Friday 5 April 2013

Character Analysis: Hector

Hector

Hector is the son of Priam, Paris' brother and the commander of Troy's army. He is renowned for being the most powerful Trojan warrior. There are multiple differences between Homeric Hector and the Hector in Troy. Hector in both of them cares much about his family and countrymen, but in the film he is more of a kind and wise man than he was in the poem. In both texts he dies at the hand of Achilles. Two major differences between the two Hectors are who he kills and who he does not  kill.

In the movie Troy, Hector kills many Achaean warriors, but most noticable of his kills were those of Menelaus, Great Ajax and Patroclus. When Paris is fighting Menelaus, he loses both his sword and his shield and crawls back to Hector and hugs his feet, hoping his brother will save him. Menelaus goes to kill Paris and taunts Hector briefly, but before he can kill Paris, Hector stabs him, violating the rule of the fight.
This is an interesting difference because in the poem, Menelaus does not die, but returns home with Helen. It is also significant because it shows just how much Hector cares about his little brother. In the poem, the goddess Aphrodite saves Paris from his demise, but it is also doubtful that Hector would have stepped in to save Paris either. Great Ajax is a much more significant character in the poem than in the film. He plays an important part in the battles in the Iliad, but in the movie he is killed fairly early on, by Hector. Homeric Ajax kills himself after Paris killed Achilles and he was not given the armour, but Hector slew Ajax in the fight ensuing after the death of Menelaus. This is a significant difference to be explored in a later post. Finally, Hector's treatment of slain Patroclus is significantly different. In the Iliad, when Hector has just killed Patroclus, he drags the body away to be thrown to the dogs of Troy, being very disrespectful. However, in the film, Hector, upon realising that he has just mortally wounded a young boy in Achilles' armour, quickly and cleanly kills him and then calls off the battle. This is one of the most significant differences in the characters between Homeric Hector and the way Hector is viewed today.

Another significant difference is the way Hector responds to challenges. In the Iliad, Hector is more fearful and less noble than he is in Troy. The fight with Ajax is again a good example. In the film, Hector sees Ajax annihilating the Trojans and charges at him, seen below in this youtube clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GyDoL7ij3A).
You can see that Hector attacks Ajax knowing that he might die. In the poem however, Hector shows more cowardice in Book 17: "Ajax came up with his shield like wall before him, on which Hector withdrew under shelter of his men, and sprang on to his chariot, giving the armour over to the Trojans to take to the city..." This demonstrates how Hector is less selfless in the film than he is in the poem. This is reflected in more detail in his fight with Achilles, where he ultimately dies. In both the poem and the movie he realises that he cannot beat Achilles. However, in the poem, whereas he initially stands with resolve ("Hector still stayed before the gates, for his heart was set upon doing battle with Achilles."), when Achilles draws near, "Fear fell upon Hector as he beheld him, and he dared not stay longer where he was but fled in dismay from before the gates, while Achilles darted after him at his utmost speed." Hector ran away. In the film, Achilles calls for Hector and Hector makes his way down to battle, to meet his death as he knows it will be.

Hector is a very important character in both texts, and in both his is noble, valiant and an excellent fighter. But in the film he is a perfect character, making no ignoble statement or actions, whereas in the poem he has moments of imperfection.

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