Death of Pride by Emily

Death of Pride by Emily - June 2022 Scholarship Essay

In a room full of kings, there stood the an awkward young boy named Patroclus. After being banished from his inherited kingdom, he was striped from his title of prince and the future bloodlines of this families territories. But the boy that he strongly envies because he possesses everything that he himself is not, takes him in from a neighboring kingdom. The historians say that they are great companions, but in truth, they are nothing remotely close to that. Instead he mesmerized by someones vanity, the beauty of the goddess Thetis and King Peleus' son, transfixes him.
They learn that they have more common than they originally thought they did. After several years of hiding their love for one another from the public eye, they are sent to the Trojan war. The demigod Achilles holds he's head high and comes into this war fully confident of himself. Yet, there is something or someone that seem to bother him. Agamemnon and Achilles are not entirely fans of each other, especially after Agamemnon insulted his honor and stole one of his "prizes". Filled with rage and blinded with pride, that is all that Achilles' mind is set on. Tension rises and so does his stubbornness, for he will not let his immortal reputation or honor be tarnished. The Myrmidons have no other option but to sacrifice themselves, after they are close to defeat. However it wasn't Achilles on the chariot, his helmet and armor covered is dark brown hair and bronzed skin. He's much weaker than Achilles because he wasn't blessed with immortality. There, his enemy struck him, Achilles now fully aware of this, letting his pride be the death of him and all the greeks.
Book written by Madeline Miller called "The Song of Achilles", the lesson learned from this is that we often want to be the person in the right. We often would rather be right or nothing at all, letting our stubbornness win. Had Achilles not let his ego get in front of him, well we would have a much different story to tell. Personally I have held on to grudges that have broken friendships and even family relationships because I didn't want to let my pride get hurt. So this story, not only served as to entertain but it was a reminder that holding grudges prevents us from moving forward but others are sacrificed in the process.