Literature Analysis #3

Les Misérables

Allegory of the Cave Sonnet

The prisoners lived in darkness,
Unable to see the truth.
They accept the shadows in front of them,
Not looking for true meaning.
One changes his gaze,
And finds his way out.
Outside he is confused,
But the light soon speaks to him.
He learns of life,
And the way it should be lived.
To his people he returns,
To explain his new knowledge,
But they push him away,
So instead of things being clear, they’re gray.

---Apparently I did this wrong because it doesn't rhyme or is in iambic pentameter. I don't remember Preston saying this, but just so you're aware, I know.

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Abby Kuhlman and I collaborated to answer these questions.

1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?
The allegory of the cave deals with the relationship between ignorance and enlightenment and charts the path to becoming a philosopher: one with a greater understanding of the world around him. The prisoners in the cave know only of the tip of the iceberg while the philosopher can see everything below the surface as well. There is more to everything that we perceive and this will only be apparent if you exit the cave.

2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
The cave itself, prisoners, light/darkness, and the shadows.

3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
The path to becoming enlightened can be painful to someone who has lived with such a narrow view of the world. The influx of new information will be immense and almost inconceivable and this causes us to turn from it and try to seek what we had once known as true (when you feel blinded by the light so you look away to the darkness). Eventually we become accustomed to the light and realize that the shadows on the walls (our narrow-mindedness) were far different than from what actually made them.

4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
The shackles and cave suggest that the prisoners are being forced into their ignorance. also, that if they were given the choice, the prisoners would turn and go to to the light. however they are prevented of doing so by the shackles.

5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
The media which provides a biased and distorted view of the truth. They force us to believe one thing when in reality the truth is something completely different.

6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
Well it seems that the freed prisoner learns of a new sense of reality when he was released. He saw what was true and actually in front of him, not merely shadows on a wall. However the cave prisoners cannot be called ignorant because they don't know any better. All their lives they knew of the strange beings that appeared in front of them and were never given the opportunity to explore.

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 and confusion occurred when the prisoners only saw the shadows and were unable to see what the actual object was. They couldn't look beyond and therefore couldn't learn to see the true meaning behind what they saw. This gave them no way of understanding.

8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?
Cave prisoners become free when they are released to the outside world. They learn the true nature of things and adapt to the reality that comes. This then leads to their intellectual freedom because knowledge is finally being gained. No longer would they be sitting staring at images on walls and not knowing how they were actually being produced.

9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Appearances are never true to reality, they are mirages we create to fit in and conform to a society that demands a certain picturesque image. It is why we always say never judge a book by its cover: the outer self does not always match up with the inner.

10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?
I think that an alternate would be if reality was to be based off of our intuition. Therefore what we think, how we act, and what we want can all be related together with what our lifestyle is like. Also assumptions can be made and lead us toward different paths, but it's still our decision to be who we are and continue learning the unknown.

Reciting 'Sonnet 43'

Reciting 'To Be or Not To Be'

The Big Question

Honestly why do people care what other people think of them?

Vocabulary List #11

Affinity- relationship by marriage
---I hope that their is an affinity in my future.
Bilious- of a peevish ill nature disposition
---Draco acted bilious whenever faced with difficulties.
Cognate- of the same nature
---I am cognate as my friend Abby because we're basically twins.
Corollary- a proposition inferred immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof
--- I had a corollary about how she got hurt based on the fact that she was a dancer.
Cul-de-sac- a dead end
---The cul-de-sacs are fun palces to go to because it's like you have your own little village.
Derring-do- a daring action
---I rarely follow through with derring-do's because I get scared really easily.
Divination- the practice that seeks to foretell future events
---If divination was a real subject, I would love to take a class and see the future.
Elixir- A substance capable of prolonging life indefinitely
---There was a man in Harry Potter that drank the elixir of life to live to be over 500.
Folderol- a useless accessory
---Scarves are my favorite accessory whereas bracelets are folderols.
Gamut- an entire range or series
---The gamut of the Percy Jackson books is amazing and really enjoyable.
Hoi polloi- the general populace
---The hoi polloi of Righetti is of Hispanic decent.
Ineffable- incapable of being expressed in words
---I believe most emotions are ineffable and actions rather explain them.
Lucubration- to study by night
---I often follow the idea of lucubration so as to pass my school tests.
Mnemonic- intended to assist memory
---I make mnemonics to remember voabulary easier to remember.
Obloquy- abusive language
---I never speak with obloquy, especially to my parents.
Parameter- an independent variable used to express the coordinates of variable point and functions of them
---The parameter helped me find what I was looking for.
Pundit- a learned man
---I hope my future husband is pundit so that he has some chivalry.
Risible- provoking laughter
---The TV show 'Ridiculousness' is often risible.
Symptomatic- having the characteristics of a certain disease but arising of a different cause
---My body aching was symptomatic from having the flu.
Volte-face- a reversal in policy
---Righetti should have a volte-face when it comes to the dress code because it's never enforced and some people just look ridiculous and inappropriate.

