1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?
It represents the fact that the reality we think we know may not even be close to what the real reality is around us, we just haven't realized or seen it yet.
2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
The prisoners represents the ignorance that we have, the sun represents the truth that we don’t know, the shackles represent all the draw backs in life that are holding us back.
3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
It suggests that when are given opportunities we must take them.
4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
The shackles and the cave suggest that prisoners have no idea about life and what its really about. There are shackles on the prisoner’s mind.
5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
Well there are so many things in our lives that put shackles on our minds. In my life it's usually my parents and other people that I look up to that I'm learning from. I say this because they are the ones basically telling me what is acceptable in society and what is not, what is good and what is bad, but honestly I really don't know, and won't until I'm out on my own living my own life. Another huge shackle can be technology, specifically the internet. The internet can also be a huge influence because people, especially myself often turn to the internet for answers and we basically believe what we see on the internet, we are blind to the actual evidence behind the answer.
6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
The perspective of the freed prisoner is that he has seen what he though was reality, but what it now really is, but the cave prisoner only sees shadows so that is their only known reality.
7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?
The freed prisoner is confused when he is released from the shackles because all he’s ever known is shadows so that is his reality. So when he enters the real world he must question what is reality.
9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Their is a distinction between appearances and reality because the shadows were just the appearance of something but not the true reality of what it actually is.
10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?
An alternative assumption would be that because all the prisoner’s had come to know were the shadows and because of that the shadows are their reality.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Gymnastics Beam Routine Remix
Well basically in my essay I talked about how Hamlet shows us that sometimes when we are looking for an answer or trying to overcome a struggle the best kind of therapy is listening to ourself. Well a few months ago I injured my knee at practice and as a competitive gymnast getting ready to compete soon, this has been one of the biggest struggles I've had to overcome not being able to do hardly anything except condition, and go to tons of physical therapy in the slim chance that it may work. Well this was my first time getting back up on the high beam in almost 3 months with only being able to do basic skills and I still have a long way to go and am a long way from being better, but the fact that I was able to mentally overcome the fear that I might get up there and get hurt again and listen to myself was a pretty big accomplishment for me.
http://www.youtube.com/v/Djq44Kuon6s?autohide=1&version=3&attribution_tag=VXNMbAASUhoXR3WTfJNEJg&autoplay=1&showinfo=1&feature=share&autohide=1
http://www.youtube.com/v/Djq44Kuon6s?autohide=1&version=3&attribution_tag=VXNMbAASUhoXR3WTfJNEJg&autoplay=1&showinfo=1&feature=share&autohide=1
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
A Poetic Inquiry
My previous big question:
Why is there so much poverty in this world? Why don't we seriously help those in serious need more? Do we not care enough, or too focused on our own lives to worry about anybody else's? Also the thought of the universe going on and on forever bothers me, how does it simply go on and on forever? I just can't seem to comprehend that.
How is it that some of the worst things happen to the best people? I can't understand why and it breaks my heart. Also when am I going to finally get to meet Justin Bieber? (Don't hate! lol)
A Sonnet on Life
These are days of tumultuous struggle and painstaking agony
These are mornings where heartbeats are rhythmic daggers stabbing me
These are nights of tears, wondering, doubt, heartbreak and regret.
This is life, and I relish in the fact that is hasn’t ended yet.
Though pages in my personal existence volume are still being written
Though I ponder the epistemological nature of my metaphysics
Though I know now that I really know not a thing and never did,
I believe life must continue, whether or not I want to live it.
And it goes on for us all, whether we choose to live or die
And there’s only today to live, that we all should recognize
And life itself is precious; seize the day, forget regret;
And relish in the fact that life still hasn’t ended yet.
These are days of life; they last but for so short a time
So let’s relish in the fact you and I are still alive.
Author unknown
I chose this sonnet because it reminds me that as tough as life can get and even though bad things happen to good people we can't live in worry and fear we simply must live each day to the fullest and realize how precious life is.
Why is there so much poverty in this world? Why don't we seriously help those in serious need more? Do we not care enough, or too focused on our own lives to worry about anybody else's? Also the thought of the universe going on and on forever bothers me, how does it simply go on and on forever? I just can't seem to comprehend that.
