Similarities And Differences Between Saving Private Ryan And The Iliad

After juxtaposing Homer’s The Iliad with Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan it is apparent that these two films share several similarities. These two famous stories both contain many of the same themes and basic character traits. Although the setting of the events told in these two stories take place in very different countries, and happen thousands of years apart; the two tales manage to have so much in common. Both portray very honorable soldiers who are willing to die for their countries. On the other hand, in each, there are examples of cowardly characters who are not willing to die with the same honor. There are many parallels between The Iliad and Saving Private Ryan; between the way in which the soldiers battle with honor and between

Yet, the Trojans refused to surrender to the Greeks. They would rather die, than be under the control of Agamemnon, and see their city taken over. The American soldiers are in a very similar situation when battling in a small French town during WWII. The few American troops decide to fight against the several tanks and many German troops coming their way even though they know they won’t likely make it home alive. These American soldiers, like the Trojans, would rather die fighting for their nation than surrender to the enemy, and be taken alive. Ironically, this is what ends up happening on both fronts. The Trojans end up losing the war with many casualties. Although the Americans didn’t lose WWII, most of the men lost their lives while trying to defend this town in an attempt to keep the Germans from advancing. The actions of most of the soldiers in the Greek, Trojan, and U.S. Army display their courage and willingness to die for their country in battle. In book 7 of the Iliad when it comes time for someone to battle Hector, the greatest warrior the trojans have, everyone is

In Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, the character referred to as Upham is truly afraid to die in battle, while the rest of his comrades don’t hesitate to risk their lives. In the assigned scene from this film Upham is assigned the role of running around supplying ammo to the other American soldiers because he is inadequate with a rifle. Upham manages to fail even this simple task because he is constantly afraid to run into the open and get involved with the war going on around him. In several cases Upham’s fellow soldiers end up dead because they run out of ammo and have no way to defend themselves. The rest of the troops are highly dependent on Uphams support, and he does not do a sufficient job providing it. There was one particular situation when Upham saw an enemy soldier rush upstairs to attack a defenseless U.S. Soldier. Upham could have easily went up the stairs behind the German and killed him, saving the life of another man. Instead he remained on the stair in fear and started crying while the German killed both his partners. This particular scene epitomizes cowardice, and the lack of honor in which Upham fights