Story and Storytelling in Ransom Anonymous 12th Grade

Malouf’s Ransom explores man’s quest for meaning, underscoring the importance of hearing and telling stories as they influence basic human understanding and interactions. Priam’s anecdotes illustrate the ability to cement our identity and reinforces that stories enable people to understand and empathize with one another. Moreover, Priam’s transition from a ‘child’ into a man throughout his journey is facilitated by Somax’s narratives on family life, prompting the former to reflect on the human condition, allowing an increased perception of his own experiences through the agency of the latter; similarly, it is Patroclus’ story that ignites a human response in Achilles. Ransom suggests that notion of one’s life being a story allows the king of Troy to challenge the fixity of his fate, as it provides an opportunity to dictate his own tale in the search for ‘something new’. Finally, stories satiate the need to be remembered suggesting that storytellers immortalize men by sharing their tales.

Priam’s need to tell the story of his past allows him to reflect on his former self, Podarces, increasing his consciousness of his identity and by sharing this with Hecuba, Malouf reinforces the need for the shared human experience, and that...