How is it that some of the worst things happen to the best people? I can't understand why and it breaks my heart. Also when am I going to finally get to meet Justin Bieber? (Don't hate! lol)
A Sonnet on Life
These are days of tumultuous struggle and painstaking agony
These are mornings where heartbeats are rhythmic daggers stabbing me
These are nights of tears, wondering, doubt, heartbreak and regret.
This is life, and I relish in the fact that is hasn’t ended yet.
Though pages in my personal existence volume are still being written
Though I ponder the epistemological nature of my metaphysics
Though I know now that I really know not a thing and never did,
I believe life must continue, whether or not I want to live it.
And it goes on for us all, whether we choose to live or die
And there’s only today to live, that we all should recognize
And life itself is precious; seize the day, forget regret;
And relish in the fact that life still hasn’t ended yet.
These are days of life; they last but for so short a time
So let’s relish in the fact you and I are still alive.
Author unknown
I chose this sonnet because it reminds me that as tough as life can get and even though bad things happen to good people we can't live in worry and fear we simply must live each day to the fullest and realize how precious life is.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Hamlet Essay
What is it about Hamlet, that really captivates the audience? Maybe it's the classic "everybody dies in the end", which is typical Shakespeare, whatever it may be there is something about Hamlet that grasps the reader. Performative utterance has an enormous impact to the characters and the plot of Hamlet. Hamlet himself portrays self-overhearing predominantly throughout the play. He shows how listening to our own words can really sometimes serve as the best form of education for ourselves.
Hamlet clearly demonstrates that words and actions are two completely different things through performative utterance and if you really do want to turn your words into actions then you must follow through entirely. Making a promise is easy but keeping that promise and actually committing to it can be extremely tough just as we saw Hamlet struggle after he promised his father's ghost that he would avenge his death which takes him a very long time to do because he realizes his intentions and what he wants to do are very different from that of what others want him to do.
Self-overhearance is a key element in Hamlet. Hamlet is truly able to express his emotions aloud through his words and at the same time listen to them. He really does rely on self- overhearing and anyone who has read the story could basically say it is a form of treatment for himself. Hamlet is able to take self-overhearing and use it in as his way of reevaluation. Self- overhearing is definitely present in my life all the time especially being a competitive gymnast. I constantly have to listen to myself and tell myself that I am able to do something especially when the fear of some of the harder and scarier skills sets in, I have to be able to reevaluate the situation I am being put in.
There are clearly tons of strong elements that draws the readers of Hamlet in. Performative utterance is definitely one of these and has a huge role in Hamlet, and is really about the action Hamlet himself takes and follows through with. Self-overhearing is really that one element where the audience can truly connect with Hamlet on a personal level because we all have and continue to use self-overheaaring in one way or another and gives us a more vivid image to create and place ourself in Hamlet's shoes.
Hamlet clearly demonstrates that words and actions are two completely different things through performative utterance and if you really do want to turn your words into actions then you must follow through entirely. Making a promise is easy but keeping that promise and actually committing to it can be extremely tough just as we saw Hamlet struggle after he promised his father's ghost that he would avenge his death which takes him a very long time to do because he realizes his intentions and what he wants to do are very different from that of what others want him to do.
Self-overhearance is a key element in Hamlet. Hamlet is truly able to express his emotions aloud through his words and at the same time listen to them. He really does rely on self- overhearing and anyone who has read the story could basically say it is a form of treatment for himself. Hamlet is able to take self-overhearing and use it in as his way of reevaluation. Self- overhearing is definitely present in my life all the time especially being a competitive gymnast. I constantly have to listen to myself and tell myself that I am able to do something especially when the fear of some of the harder and scarier skills sets in, I have to be able to reevaluate the situation I am being put in.
There are clearly tons of strong elements that draws the readers of Hamlet in. Performative utterance is definitely one of these and has a huge role in Hamlet, and is really about the action Hamlet himself takes and follows through with. Self-overhearing is really that one element where the audience can truly connect with Hamlet on a personal level because we all have and continue to use self-overheaaring in one way or another and gives us a more vivid image to create and place ourself in Hamlet's shoes.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Literature Analysis # 3
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
1. A young boy by the name of Oliver, becomes an orphan after his mom dies. He gets shuffled around from place to place, getting exploited wherever possible. He end up getting in with the wrong crowd, a gang of petty thieves, and doing some things which he knows that he shouldn't. It ends on a positive note with Oliver finding happiness under the care of a law-abiding, wealthy family.
