1. Shaelyn Washburn [chapter4]
page 21- "Things are fallen, which had stood upright. Things are free which should be bound, and bound which should be free. Things which had been hoarded in secret now blow and tumble in the open, and those who had hoarded them watch them with dull eyes and let them go. Boys have become men, and men boys. Slaves now stand free, and freeman slaves. Childhood had fled."
This passage of the book really helped me visualize the absolute chaos that went on during this slaughter. It was interesting to me how is seems that chaos is the exact opposite of society. For example in the passage 'everything that should be bound now run free' is stating that when things are not in order of society (bound) everything is chaotic (free). It was as if this invasion turned their entire city inside out. It was scary to think that this book is based on true events and some event in this book still go on today. I may be safe in America for now but what will happen when we are finally invaded? Xeones, Brutiex, and Diomache had to live in the mountains for two years.. and they were the lucky survivors! This chaos in the passage shows how easily society can be broken. It made me think about how quickly it could all be over when huge masses come to destroy. It was also interesting to me how a few paragraphs later in the book it talks about animals being lit on fire. It confused me to think about how pitiless these invaders were. It had to be more than just evilness driving them, maybe it was delusion, or even simply insanity...?
2. Shaelyn Washburn [chapter 5]
page 35- "Never forget Alexandros, that this body, this flesh, does not belong to us. Thank God it doesn't. If I thought this stuff was mine, I would not advance another pace towards the enemy. But it is not our my friend, it belongs to the Gods and to our children. Our fathers, mothers, and those of Lakedameon, a hundred, and a thousand yet unborn. It belongs to the city hat gives us all we have and demands no less in requital."
This passage struck me because it is Dinekes explaining his view of himself. He is totally selfless in the fact that he doesn't even consider his body to belong to him, but a gift from the Gods to protect his city and those within it to honor the Gods. I find it a neat opinion to look at life in this theory because it seems to give a load of courage to him. For example when he says "If this stuff was mine, I would not advance another pace towards the enemy" it shows how he figures that he is not living a life for himself and that this life has no purpose in serving himself but in serving his city. It seems to give him grave courage and he does not fear death because of this. I wander if maybe this is what makes him a man? A characteristic of a man is to not be a coward and Dienekes shows no fear in his selflessness. If he however was selfish and wanted to live he would be a coward. I cannot relate to this passage because I live in a town where men do not have to show that they are a man in their day-to-day lives. I find it interesting how much manlier men were in earlier times. I do still believe that there are times to prove that you are a man (in war, hard situations, etc.) but it is not as common. Would man from today's time would be considered a boy in Lakedameon? What would a boy from Lakedameon be considered in our world?
3. Sahelyn Washburn [Chapter 7]
page 43- " My intent is to simply convey, through the experiences of two young children and a slave, some poor measure of the soul terror and devastation which a vanquished population, any population, is forced to endure during the hour of its nations extinction."
This passage really stuck me with its impactful use of vocabulary. The words like 'soul-terror' and 'nations extinction' were a lot more impactful then 'scary' or 'defeat'. I think that the author does a beautiful job at portraying the absolute horror he is trying to communicate to his majesty. This passage however not only impressed me with its vocabulary but it stung me with its pain. The way he explains how hard it is to covey his experiences makes them even more unfortunate. Things were so bad that he couldn't even describe them through words let alone stories. It pained me when I thought about how good I have it compared to children like this who still exist today, who absolutely never get a break in life! Its bad enough that both of his parents died but on top of that, his town was destoryed, his love was raped and doesn't love him back, his slave friend Bruteix died, he is crippled, and now he cant even fight as a warrior against the ones he seeks vengeance. It made me realize how stupid our everyday problems that we complain over are. Now a days people actually cry over a pair of lost earings! This passage made me think... Have we cheapened sorrow? What is our pain compared to their pain? How would we handle their kind of stress in today's life? We have coaping methods, what were their coaping methods?
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