"Pankration": Nicasylus changes dramatically Throughout the Novel.

Throughout the novel Pankration, Nicasylus changes dramatically. Nicasylus was only considerate of himself and was very selfish; by the end of the novel he was kind, caring, unselfish and self-reliant. Nicasylus becomes less selfish through the novel, he faces his fears and learns to fend for himself and not rely on others as much.

Throughout Nicasylus journey he becomes less selfish. Nicasylus starts out as a boy living in Athens who can have slaves do his every command. When the plague strikes Nicasylus is sent away on a boat which is attacked by pirates. The pirates held Nicasylus captive and he had his freedom taken away from him It was such a relief to be given the opportunity to clean of that smell that seemed to have permeated his skin. He climbed into the barrel and scrubbed fiercely at his body, while the crew stood about, staring and laughing rudely. Cadmus the Pirate sold Nicasylus as a slave and he was faced with adversity when he had to undertake tasks as a goat herder With no reason to enjoy life as a slave, Nic enjoyed the long haul up the mountain. The conditions were poor and Nicasylus had to learn to cope in the hard conditions and he became more self-relying because of it.

Nicasylus had to face his fears both physically and emotional throughout the novel. Nicasylus journey to Pankration in Athens was full of obstacles. Nicasylus had to live in rough conditions being held captive on a pirates boat; he also had to defend himself against a wolf The stone struck the wolf between the eyes. It hit the ground, a landslide of heavy flesh, and the kid, not yet dead, rolled out of its jaws whilst he was as slave working as a goat herder. Nicasylus also had to escape from Amasis who kidnapped him. Nicasylus had to survive throughout many bad conditions by himself and he grew stronger, learning from these experiences.

Nicasylus had to learn to fend for himself and be more self-relying. Whilst Nicasylus was sailing the Aegean Sea being held captive on the pirate ship, he had no-one to rely on, this was also the case when Nicasylus was sold as a slave and became a goat-herder The first months went past like a bad dream, Nic had not been brought up to clean, sweep, look after dirty animals or do any of the tasks he was set. Whilst Nicasylus was a goat-herder he had to fight a wolf and with help from another slave (Tiso) he avoided death. During Nicasylus adventures he couldnt rely on others, he had to learn to be self-sufficient.

When someone has other people to do everything for them they dont learn to do anything by themselves. At the start of Pankration Nicasylus was a selfish boy who couldnt do anything himself. Throughout the novel Nicasylus had to fend for himself and face his fears, this made Nicasylus appreciate what he has and made him learn to be more self-reliant. Therefore, this justifies Nicasylus changes dramatically throughout the novel PANKRATION.