Charles Dicken's purpose is portrayed through the fact that he was a young boy in a very similar situation growing up, and Oliver was able to show people in the upper class that he and so many others in similar situations were suffering terribly.
2. The theme that clearly stands out to me is within all this corruptness there is a spec of purity that grows and is able grow stronger than the corruptness.
3. The author's tone is depressing yet optimistic.
“It is because I think so much of warm and sensitive hearts, that I would spare them from being wounded.”
“For the rest of his life, Oliver Twist remembers a single word of blessing spoken to him by another child because this word stood out so strikingly from the consistent discouragement around him.”
“It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens down the temper, said Mr. Bumble. So cry away.”
4. foreshadowing: The truth about Oliver’s parentage is foreshadowed by the portrait in Mr. Brownlow’s house, by the locket that old Sally has stolen, and by Monks’s pursuit of Oliver.
major conflict: Although Oliver is fundamentally righteous, the social environment in which he is raised encourages thievery and prostitution. Oliver struggles to find his identity and rise above the abject conditions of the lower class.
rising action: Oliver is taken care of by a gang of London thieves, but refuses to participate in their thievery. An upper-class family takes him in, but the thieves and a mysterious character, Monks, continue to pursue him.
climax: This is when Nancy is murdered for disclosing Monks’s plans to Oliver’s guardians and Mr. Brownlow gets the full story of Oliver’s origins from Monks.
falling action: Fagin is executed and Sikes dies; Oliver and his new family live out their days in happiness.
setting: the english countryside
protagonist: Oliver
symbols: the character's names definitely, and Bull's-eye
metaphor: the London Bridge representing the division among social classes.
Character Indirect: the response other characters have to Oliver's appearance when the author describes what he looks like.
Direct: when the author is discussing how the Artful Dodger is a young thief.
To show both how the author directly describes the character and show the reactions of the other characters in response to one's actions which does leave an impression for the reader by giving them a better visual.
2. When one of the characters from the upper class of the time is speaking you can see a more proper sophisticated use of syntax and diction, whereas when someone like Oliver is speaking the syntax and diction is the complete opposite and sounds very uneducated.
3. Oliver is a dynamic and round character because he starts off as an innocent push over kind of character, but then learns to fight for himself and rise above his situation.
4. Oh I definitely felt like I had personally been right alongside Oliver in his journey and it literally started from when he first said "please sir, may I have some more?" I automatically have this visual of this frail little boy dying to get something else in his empty stomach, but feeling bad fro him because he picked the shortest straw and was forced to ask this question. I really just wanted to give the little boy a hug!
1. A young boy by the name of Oliver, becomes an orphan after his mom dies. He gets shuffled around from place to place, getting exploited wherever possible. He end up getting in with the wrong crowd, a gang of petty thieves, and doing some things which he knows that he shouldn't. It ends on a positive note with Oliver finding happiness under the care of a law-abiding, wealthy family.
Charles Dicken's purpose is portrayed through the fact that he was a young boy in a very similar situation growing up, and Oliver was able to show people in the upper class that he and so many others in similar situations were suffering terribly.
2. The theme that clearly stands out to me is within all this corruptness there is a spec of purity that grows and is able grow stronger than the corruptness.
3. The author's tone is depressing yet optimistic.
“It is because I think so much of warm and sensitive hearts, that I would spare them from being wounded.”
“For the rest of his life, Oliver Twist remembers a single word of blessing spoken to him by another child because this word stood out so strikingly from the consistent discouragement around him.”
“It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens down the temper, said Mr. Bumble. So cry away.”
4. foreshadowing: The truth about Oliver’s parentage is foreshadowed by the portrait in Mr. Brownlow’s house, by the locket that old Sally has stolen, and by Monks’s pursuit of Oliver.
major conflict: Although Oliver is fundamentally righteous, the social environment in which he is raised encourages thievery and prostitution. Oliver struggles to find his identity and rise above the abject conditions of the lower class.
rising action: Oliver is taken care of by a gang of London thieves, but refuses to participate in their thievery. An upper-class family takes him in, but the thieves and a mysterious character, Monks, continue to pursue him.
climax: This is when Nancy is murdered for disclosing Monks’s plans to Oliver’s guardians and Mr. Brownlow gets the full story of Oliver’s origins from Monks.
falling action: Fagin is executed and Sikes dies; Oliver and his new family live out their days in happiness.
setting: the english countryside
protagonist: Oliver
symbols: the character's names definitely, and Bull's-eye
metaphor: the London Bridge representing the division among social classes.
