David Malouf's novel Ransom tells the story of three characters - Achilles, Priam, and Somax - over the course of five chapters. Each chapter focuses on one character and reveals how they experience profound, everyday emotions like grief, mortality, and companionship. Despite depicting the violence of the Trojan War, Malouf portrays the characters witnessing ordinary moments that emphasize our shared humanity. Through his use of present tense and focus on emotion rather than action, Malouf constructs the characters and events of the classic myth in a way that invites readers to reflect on timeless human experiences.

1. How David Malouf
has written Ransom
And how you can write about it

2. Stuff you already know

4. 48 hours in the life of
Achilles
Achilles basicallyAchilles basically
looks like Dwaynelooks like Dwayne
‘The Rock’‘The Rock’
JohnsonJohnson

5. 48 hours in the life of
Achilles

6. 48 hours in the life of
Achilles
Achilles and Patroclus were total BFFs!

7. 48 hours in the life of
Achilles
• Ancient Greek Rule no. 10: Do not drag
corpses around behind a carriage - it’s very,
very wrong.

8. 48 hours in the life of
Achilles
He is waiting for the break. For
something to appear that will
break the spell that is on him,
the self consuming rage that
drives him and wastes his spirit
in despair. Something new and
unimaginable. P. 35

9. 48 hours in the life of
Priam
Priam is pretty muchPriam is pretty much
like this dude fromlike this dude from LordLord
of The Ringsof The Rings

10. 48 hours in the life of
Priam
Priam was absolutely not o.k
with the body of his son being
dragged around in the dirt.

11. 48 hours in the life of
Priam
The chance to
break free of the
obligation of
being always the
hero, as I am
always expected
to be the king. P.
59-60.

12. 48 hours in the life of
Somax
Both SomaxBoth Somax
and Hagridand Hagrid
have a beard -have a beard -
the likeness isthe likeness is
uncanny!uncanny!

13. If Somax had a facebook
page it would totally
include updates on his
donkey and his daughter
in law’s cooking.

14. 48 hours in the life of
Somax
We’re children of nature, my
lord. Of the earth, as well as
of the gods. P. 121

15. But that’s the easy
stuff...

16. • 2013 - Ransom shows that in war there is not just
brutality, there is also honour. Discuss. How does
it show this?
• 2012 - Despite the violence in Ransom, the reader
is left with a sense of optimism. Discuss. How is
the reader invited to feel about the text?
• 2011 - What role does love play in David Malouf’s
Ransom? How has Malouf presented the idea of
love in Ransom?

17. You can’t just write about what
the characters do in Ransom,
you need to discuss how
Malouf constructs the text to
give it meaning

18. It starts by
acknowledging the
author’s role

19. • Malouf shapes the story of Ransom around
three characters who...
• Malouf portrays a story of three characters
who...
• Malouf’s story of...is driven by his portrayal
of three characters who...

20. • Malouf first introduces us to Achilles not as
a killer of Hector or a desecrator of
Hector’s corpse, but as...

21. Acknowledge reader
response

22. • Malouf’s portrayal of Achilles in the opening
chapter of Ransom invites the reader to...

23. • Ransom begins not with the problem of the
desecration of Hector’s body, but with a
portrait of a grieving Achilles.

24. Write about the
relationship between
characters

25. • Just as in the opening chapter Achilles can
remember his first meeting with Patroclus
as if it were happening now, so too can
Priam in the second chapter...
• Like Achilles, Priam is also...
• Both Achilles and Priam are represented
as...

26. • Achilles, Priam and Somax all/each have
stories of...

27. Past / Present / Future
Before:Before: How Achilles met Patroclus; Priam is savedHow Achilles met Patroclus; Priam is saved
from being killed by Heracles; All Somax’s childrenfrom being killed by Heracles; All Somax’s children
have diedhave died
Priam and Somax travel to meet AchillesPriam and Somax travel to meet Achilles
After:After: Achilles is killed; Priam is brutally killed byAchilles is killed; Priam is brutally killed by
Achilles’s son Neoptolemus; Troy is destroyed -Achilles’s son Neoptolemus; Troy is destroyed -
Somax lives out his life retelling the adventures of theSomax lives out his life retelling the adventures of the
bookbook

28. • Acknowledge what is being done in a text
and how this constructs meaning for the
reader
• Ransom parallels the characters of Priam,
Achilles and Somax, showing us that they
all...In doing so, we see that...

29. What else apart from
character actions?

30. • Chapter 1: He is waiting for the break. p. 35
• Chapter 2:The grief that racks him is not only for his
son Hector. It is also for a kingdom ravaged... p. 40
• Chapter 3: Dear me, the driver thought, he’ll get an
awful pain in his back if he goes on sitting like that...p.
112
• Chapter 4:The great Achilles, eyes aswarm, is weeping.
p. 174
• Chapter 5:The sun is already up and has begun to
burn off the crisp white groundfrost as they leave...p.
205

31. • Most of Ransom is told in present tense,
emphasising the idea that...

32. • In many ways, Ransom is a story of
extraordinary men experiencing profound,
but nonethless everyday, emotions: grief,
mortality, wonder, companionship.

33. • The story of Ransom could be told in few
words: hero dies, father pays ransom for
the body. But what happens is much less
important than...

34. Book 1 =Book 1 =
AchillesAchilles
Book 2 = PriamBook 2 = Priam
Book 3 = PriamBook 3 = Priam
& Somax& Somax
Book 4 = PriamBook 4 = Priam
& Achilles& Achilles
Book 5 = Priam,Book 5 = Priam,
Somax &Somax &
AchillesAchilles

35. Each chapter is a study
of characters that
reveals...

36. We see characters
witnessing the
ordinary...

37. • He was sorry they had to move on. He had
got used to the place and the small
pleasures it provided...The rosebay bushes
with their long pointed leaves...This cooling
water that lapped his feet.The fishes...p.
142.

38. • The work they do here is women’s work -
common enough, they do it daily...But
Achilles, who has never before
been to this hut, and has
never till now considered its existence, is
intrigued. Having followed Hector’s body
this far, he is curious to see the next stage
of its passage into extinction: the business,
humble but necessary...p. 192

39. Thank you...
Note: This isNote: This is
an entirelyan entirely
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