The subject of war - Essay Example

By working around the central theme, the narratives powerfully show the nature of humans, their response to challenges of the environment and the endeavors they are willing to undertake as means towards an end. With that said, it is interesting to note what caused the war in Homer's epic and how it compares with Sheri Tepper's feminist science fiction. The Iliad, narrating the events of a short period in a very long battle, continues from the Trojan war which was caused by Paris' capture of the Spartan queen Helen.

In the text itself, it is said that two lovely women, Chryseis and Briseis, are the root of all rampage. When their town is defeated by the Achaean forces, the camp's ruler Agamemnon demands to have Chryseis as prize while Achilles gets Briseis. Succeeding circumstances force Agamemnon to give up his reward Chryseis but then asks Achilles to hand Briseis over to him as replacement. Insulted by Agamemnon's order, Achilles refuses to join the Acheans in their fight against the Trojans and even prays to Zeus through his mother Thetis to punish the Acheans.

Zeus addresses this by coming to the Trojans' rescue, signaling that the battle between the Trojan and Achean forces have resumed despite their peace treaty. While it is shown that it is the women who caused the war in The Iliad, it is the men who caused the war in The Gate to Women's Country. The author, Tepper, elaborates on men's desire for power, the things they do in order to obtain it and the things they sacrifice in exchange for the accomplishment of their pursuits. Sheri Tepper book considers these as manifestations of men's innate character.

Homer's epic makes use of women as instruments of war. On a deeper analysis, though, it is the competitive nature of men that has driven them to war. Every strong male character is tested for bravery, valor and loyalty. On the other end, women are depicted as slaves. The poem emphasizes the existence of a struggle in the world and the ability to win over this battle dignifies and glorifies humanity. This is an idea contemplated by a male. Ages later, Tepper would intervene with a story written from a perspective of a modern-world woman, dissatisfied with patriarchal rule, motivated towards change, with a proposal of her own.

Figuratively, Tepper's women respond to Homer's men. In Tepper's country, Tepper's women downplay conflicts and emphasize cooperation among members of the society. The ultimate goal is peace, as if the main motivation for this writing is the lack of it in an earlier society. To Tepper's women, war in unnecessary and all their efforts will be poured towards preventing it. As we look into the causes or war in each story, an underlying factor that heightens the conflict is discovered. More than gender issues, a more realistic cause of strife is social disorder.

The story of The Iliad progresses in a patriarchal setting while the plot of The Gate to Women's Country proposes a revolution by a matriarchal structure. Both are stories dealing with gender issues which are about power and dominance. Agamemnon exhibits dominance over Achilles by demanding for Briseis and Achilles'reaction exposes the need to soothe the male ego. Were it not for Agamemnon's aggression and Achilles' yearning for revenge, the Acheans and the Trojans would not resume their battle since a peace treaty