Each character experiences the competing impulses that exist within all human beings: the instinct to live morally, act peacefully, follow the true and the good or the instinct to satisfy one's immediate desires, act violently and enforce one's will. ... Odysseus tells Neoptolemus, "You are going to work out some way of deceiving Philocetetes with a story12" and persuades him to tell this story, here we can see the "play within the play13" where Odysseus has his plot to try and capture Philoctetes. ...

• Word Count: 2877
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate