So I finally saw Star Wars Episode III tonight. It was pretty dark and violent for Star Wars. You understand just what sort forces it took to forge the world of the original trilogy out of the fairy-tale idyll of Episode I. Hmmm... The jury's out to lunch on this one folks... It was epic and powerful, to say the least. It also sheds a lot of light on stuff that's going on in the original three. I'm sure all sorts of questions will be buzzing through fans' heads for years to come. The Platypus has answers, but he's keeping them to himself.
Thoughts after reading the "Iliad" to prepare a Greece unit for my students: -Hector is a jerk until he's dead. He even advocates the exposure of Achaean corpses and then has the cheek to turn around and ask Achilles to spare his. He rudely ignores Polydamas' prophecies and fights outside the gate to save his pride knowing full well what it will cost his family and city. After he's dead, he becomes a martyr for the cause. -Agamemnon has several moments of true leadership to balance out his pettiness. In this way, he's a haunting foil to Achilles: the two men are more alike than they want to acknowledge. -We see that Achilles is the better man at the funeral games of Patroclos. His lordliness, tact, and generosity there give us a window into Achilles before his fight with Agamemnon and the death of Patroclos consumed him. -Nestor is a boring, rambling, old man who's better days are far behind him, and yet every Achaean treats him with the upmo...
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