‘This Flesh is mine’ is a play written by Brian Woodland. In the play Brian interlinks two stories into one play. The story of Achilles, the greatest Achaean soldier and the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Brian seamlessly changes the setting, noises, costumes, ect. to tell us the story of a great Greek soldier who refused to fight for a king and wished to exit war. The story of the Achilles and the Trojan war falls under the category of myth, while we know the middle eastern conflict is true. But in 3000 years it may also become just legend.
After World War 2, the Jewish survivors of the holocaust wanted their own country, to have a Jewish state like the Arab states around the Middle-East and Africa. They were given the large majority of Palestine by the allies of the war. They weren’t welcomed by the neighboring countries (e.g. Jordan and Egypt). The Jews felt like this was their original home and that they were always supposed to be there. Tensions rose. In 1948 the Arabs and Israelis went to war because five Arab nations invaded territory in the former Palestinian mandate as soon as the announcement of the state of Israel independence on May 14, 1948. The war concluded with Gaza under the control of Egypt and the West Bank under the control of Jordan. The Palestinians fled to these locations, from what is now Israel, for safety.
After another war in 1967 Israel took control of the Gaza strip and the West bank, While the majority of the Palestinians were still there. Israeli troops stayed there for years. Israelis hoped they might have been able to exchange the land they gained for the Arab countries’ recognition of Israel’s right to exist and end the fighting. Israel finally left in 2005, however soon after a ‘terrorist’ group called Hamas won elections with the ideology of taking back what was originally their home. Hamas uses violence to achieve their goals. As a result to Hamas attacks, Israel created the blockade,2007, that stands till today to prevent Hamas from gaining weapons and to prevent attacks. The blockade also stops imports and exports drastically effecting the living conditions for the civilian population.
The second part of the interlinks is the Trojan war with Greece. The history of the war is mixed with myth and fact. This is evident in the most supported reason why the war began. It started as a way for Zeus to reduce the increasing population of humans and. The more practical reason, as an expedition to reclaim Helen, wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta and brother of Agamemnon. Helen was taken by the Trojan prince Paris as his prize for choosing Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess in a competition with Athena and Hera to win a single golden apple. Menelaus and the Greeks wanted her back and to avenge Trojan impudence.
A Greek tragedy entails a tragic plot based upon myths from the oral traditions of archaic epics.(where the story has a theme of grandeur and heroism). Usually you would have a man with great power and significance or personal qualities, fall or die due to his inability to deal with an uncontrollable circumstance or through the combination of a personal failure. We see how Achilles deals with grief, rage and war. During the play we witness the downfall of Achilles eventually leading to his death.
The scene I have selected to perform is Act 1 Scene 9. I believe this scene is the point at which the audience knows the Achilles is on the down fall. The death of Achilles’ closet friend, in some interpretations his lover, Patroclus, simply made him angry. However during the scene we see Achilles blame himself because his feud with Agamemnon was the reason for Patroclus’ death. At the end of the scene Achilles seals his own fate by thirsting the blood of Hector, Patroclus’ killer (‘he merely dealt the final blow’). Achilles accepts the fact that he will die if he kills Hector, but he is overwhelmed with rage that he has to do what he thinks is necessary. I feel that the transitions in grief would be interesting to explore in the performance and the moment Achilles snaps into realization that war is inescapable and if you try those closet to you pay the full price. Achilles’ attempts to exit the conflict are futile, he is a warrior and warriors only know war. I also believe that Ajax and Phoenix represent Achilles’ conscience. They are true characters beloved by Achilles, however they can also symbolize the questions running around the crazy mind of Achilles.
React!