A Cruel Warrior: Achilles

           Achilles, the son of Peleus was destined to kill Hector. He was compared in Iliad to a falcon, deer, to gods and to stars because of his characteristics. Achilles is a cruel and merciless warrior. He was also described to be a greater warrior than Hector.
          Book 22 of Iliad depicted how Achilles killed Hector. King Priam tried to dissuade Hector by telling him how cruel Achilles can be.
                             And then my heart might shed
                             its dreadful sorrow, for he's taken from me
                             many valiant sons. Some he's butchered.
                             Others he's sold in islands far away. (22.57-60.221)
Hector wasn't dissuaded by his father. He wanted to faced Achilles but his courage faded away that's why Hector run away and was chased by Achilles. Here one can read how great a warrior Achilles was
                              The man (pertaining to Hector) running off in front was a brave warrior
                              but the man (pertaining to Achilles) going after him was greater. (22.202-203.224)
After killing Hector, Achilles did a merciless or monstrous act proven in the next few lines.
                              he carried out a monstrous act. He cut through
                              the tendon behind  both feet, from heel to ankle,
                             threaded them with ox-hide thongs, and then tied these
                             onto his chariot, leaving the head to drag behind.(22.513-516.231)
Here we can see how great and cruel warrior Achilles was.
Ramirez, Veronica, E. English Across Continents. Makati City, Phils.
Diwa Learning Systems Inc. 2010 Print.

A Great Woman A Great Mother

My grandmother and I

My grandparents with their grandchildren

In the course of our history many women were part of it. The most remarkable Filipina woman for me in history is none other than my grandmother: Adoracion C. Jornales. My grandmother was born on April 12, 1937. She was the sixth child of ten kids. My Nanay, as I call her, didn’t have a college degree. She worked as an employee at Riverside Mills Incorporation. There she met my grandfather Teofilo R. Jornales Sr. They married in January 1962. Their marriage produced 5 children of which one died at an early age.

my grandparents with their children

My grandfather was at first as you can say a great father to his family. But when my grandmother bore their third child which is my father, my grandfather became an irresponsible husband and father. So my grandmother had to be the breadwinner of the family. She worked on many jobs just to sustain the needs of her family. Her dream was that all her kids would finish school. Nanay sold food and clothing to offices and other places. She also worked as a nanny in London for 6 months. My grandmother faced many trials like when my aunt got very sick, when she and my father had a car accident and when my uncle failed in school and started using illegal drugs. Things changed to the better when, my uncle and aunt became Bible believing Christians. Nanay also became a Christian. This is one of the main reasons why all of her children finished a college education. Two years ago my grandfather became very sick. My grandmother cared for him in an admirable way, I think this was because of Jesus was the One who ruled in her life. The things I admired about her are how well she handled money and her positive outlook on life. The favorite phrase I hear from her is: “sa awa ng Diyos” her usual quoted words that marked her faith.