Thursday, November 29, 2012

No Exit

I've found this piece of literature particularly interesting. A vast change from the usual view on people, in an allegorical manner. Three people are in a room, Inez, Garcin, and Estelle. The room is hell. Hell is other people. Ergo, the motley crew interacts with one another in such a fashion. Each person has done something deserving of the fate they had reached, and each with their own personalities.
-Inez cruel overall and has a very bitter outlook on human being in general. She is vastly jealous of Estelle's looks and judges Garcin for being cowardly
-Estelle is self indulged. She is conceited to a very sinful point, and is lustful towards Garcin, and wishes to ignore Inez.
-Garcin is a coward who constantly looks for self validation. He wants nothing more than for Inez to accept him as a person and grant him compliments, but she is non complient, and Estelle's moves don't make too much of an impact
Each one of the members wants something they can't get from someone else, so each is trapped in the room, even with access out. As it has been said "Hell is other people"

My hell:
Yea both pain and company. Pain can be adjusted to "eventually" I'd assume. However, it seems the pain of a mistake doesn't seem to leave so easily. But no, no couches anywhere. Couches would make me happy no matter who was with me. And in a hellish environment, it is your own situation in which no peace can be found.

Too much of anything without a break:
I'd have to disagree that this is truly bad. Very possibly it loses enjoyment, but it can't be the worst thing you imagine. Too much sleep doesn't seem like hell to me.

Setting:
The setting of the play is in a very ordinary room. However, the room doesn't seem to be comfortable, and in fact seems to be combating the individuals in it the whole time do to its limitations. Garcin seems to simply want to leave at first, but it trapped by his own undoing. Daily habits, when they seem to be pointless beyond all means, can seem to be hellish.





Sunday, November 25, 2012

Allegory of the Cave Sonnet

Shackled by the restraints of your own mind
In the darkness where only shadows dwell
Trying to break the chains so you might find
A freedom of which you are proud to tell

Others are scared to break out of the mold
Their fears lye in the unknown of the light
Where presides things that are worth more than gold
Such as the knowledge of power and might

The journey may be difficult to take
Light may burn and rain may chill to the bone
But the comfort in the cave is but a fake
Only on the outside can freedom be shown

With some help you can make your way out
To find what this world is truly about






Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Allegory of the Cave Questions

1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?
The allegory of the cave represents the search for knowledge and things unknown to people. The struggle for people to get out of their own comfort zone and learn from "the outside."

2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
Key parts of imagery were the shadows, the cave, and the sun. The shadows represented the reality that the prisoners had imagined, the cave represented their own shelter world, and the sun represented the outside world and unknown knowledge.

3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
Education and enlightenment can seem new and scary at first, but are very rewarding and freeing in the end.

4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
The prisoners believed that their world may have been better than what could be on the outside, but the shackles make it obvious that the outside is seen in a very positive light in the mind of Plato.

5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
Only a person's own mental state can shackle their mind, and I firmly believe in this concept.

6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
The freed prisoner got the enjoy and experience a whole new world than the prisoners inside the cave, and even though scary at first, was definitely the right decision.

7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?
The two ways that Plato describes were going into the light, and exciting the light. Entering a world of new and free opportunities, and getting stuck into a world in which you know of too well already.

8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?
The prisoners only get out with the help of other prisoners, which suggests that we need others in order the be intellectually free.

9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Yes, appearances and reality are different, and yes they are the same. The perception that you have of others becomes your own personal reality, yet when you realize that their reality has something to offer yours, there new appearance is part of your reality. Really a complex subject.

