ABSTRACT

From Melos to My Lai presents an erudite, provocative and moving analysis of the accounts of violence in the literature and history of ancient Greece and in the film literature and veterans' accounts of the Vietnam War. This comparative investigation examines the nature of violence, its impact on society and culture, especially as reflected from th

chapter 1|11 pages

INTRODUCTION

A twentieth-century American odyssey

chapter 2|22 pages

LISTENING TO THERSITES

chapter 3|21 pages

ACHILLES AND THE HEROIC IDEAL

chapter 4|24 pages

CLEARCHUS’ STORY

The heroic ideal transformed

chapter 5|22 pages

PENELOPE AND WAITING WIVES AND LOVERS

chapter 6|23 pages

WAR, VIOLENCE, AND THE OTHER

chapter 8|22 pages

REMEMBRANCE, RHETORIC, AND MEMORY

chapter 9|19 pages

THE VISIBLY DEAD

Monuments and their meaning

chapter 10|15 pages

THE UNANCHORED DEAD

Mental cases and walking wounded

chapter 11|3 pages

AFTERWORD