Character Indirect: the response other characters have to Oliver's appearance when the author describes what he looks like.
Direct: when the author is discussing how the Artful Dodger is a young thief.
To show both how the author directly describes the character and show the reactions of the other characters in response to one's actions which does leave an impression for the reader by giving them a better visual.
2. When one of the characters from the upper class of the time is speaking you can see a more proper sophisticated use of syntax and diction, whereas when someone like Oliver is speaking the syntax and diction is the complete opposite and sounds very uneducated.
3. Oliver is a dynamic and round character because he starts off as an innocent push over kind of character, but then learns to fight for himself and rise above his situation.
4. Oh I definitely felt like I had personally been right alongside Oliver in his journey and it literally started from when he first said "please sir, may I have some more?" I automatically have this visual of this frail little boy dying to get something else in his empty stomach, but feeling bad fro him because he picked the shortest straw and was forced to ask this question. I really just wanted to give the little boy a hug!
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Vocab #8
1. Abase: (v) to lower; to put or bring down; degrade
2. Abdicate: (v) to give up a throne, right, power, claim, or responsibility
3. Abomination: (n) anything greatly disliked; detestation
4. Brusque: (adj) abrupt in manner; rough
5. Saboteur: (n) a person who commits or practices sabotage
6. Debauchery: (n) excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures; intemperance
7. Proliferate: (v) to increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively
8. Anachronism: (n) someone or something that is not in it's correct historical or chronological time
9. Nomenclature: (n) a set or system of names or terms by an individual or community; the names or terms comprising a set or system
10. Expurgate: (v) to purge or cleanse of moral offensiveness; to amend by removing words deemed offensive
11. Bellicose: (adj) inclined or eager to fight; aggressively hostile; belligerent; pugnacious
12. Gauche: (adj) lacking social grace; awkward; crude; tactless
13. Rapacious: (adj) inordinately greedy; predatory; extortionate
14. Paradox: (n) a self-contradictory and false proposition
15. Conundrum: (n) anything that puzzles; a riddle whose answer involves a pun or play on words
16. Anomaly: (n) someone or something that is abnormal or does not fit in; peculiarity; abnormality; exception
17. Ephemeral: (adj) lasting a short time; short-lived
18. Rancorous: (adj) full of or showing rancor (hatred)
19. Churlish: (adj) boorish; rude; mean
20. Precipitous: (adj) extremely steep
2. Abdicate: (v) to give up a throne, right, power, claim, or responsibility
3. Abomination: (n) anything greatly disliked; detestation
4. Brusque: (adj) abrupt in manner; rough
5. Saboteur: (n) a person who commits or practices sabotage
6. Debauchery: (n) excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures; intemperance
7. Proliferate: (v) to increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively
8. Anachronism: (n) someone or something that is not in it's correct historical or chronological time
9. Nomenclature: (n) a set or system of names or terms by an individual or community; the names or terms comprising a set or system
10. Expurgate: (v) to purge or cleanse of moral offensiveness; to amend by removing words deemed offensive
11. Bellicose: (adj) inclined or eager to fight; aggressively hostile; belligerent; pugnacious
12. Gauche: (adj) lacking social grace; awkward; crude; tactless
13. Rapacious: (adj) inordinately greedy; predatory; extortionate
14. Paradox: (n) a self-contradictory and false proposition
15. Conundrum: (n) anything that puzzles; a riddle whose answer involves a pun or play on words
16. Anomaly: (n) someone or something that is abnormal or does not fit in; peculiarity; abnormality; exception
17. Ephemeral: (adj) lasting a short time; short-lived
18. Rancorous: (adj) full of or showing rancor (hatred)
19. Churlish: (adj) boorish; rude; mean
20. Precipitous: (adj) extremely steep
Saturday, October 12, 2013
DEAR OPHELIA
Well Ophelia, this definitely puts you in a very tough decision, but you have to go with what your heart truly feels is right. If you feel that this prince truly does love you and you truly love him, then I say your life is your life, and sit your father and brother down and explain to them in the calmest way possible that this is what you have chosen to do, and that this is your life to live, not theirs, and that this is what really makes you happy, whether you support me in my decision or not, this is what I have decided and it is final.
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