Sonnet

Sonnet 43

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sigh

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun abd candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints--I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I chose this sonnet because it's all about love and I'm a hopeless romantic! :)

Growing My PLN

I chose the blog that I felt was the most helpful to me. It had straight-forward, simple summaries of what happened in each scene. I messaged the blog asking for any other help that they could possibly leave me with about Hamlet. I tried to act enthusiastic and I added my blog's URL. (However the blog was used some years ago so I am not sure if a response is something that may happen)

AP Hamlet PLN

http://gallagherseniorhonors.blogspot.com/2008/02/hamlet-study-guide-for-act-11-31.html
---This blog is very similar to ours and contains many viewpoints that could help us learn more about Hamlet.
http://aplove.blogspot.com/2007/11/ap-lit-hamlet-actscene-notes.html
---This blog contains very brief notes that can help us understand the simple plot line of Hamlet.
http://apenglangghs2014.blogspot.com/?m=1
---This blog has new questions and other students thoughts on certain elements of Hamlet.
http://apbridges.blogspot.com/
---This blog shows new ways to learn and understand Hamlet by making Shakespeare your own.
http://quizlet.com/subject/hamlet-ap-english/
---This website can help any student understand the way Shakespeare wrote.

Literary Analysis #2

Anna Karenina by: Leo Tolstoy

GENERAL
1. A brief summary for the plot line of Anna Karenina can either be really long or a mere sentence so I'll try for something in between. I believe it is about a choice between love or the things that are expected of you. It seems that throughout almost every marriage has gone wrong in some way or another so what does Anna decided to do? She finds someone she, for a period of time, truly loves and wants to be with despite the marriage and children she was already invested in. This era that she lived in was very different from ours: one was scorned for committing adultery, divorce was unheard of, and different social classes did not mix, even in the slightest. However Anna didn't seem to care. She fell for Vronsky and then quite literally fell to her death.
2. I believe the author's purpose of writing this story was to show that people are not perfect and that they can surprise you. This is showed in the ending of this book when Levin suddenly realizes he loves his son because of what the peasant mentioned to him, "...But whether it is faith or not-I don't know what it is-but that feeling has entered just as imperceptibly into my soul through suffering and has lodged itself there firmly." This is something Anna Karenina didn't have and the that's the reason I believe she died. She didn't believe in herself, Vronsky, or the mere goodness in people. All she saw was the heartache in herself and the sad life she was given after her affair became public. All one needs is a little faith to get through the 'dark and scary' parts of life.
3. "All happy families are like one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." This quote really spoke to me and I think it was a great way to begin the story of Anna Karenina. This is sad in a way because it is so true, there can be a million things wrong that makes a family not want to be a family and so few things to make them want to stay together. From this I think the author showed a slight darkness to him, but only a speaker of the truth. "[Vronsky] felt like a king, not because he believed that he had made an impression on Anna-he did not believe that yet-but because the impression she had made on him filled him with happiness and pride." The way the author had this come across was that Anna was everything. She was the desirable one, the one everybody stared at; women were jealous and men wanted to be her lover. Again it shows what we can only visualize as true, or at least how everyone perceived this truth. "At every step he found that he was disappointed in his former dreams and discovered new and unexpected enchantments." This is then when the author finally becomes 'light' in a way. He shows there is belief that life can be good. This shows growth in the author, but also that he really knew what he was talking about.
4.

• Zeitgeist - The author really gave you the feel of this 'victorian' era by including the clothes, how people treated one another, the social classes, etc.
• Tragedy - Anna Karenina went through so much to get to the life she wanted to live, but in the end couldn't handle the pressure and killed herself.
• Thesis - The quote I stated at the beginning of Q. #3 clearly shows a statement that is going to be challenged.
• Foreshadowing - Anna knowing the person who was killed by the train, which is eventually what led to her same demise.
• Romanticism - I think the author was fighting for this cause by having Anna do everything she wasn't supposed to do during this era.
• Pathos - I felt sad for Levin at the beginning of the story because Kitty didn't reciprocate his feelings.
• Inference - Anna 'fell' in front of the train, but it is to be clearly believed that she jumped.
• Imagery - It was very easy to picture everything going on because the author was very descriptive.
• Dogma - Shown by the author by having all the people scorn and ridicule Anna after her adultery was known by all. (It wasn't accepted at all at this time)
• Conflict - I believe the only part in the story that didn't contain conflict was when Levin finally realized his love for his son.

