentally kills his beloved cousin, Patroclus. Which for me is a representation of love not just between cousins but can also between brothers because he was very protective of him and also be love between teacher and student since Achilles teaches Patroclus the things that he knows from the start. It should be also taken into the account why Patroclus died because for me thats the turning point for which Achilles did the things Agamemnon tells him to do and also that part of the story is very important for the viewers to understand the depth of the feelings and also how the story will go. This specific scene where Patroclus acts like Achilles is so dramatic that the next scene shows perhaps hundreds or thousands of men hand-in-hand ready to combat Troy, completely forgets the fight for a moment to focus on the battle scene between Hector and him with everybody standing around like during a fight on the playground between kids. Another important scene that should be taken into the account is the part wherein King Priam ventures out his walls into the enemy camp, not scared at all that he might be killed by the soldiers of Agamemnon or something, surprises Achilles in his tent and asked him, begged Achilles for the body of his own son, the hero of Troy, Hector which Achilles easily killed in a fight after he has learned about what happened to his cousin for a proper burial. This scene has given the time it needed for us viewers to build our mood for the next scenes. It is also portrayed in the movie and it was pointed out since the begging of the story how the Trojans believed their Gods and how greatly they depend on it. One can also remember when Hector argues with his father, King Priam to not depend on the Gods as they were not there physically but the latter just shrub Hector off. I think it is the main reason why Troy has fallen. Religion is the main reason why Troy was burned into the grounds. Why? Because if King Priam has just listened to Hector from the beginning and again he didnt listen when his other son, Paris told him to burn the horse that they thought was a peace offering from the Greeks when left, they would still be as they were before unharmed and protected But no; King Priam with his obsession with Gods has decided to bring home the horse as a trophy for the war. In the end it is important to take note all of these things for us to really understand how the story works. I know it is very different from the epic the Trojan Horse because some of the scenes were just added to make the movie nice to watch. Wherein the movie, it has the element of love and forgiveness and hope while when you read the epic, all you can feel is the great urge to win over Troy and to have the power that Agamemnon wants. Theres no element of love when you read the epic but you can definitely feel the anger and thats what makes it different. Because of all of these elements, a person should have a different appreciation on the story when he/she reads it or when he/she watches the movie.