Thinking Outside the Box

Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" and Sartre's "No Exit" both imply a greater knowledge and enlightenment idea. To Plato a person can achieve greater knowledge by experience and exploring new ideas on their own. Sartre's story shows that people learn by torture by others. Sartre used imagery through dialogue to create his picture and Plato used questioning dialogue to represent his views.

No Exit

1) Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment? Enter Sartre's space more fully and imagine how it would feel to live there endlessly, night and day

- My version of hell would be more based on Dante's Inferno with the layers of hell and different punishment at each level. Another type of hell can be one's mind in that they trap and torture themselves by over thinking. To attempt to find peace in a hellish physical environment would be to accept and adapt, then center yourself and thoughts so you can feel more free. If I lived in Sartre's room I would probably become a claustrophobic and have an anxiety attack. 

2) Could hell be described as too much of anything without a break? Are variety, moderation and balance instruments we use to keep us from boiling in any inferno of excess, whether it be cheesecake or ravenous sex?

 - Certain things without a break can be described as hell, but if you love doing something and you do it a lot and still love it then you wouldn't consider it hell. Depending on the person one thing can be hell and one thing can be joy. Everything is based off an individual and their ideas.

3) How does Sartre create a sense of place through dialogue? Can you imagine what it feels like to stay awake all the time with the lights on with no hope of leaving a specific place? How does Garcin react to this hell? How could you twist your daily activities around so that everyday habits become hell? Is there a pattern of circumstances that reinforces the experience of hell?

- Sartre creates a sense of place through the dialogue with the characters talking about their frustrations in the room. I cannot imagine being in the characters situation, not being able to sleep and always having the lights on would make me very cantankerous. Garcin reacts to this hell by denying its existence. If my daily activities were twisted to become a hell they would probably be more tedious and never ending or if I wanted to do one of my daily activities I wouldn't be able to.

Brain with 10 Legs

In my literature group (Whitney, Amara, Rachel, and Breanna) we are reading Catch 22 (approved by Dr. Preston).
We are using group messaging to help each other with any questions on the book and Dr. Preston said it was his favorite book so we can also ask him for clarification on any symbols or meanings.
Our reading schedule is up to the individual as long as our group as a whole has completed the book before December 1st.

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?
- The allegory of the cave represents what we know and what we don't know. When we don't know something we become lost and confused.

2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
- The cave itself is imagery and also the use of the shadows, plus light and dark.

3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
- The allegory suggest that exploring and stepping out of your normal comfort zone can benefit you more even if you don't know how to handle the situation, the exposure can bring a new perspective or learning opportunity.

4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
- "Shackles" are restraints holding the prisoners back from seeing new things. The "cave" suggests a surrounding that they have always known and want to leave but are afraid.

5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
- In today's society, I feel like the mind shackles itself. People over-think and care too much about what others say or do that they don't free their mind.

6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
- The freed prisoner's perspective is more creative and imaginative now that he has seen something new. The cave prisoner's are still closed minded and don't believe anything besides what they know, which is the shadows on the cave wall.

7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?
- Lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur when someone doesn't have an open mind about new or different ideas or when someone isn't exposed or have enough background to grasp what is being said.

8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?
- Prisoners get free by freeing themselves, this is difficult because you are leaving everything you have ever known behind to explore a new world. Intellectual freedom is the same concept, if you want it you cannot be afraid to explore.

9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- I agree that there is no distinction between appearances and reality because seeing a shadow on a wall doesn't explain what the real figure 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?
- Two alternative metaphysical assumptions could be; that you have not gotten an opportunity to see a difference or you are pushing the opportunities away.

Hamlet Essay Remix

 is Hamlet mad or sad?

A Poetic Inquiry

I chose this sonnet because it is the only one I could find that semi related to my desired topic of being and individual in society. The connection I made with the sonnet and my question is Shakespeare is asking why this girl wears makeup and why she wants to be like everyone else. I found the sonnet by going through pages of Google and looking up different key words I was searching for.
Sonnet and Big Question

Sonnet Relating to My BIG

BIG Question

Ah! wherefore with infection should he live,
And with his presence grace impiety,
That sin by him advantage should achieve,
And lace itself with his society? 
Why should false painting imitate his cheek,
And steal dead seeming of his living hue?
Why should poor beauty indirectly seek
Roses of shadow, since his rose is true?
Why should he live, now Nature bankrupt is,
Beggared of blood to blush through lively veins?
For she hath no exchequer now but his,
And proud of many, lives upon his gains.
   O! him she stores, to show what wealth she had
   In days long since, before these last so bad.

Fall Vocabulary #9

aficionado- somebody who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about something

browbeat- intimidate someone into doing something, with stern or abusive words

commensurate- corresponding in size or degree; in proportion

diaphanous- light, delicate, and translucent

Hamlet Essay

  The main question asked about Hamlet in Hamlet what is wrong with him. Everyone in the play wanted know why he was unhappy. The performative utterances in Hamlet begin here. Hamlet utters a performative utterance when he says he will kill Claudius. Learning about performative utterance and reading Hamlet impacted my self from the way Hamlet speaks and interacts with the other characters throughout the play.

  Hamlet is a wise young man and displays his knowledge through his vocabulary and word choice. When Hamlet is speaking to other characters, for example his mother, he gives more elaborate words for what he is saying than is needed. Using more fluffed words to decorate what you are trying to say shows that Hamlet is more mature than his family and peers perceive him to be. I believe this idea reflects into AP English, studying vocabulary and "To Be Or Not To Be" soliloquy is just words until we put them to use and fluff what we say to embellish a point and give a better impression to others of ourselves.

  Actions speak louder important than words and Hamlet's actions lacked in comparison to his soliloquies. Hamlet says he is going to kill Claudius at the beginning of the play but his action of actually killing Claudius doesn't occur until the end of the play. The delay in Hamlet acting on his words creates a different interaction between Hamlet and the characters in the play which causes them to think he is crazy. Friends and family also delayed Hamlet's action since he was waiting for the perfect time to strike. In life there is never a "perfect time" for anything, there is a gut feeling, your intuition guides you and you can feel a perfect moment but nothing is ever perfect. Hamlet found his perfect time to kill Claudius as he himself was dying.

  Performative utterance is strung through Hamlet like it is in reality. People, in general, don't lie but don't tell the truth either. In "To Be Or Not To Be" Hamlet isn't saying he isn't happy or unhappy, he is reflecting on his experience and self-overhearing his emotions. Comparing Hamlet's thoughts in his soliloquy to my reflecting on reading Hamlet I created a schema to hold my knowledge I have learned through reading and discussing the play. This knowledge will help me in the future like Hamlet's knowledge helped him outsmart Claudius and escape his planned death escorted by his friends.