Animals Disguised in Armor
Human beings and animals share the need to satiate their appetites. What separates human beings and animals is rationality; a commitment to values. Honor, sacrifice, courage and selflessness characterize a hero which is a human being willing to commit themselves to these values. Outside of Shakespeare, Hector and Achilles epitomize what it means to be a hero and fighters of valor. In Troilus and Cressida, Shakespeare blurs the lines between hero, average human being, and animal. He shows us that no one can confine themselves within one of these classifications while bringing to light the human nature of heros. What is reflected is not always at the core. In the midst of a fight between the great Hector and Achilles, Hector pauses for a break. He asks Achilles to “pause if thou wilt” (VI.i.line 14). If Hector was the great fighter as he is known to be, he should have fought Achilles on the spot without hesitation.
Due to the standards at the time, once Hector takes his armor off the fight ceases. Another soldier enters and Hector admires his armor. Before exiting, he remarks “I’ll hunt thee for thy hide”(VI.vi.line 31). His statement shows how animalistic he is, a contrast to how one would expect a respected combatant to act. Shakespeare’s portrayal of these supposedly great warriors comments on the primal basis of war and killing. These men may act noble, yet they are bloodthirsty underneath the noble facade. They are susceptible to greed just like any ordinary being. Killings were thought to be sacrificial but Achilles’, too, is after violence. He wants to “impale” the “bloody Hector” (VI.vii.line 5) and hunts him down like an animal.
In the scene of his death, Hector first puts down his once-hungry sword and remarks that it is now full of “blood and death” (VI.viii.line 4). Rather than feeding his sword by nobly sacrificing Achilles, Hector killed a man purely for the sake of vanity. Enamored by his new possession, Hector is distracted. Achilles takes advantage of the situation and slays Hector as he is unarmored and off-guard. This shows that Achilles too is a bloodlust willing to forego all codes of honor to get what he desires. Gazing down at his conquest, Hector observes the “puterified core” that once occupied the armor. Describing the corpse as “puterified” dehumanizes the body. To Hector, the body has no meaning, it is just the decaying cost paid to fulfill his conceitedness. It is not a human being anymore, it is a dead animal. It is significant that the character is never named. He is not seen as a human being, only as an carcass. This adds to the barbarity Shakespeare portrays in the Hector. It is only the armor that he cared about. Once he gets it, Hector admits that his “day’s work [is] done.” As he is looking down, it is unlikely that Hector even sees the body. Hector most likely is looking at himself in the reflection of the armor while picturing how good he will look in it.
Hector’s vanity ends up being the flaw that gets him killed. Initially, the audience sees Hector as the ultimate hero. Just like a suit of armor, Hector wears his honor and valor around whilst holding himself and others up to high standards. But on the inside, he himself is a puterified core, an animal powerless to his appetite. Unable to see what is inside, or simply unwilling, Hector only sees the reflection of a valiant warrior. Caught up in a moment of irony, his image absorbs him and he fails to notice Achilles preying on him. After slaying Hector, Achilles reveals that his appetite is not yet satiated. Hector was satiated by his conceited conquest yet Achilles’ hunger continues uncontrolled. The heroes of the play disguise murder as sacrifice and appetite as heroism. Underneath the armor, the beast will always reveal itself.
