A funny thing happened to Achilles-3

A Funny Thing Happened to Achilles on the Way to the Forum-3
1. Compare this simile to the earlier one comparing Hector to a river. What has changed?
2. How does Homer break the tension amid all of the carnage of battle?
3. When Agamemnon proposes leaving how do Odysseus and Diomedes react? Ironic?
4. What do you make of Zeus' flattery to his wife?
5. Zeus asleep, Ajax knocks out Hector. What does this tell you about Hector?
6. Zeus wakes up and is not happy, and thus cleans up the mess. Apollo helps Hector recover. Following the forecast of Patroclus' death in Book 8, Zeus now augments his prophecy to include, for the first time, Hector. Why does this happen here? What does this say about the nature of divine prophecies?
7. Patroclus convinces Achilles to let him enter battle wearing his armor. Why doesn't he go himself? If he is so insistent on not participating, why send Patroclus?
8. This is the fourth time someone has begged him (Book 9), and, as usual, the fourth time is the charm. Think about the potential symbolism of the armor. What part of Achilles' armor does Patroclus leave behind? Note the description of his armor compared to those of Diomedes, Agamemnon and Hector before their aristae. Pay careful attention to Achilles' instructions to Patroclus, and the similes describing the Myrmidon warriors.
9. Patroclus kills Sarpedon, Zeus' son, whom Zeus considers saving. Why doesn't he? What happens to Sarpedon? This is the first important death in the epic, beginning the sequence that leads to Hector's death. Look for changes in the narrative tone and level of elaboration.
10. What happens to Patroclus after killing Sarpedon? Look at the descriptions of his mind and emotions.
11. Is Patroclus diminished in the end or exalted? Is Hector's conquest of him glorious? Note that, despite the intention of tricking the Trojans that Achilles has returned, they never think that. Why do you think this is so? What effect would it have had on the story if Hector had bent over the dead Patroclus and said, "It's only Patroclus."
12. Hector says he will give Patroclus' corpse to the vultures; consider the ramifications. And does Hector have a realistic idea of his role in the death of Patroclus?
13. The battle over the hero's corpse. Do you see any significance in Menelaus being the first defender of Patroclus' corpse body, “braced like a mother cow lowing over a calf”? Menelaus himself talks about this.
14. Is Zeus' attitude to Hector changing? Why or why not?
15. How does Homer evoke not just Patroclus' death, but Achilles' as well? Note that his mother begins to lament him while he is still alive (as the Trojan women did for Hector).
16. The need for armor serves the function of preventing Achilles from merely charging out, saving Patroclus and killing Hector immediately. How would the story be different to you if this had happened?
17. Does Achilles accept responsibility for his friend's death? Should he?
18. Compare Hector's attitude after killing Patroclus like Patroclus' after killing Sarpedon.
19. Thetis' visit to Hephaestus is a welcome interlude. She gives the full story of her marriage (finally!) and says Apollo, not Hector, killed Patroclus; is this the way you see it?
20. Think about the shield and what is represented. What image of life does Homer provide? What does the shield evoke? Can you draw the shield based on Homer's description?
21. Thetis brings new armor to Achilles, which terrifies everyone else. Achilles announces the end of his anger, and Agamemnon attributes his error to Ate, "folly;" is he being serious, or making excuses? (Dodds has a fine chapter on this psychology in his book, The Greeks and the Irrational) Does Achilles really care about the gifts?
22. What does his refusal to eat signify? Note that the gods put ambrosia in him; where else has ambrosia appeared?
23. Briseis has essentially been exchanged for Patroclus; does Achilles seem to realize this? Note her lamentation for Patroclus. Achilles has re-entered battle, but has he re-entered the society of warriors?
24. Having fulfilled his promise to Thetis, Zeus unleashes all the gods. Why?
25. Athena and Ares fight; does Homer's description of this fight sound familiar? What is the function of this scene?
26. Pay close attention to the descriptions of Achilles and Hector in Book 22. How and why Homer does generally presents Achilles here through the eyes of others.
27. How do Hecuba and Priam attempt to persuade Hector to withdraw? Why does he refuse? What does Hector realize about himself?
28. How do you feel about Hector, Achilles, and the other Achaeans during Hector's death and shortly after?
29. Achilles' vengeance is now complete, but the book has shown us little of his thought and much of Hector's. The plot is now complete, and thus Achilles' continuing rage is stressed even more. Why is Achilles still angry?
30. How does Homer suggest Achilles' separation from humanity here, his symbolic death? The funeral games for Patroclus attempt to re-integrate Achilles into society. Is this successful? They also foreshadow events after the war. Has Achilles grown? Has he learned?
31. This consists of three type scenes: the divine visitation of Thetis to Achilles; the suppliant scene of Priam to Achilles; and the burial of Hector. Compare gods and humans in terms of emotions and morality in this book.
32. Some scholars have seen Priam's trip to Achilles' tent as a symbolic journey to Hades; how so?
33. Why does Achilles surrender Hector? How do Priam and Achilles console one another and bring each other back to humanity? Do you think that Achilles has grown as an individual and learned wisdom about himself and the world, or is he the same Achilles as before?
34. Think about Book 24 on your own. It is one of the most profound and moving episodes in all of literature. In what ways is it cathartic?