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outsellers OP t1_j9ap94r wrote

Reply to comment by future_shoes in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: Thoughts on Metal Gear Solid and The Illiad References by outsellers

Exactly she assumes her audience is dumb, and won't read it. The reality though is that it has half a million ratings on Goodreads. She's basically calling people dumb by spoiling the Illiad, that's what people aren't understanding.

This book has been called pretentious many times, and I tried to steer away from that train of thought throughout reading it, but the fact she just throws that out there is what justified my thought on this.

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future_shoes t1_j9aqwxx wrote

Exactly what? Also I don't get how she is calling someone dumb by "spoiling" the Illiad. Wouldn't it be the opposite of calling someone dumb, isn't she assuming you have some basic knowledge of the Illiad? Would she be calling someone dumb if she referenced Moby Dick by saying that someone's obsession will lead to their down fall like it did for Captain Ahab?

Also, I don't think the Illiad can really be "spoiled". The whole thing was written with the understanding that the audience already knows all the events and the outcome. It would be similar to say someone is spoiling a story about the Titanic by saying the boat sinks. Or someone referring to the story of Job when talking about a series of tragedies that befalls a character.

Edit: an additional thought. If you do intend on reading the Illiad then she actually did you a favor. Like I said the Illiad is written assuming everyone knows the outcome. This makes the Trojans and Hector an even more tragic series of figures as you know they are doomed. Homer uses this knowledge of the reader to make a better story.

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Bridalhat t1_j9b4ykk wrote

Homer never says that Astyanax, the son of Hector, is doomed, but the scene where he is scared of his father in a helmet and Hector takes it off and talks about how he hopes his son has a happier life than him is 10x more affecting when you know that won’t be the case.

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pauvrelle t1_j9g1f8p wrote

You were doing great, but this is the comment that gives it away that you’re a troll.

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