Bramani Velagapudi Week #13 - The Song of Achilles


I read the Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller a long time ago when I was in seventh grade. Although I enjoyed the book then I don't think it was as good as it could have been now. 

I enjoyed the idea behind the story which basically turns a classic, age-old tale into a story about love and tragedy, but the execution of the book fell very flat to me with only a few parts of the story standing out while the rest was just monotonous. 

Despite this, one part of the book has stuck with me all this time. When the spirit of Patroclus, at the end of the book, is sitting down with Thetis at Achilles' statue and he's telling her about Achilles, Thetis asks him if he has any more stories and he replies. "I am made of memories" 

I have thought about this quote constantly for the past six years in many many different contexts. It always comes back to me. I feel like sometimes when you're in a moment and you look around you and realize that this is one of those moments that's going to ingrain itself into you until it becomes a part of you and suddenly realize that you don't know the person you would be without that moment in time. 

It can happen with good and bad memories. It can happen when you're with your friends, falling over yourselves while laughing and you look up at everyone grinning and inexplicably know that it will be a core memory. It can happen when you're fighting with someone and their words shoot out thoughtlessly and you can see their face turn pale in apology, but even once everything is forgiven those words inevitably become you because that's all you can think about,

So while many things about the book were ironically forgettable, the quote "I am made of memories" was not. 

Comments

  1. Shreeya SharmaMarch 27, 2024 at 3:14 PM

    Hi Brahmani. I thought your article was really interesting—ironically, The Song of Achilles is one of my favorite books, so your perspective on the book itself was pretty eye-opening. It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I do remember enjoying Miller’s style of writing, even though it was more formal than what I’m used to. Additionally, I think you bring up an interesting point about one of Patroclus’ final quotes, as being made of memories could mean so many things. I agree that memories make us who we are since no one would be able to take them away from us; memories give us individuality because we are the only ones who have had our experiences. Everyone else experiences and remembers the same event differently, making them integral parts of our respective identities. I also enjoyed how you discussed that there could be the realization that a certain moment in your life was identity-defining, as, without it, you likely wouldn’t be the same person. Overall, your blog was engaging, and I’m glad I got a chance to read it.

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