10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?
That each person both has their own reality, as their own appearance to others.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Performative Utterance Essay

         The correlation between words and actions directly relates to  the level of unison a mental state is in with universally accepted reality. The separation between what one hopes to be real and what actually is either shows a complex relation of the mind and the physical world. This struggle is exhibited by us all, and can be seen through the character of  Hamlet in one of Shakespeare's most famous plays. From the depths on his mind Hamlet's quest of revenge is heated with inner rage until it bubbles over into the characters' lives. Each step is carefully plotted out within his mental facility and creeps its way into every scene. The relation is not only limited to the world of Shakespeare, but can be seen in each of us. The loss of material between thoughts, words, and actions, plays a critical role in life, as I have seen myself. Performative utterance plays a major role in both the world of Hamlet and our own.
       Hamlet's  words directly correspond to each action he commits. They lead to his tragic death along with many of the other main characters in the play. Note that it is important to distinguish Hamlet's actions as a character in such a play. In a way he is forced to do what he says in order to stay true to a character, and if he didn't the play wouldn't flow in such a way to entice its audience. That said Hamlet's words concoct what his does. The beginning of the play ushers in the first example with his talk to his father's ghost. His verbal commitment to avenge the murder of which he hears is taken in full seriousness and sets the stage for the plot. He again reconfirms this commitment when he judges Claudius's guilty reaction to the play he planned. Hamlet's actions become increasing complex when he comes into interaction with characters he cares not of. When he talks to Polonius, Claudius, Rosencrantz, or Guildenstern, his true intent stays a mystery to the other. He reaffirms his sanity at the beginning of the play in the reveal of his plan to act such in order to keep his true intents hidden and therefore keeping to his words the whole play, and his words stay true to his actions the whole play.
        The world as we know it however distinguishes greatly between what is said and what is done. It is of great importance to divide such breaks of connection into different categories. The first of which is to say something of which you have no intent of doing in the first place. This form is looked down upon the most as it is said to undermine the integrity of the words that the individual says from then on. Second, is having the intent to do something you say but never actually doing that act. This form gains more empathy than the first,  but ends up having the same overall miscommunication as the first. The third situation is the most complex of the possibilities. Saying that you are going to do something , and believing that you have indeed completed this task without doing so. This example takes on complexity in judging if something has been completed,which is often varied between  perspectives. Take for example someone who says they will contribute money to those in need after a natural disaster. They donate it to a foundation, and this foundation spends the money on luxuries for their company rather than on others. The result of this case are exactly the same as the first example, but shows the power of personal perspective between words and actions.
     Performative utterance can also be seen within my own life. Examples as of yet have all been a part of outside observation. However, simply by observing events you change the outcomes of those events. Self reflection on learning the famous soliloquy To Be or Not To Be has yielded a variety of results. One of the most interesting points I found in the recital was a mistake I had made. A simple slip of the word scorn in place of spurn. What makes this minute subject a study of interest is that I had truly thought that was the wording at the time of the recital. Having studied it wrong the whole time, that had become my new reality, and I would have gladly accepted this reality, if everyone else's didn't directly conflict with my own. My words had affected my mental patterns, and had altered my reality. Therefore I have learned that our words become intertwined in what we do and think, and help shape our personal reality.
      Performative utterance is a very powerful idea. It relates themes of truth, insanity, honor, and reality. Hamlet used it to entice readers through the ages. To make fools of some, and to create truth of words through what he did. His talk of revenge consumed both his words and actions and helped combine the two into a tragedy that this revenge lead to. The use of words must be taken to heart in each of us. They must be used with care, and taken to heart, lest we get trapped within our own sense of reality.

   
       

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Hamlet Resources

1. http://aplove.blogspot.com/search?q=hamlet
This resource is very helpful as it briefly goes over every scene in Hamlet. There may not be any deep analysis, but for a quick review, is more helpful than many of the other blogs I looked at.

2. http://aplove.blogspot.com/search?q=hamlet
More links and sources of information, including videos and things to look for throughout the play. Easy to navigate as well.

3. http://domingoaplitblog2010.blogspot.com/2010/03/embassy-of-death-essay-on-hamlet.html
A very interesting discussion about a very specific topic in Hamlet and comparison to an external essay. This source actually reveals another class's conversation of the topic through the eyes of the students, which was unique to the blogs that I looked at.

4. http://2011apenglish.blogspot.com/search?q=hamlet
This source gives you a way to quiz yourself on all the current information up to date. It allows you to self assess your level of comprehension and study for possible quiz questions.

5.  http://millsenglish.com/wordpress/?cat=16
Last resource which I found. Presents a few animated videos on Hamlet from BBC.