CHARACTERIZATION 

1.

• Direct: (1) We are told the exact looks and persona of Anna Karenina making us want to like who she is. (2) After Levin is married to Kitty it clearly states that he is happy. (He is the type of man that knows how to love and do things correctly)
• Indirect: (1) When Kitty blushes after meeting Levin. (She never says she likes him, but it becomes known through her facial expressions that she does) (2) The need Anna had to see her son. (This showed that no matter the mistakes she made, she was still committed-in a way- to her family)

I believe the author uses both to keep things interesting and not give everybody's feelings away.

2. I think the way the author says things is the same throughout the book, but the content and the deepness of what he says when focusing on a different character. Levin is a character that grows, starting as a dark person wanting everything but not knowing how to attain it, to a cheerful fellow married with a son and content with his life. Whereas Anna is the opposite. She begins all pompous and cheerful, but then is dragged down by the weight of her terrible marriage and the disrespect from the people around her.

3. The protagonist, Anna Karenina, is a dynamic and round character in a sort of backwards way. Instead of growing into the great woman she could have become she instead started out as great as she could be and then had a serious falling out. She became disheveled, bothersome, and no longer the woman that everyone looked at and wanted to be with.

4. I definitely felt like I read a character. This is nothing against the way Tolstoy wrote it, but considering the era this woman lived in, I would find it very hard to believe to have her show up in my home town. Also I didn't find her all that appealing and when that happens I tend to not want to get to know that person. "...Dolly looked thinner, but remembering that her own looks had improved and that Dolly's eyes had told her so, she sighed and began talking about herself." Anna was so self absorbed and didn't seem to have a care for anyone else.

Vocabulary List #10

Aficionado: a serious devotee
- I find myself to be an aficionado of the Percy Jackson series of books.
Browbeat: to intimidate or be bossy towards
- I dislike when people assert their authority by browbeating.
Commensurate: corresponding in size of degree
- The payment commensurates with the amount of work I did.
Diaphanous: so thin as to transmit light
- The vase was diaphanous because I could see the stems of the flowers through it.
Emolument: compensation received for employment
- I hope that when I am older that I get paid high emolument.
Foray: to steal goods; a rade
- The only place I would ever foray would be my own kitchen.
Genre: a kind of literary or artistic work
- I have found that my favorite genre to read is fantasy.
Homily: a sermon on a moral or religious topic
- I have only attended a few homilies because my family is not very religious.
Immure: to lock up or confine
- Sometimes I have to immure my dogs to the backyard because they like to run away.
Insouciant: marked by blithe unconcern
- I never act insouciant when a friend is having a bad day.
Matrix: an enclosure within which something originates
- The womb was the matrix for a baby.
Obsequies: a funeral ceremony
- At my aunt's obsequy, my cousin threw her ashes into the ocean.
Panache: distinctive and stylish elegance
- My grandma has a walker, but is so cute that she still has panache.
Persona: a personal facade that one presents to the world
- I would like to think that my persona is a happy one.
Philippic: a speech of violent denunciation
- People become scary whenever they give philippics.
Prurient: characterized by lust
- I hope that most people don't make decisions on who they want to be with when prurient.
Sacrosanct: must be kept sacred
- People often go to church because they know that it is sacrosanct.
Systemic: affecting an entire system
- I hope that I never have a disease that is systemic.
Tendentious: having a strong, controversial tendency or inclination
- Rarely do I have tendentious thoughts, but if I do I don't act on them.
Vicissitude: mutability in life or nature
- I may not be an environmentalist, but I don't plan on following the path of vicissitude either.

How Technology Changes the Way I Think

"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'
'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'
'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."
---From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p.67)

How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think?

The first thought that comes to mind is that either we're becoming robots or are using our technology as robots to do the things we would rather not. I am not saying this is bad in a sense, but that things have changed a lot in just a mere ten years. When I was seven I watched movies on VCR's, my mother had a flip phone from Cingular that rarely had service, and we actually sometimes used books for references. Now things are different, easier in fact, but maybe not in so little words better. Now don't get me wrong, I love my iphone and how I can search the internet from almost anywhere and that I can watch movies from Netflix on it, but it almost brings the fun out of life. I miss the days where going on a bike ride was the best things any kid could do. So my thinking is at a loss on this subject. I love the technology, but also just miss the way things were.