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One Size Fits All (But Not Really) /// Isabelle Ferguson

 Achilles’ armor is like a musician’s personal instrument. If you are a musician in possesion of an instrument you’ve played on for a while, you get it. For those of you who don’t, I’ll explain. You know your instrument (assuming you have practised). This piece of art is something you have practised on for hours out of the day. There is that one key that maybe needs to be pushed down with a bit more force so a note will speak. There’s one note that’s a bit sharp, so maybe you adjust your embouchure to ensure the note hits that perfect pitch. You adjust and your instrument adjusts so you fit each other. Your instrument is precious and familiar.

    Hector stole Achilles’ armor off of Patroclus (468), and decided a good idea would be to wear it into battle against the armor’s former wearer. First of all, I was not aware armor just fits everyone who picks it up now. Second, something I did not mention above, it takes time to assimilate yourself to a foreign instrument. You are not familiar with its sharp notes and bad keys. Achilles knows his armor like a musician knows their instrument. This is battle gear that has shielded him in many wars before this one. He knows its nooks and crannies. This is Hector’s ultimate downfall. Achilles knows something Hector does not- one spot is exposed (552). Sun Tzu said it best: “The oppurtunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”

P.S. I commented on Jamie Peters and Haley Riddle's posts.

Comments

  1. Lily CaswellAugust 31, 2020 at 5:06 PM

    You make a really good point, Isabelle. This is my 13th year of playing piano and I know the ins and outs of my piano. I never really thought about the comparison of armor to an instrument but it makes perfect sense. Also, I love the quote by Sun Tzu and when I watch shows with courtroom scenes, like Law and Order, the prosecutor or defense will look for an opening that the other gives.

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  2. Micah PowersSeptember 1, 2020 at 8:30 AM

    I love your correlation between your instrument and a suit of armor. As romanticized of a thought that is, That connection portrays a beautiful picture I had not yet thought of. I think we can all agree that most guys even today would love having a suit of armor but I never really thought of armor as something you would become intimately familiar with. I think probably at that time men seemed to spend more time with/in their armor than in bed with their wife/wives, even though there seems to be an awful lot of that too. I think of the time I was working for my church back home, there was a camera that I used quite often and so I became intimately aware of the flaws of the camera from age as well as the features of the camera without really having to think about it.

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