Ransom

by

David Malouf

Neoptolemus Character Analysis

Neoptolemus is Achilles’s son, whom he has not seen in nine years by the time Ransom begins. Although Achilles himself will die before he has the chance to see his son again, he has a vision of Neoptolemus in the future: he sees his son, now a teenager, killing Priam during the final sack of Troy to avenge Achilles’s death. Malouf expands on this in the final pages of the novel, depicting the killing as an unsatisfying attempt on Neoptolemus’s part to live up to his father’s legacy, and an act that will haunt Neoptolemus with shame for the rest of his life.

Neoptolemus Quotes in Ransom

The Ransom quotes below are all either spoken by Neoptolemus or refer to Neoptolemus. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Fate, Chance, and Change Theme Icon
).
Part 5 Quotes

And for him the misery of this moment will last forever; that is the hard fact he must live with. However the story is told and elaborated, the raw shame of it will be with him now till his last breath.

Related Characters: Priam, Neoptolemus
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis:
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Neoptolemus Quotes in Ransom

The Ransom quotes below are all either spoken by Neoptolemus or refer to Neoptolemus. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Fate, Chance, and Change Theme Icon
).
Part 5 Quotes

And for him the misery of this moment will last forever; that is the hard fact he must live with. However the story is told and elaborated, the raw shame of it will be with him now till his last breath.

Related Characters: Priam, Neoptolemus
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis: