The Iliad

1. Narrate how King Agamemnon shows stubbornness of heart in books 1-5.

· Cite modern day examples/people who display the same stubbornness of heart.

Agamemnon chose his own satisfaction over the safety of his kingdom. He let Apollo rain down destruction over his city all because he didn’t want give up the love of his life. The devastation lasted for nine days before his subjects finally spoke up. King Agamemnon, personifying hardheadedness itself, did not head to their words. The only time he did was with a price and wasn't exactly what his followers expected. King Agamemnon relinquished his grip upon the daughter of Apollo’s priest and demanded that Achilles would surrender his spouse to him. Achilles had no choice but to concede for the safety of the kingdom but he did this with a heavy heart and the intent for vengeance. Agamemnon’s stubbornness has dealt his kingdom immeasurable devastation and has paved way to a new enemy against his rule.

Modern versions of Agamemnon exist within our nation today. The lust and craving for self satisfaction and the feeling of being the undoubted “right” keeps our politicians from admitting mistakes and correcting them. It’s the best way to keep themselves from shouldering the fault and having to deal with the solution. Stubbornness plays a big part in human nature, although it can lead to an image of endurance, in most occasions it just ends up as misplaced denial and leads to more problems.

Those who are alike Agamemnon are fairly common today not only in politics but also in the youth. This is a better example as this really speaks of stubbornness of the heart. When presented an option, an adolescent would keep his grip on a beloved instead of following orders or taking in other information. He becomes blinded and rejects anything contrary to what he believes is right. It can be related to how Agamemnon would not listen to his subject’s pleads thus leading him to be damned in his own mistakes.

                                                                            -Johan Castro  4-Versiglia