Allegory of the Cave Sonnet

Only the enlightened are set free
From the shackles that bind us to the wall
Only the enlightened can see
Another reality greater than all
We must find our own reality
A world outside the one we've come to believe
One filled with hope and glee
Different from the one we see that's meant to deceive

An open mind is key
To reach enlightenment, to achieve
The bliss outside the wall
A new view of reality
One must be able to believe
That what we see is not all

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?
-That we as a society live in an unenlightened world and are so sheltered from beliefs outside the ones we are taught or come to know.

2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
-The prisoners, the shackles that bind them, the darkness, and the shadows.

3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
-That we are close minded to new ideas or concepts, we come to know the world we believe we live in and refuse to believe that there is more to life than we know.

4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
-The shackles suggest that we are bound to our ideas and views even though there might be more to them. The cave represents our dark closed off minds and how it's near impossible to enlighten something so dark and enclosed.

5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
-Insecurity and the fear of being different can shackle us because we're afraid to go against the current in fear that we'll be judged or become an outcast.

6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
-The freed prisoner has broken free of his old view and is now enlightened, trying to educate the cave prisoners on his new findings but the cave prisoners are still bound to the walls of the dark cave, only able to see what they've already come to know and "understand".

7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?
-I was sort of confused with this, but on Friday in our groups my group discussed ignorance and apathy.

8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?
-Opening their minds to enlightenment and reality is the way they become free.

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 a distinction between appearances and reality because the saddest person can still put a smile on their face everyday and the sweetest person can put up a tough exterior in fear of being hurt.

10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?
-People see what they believe and the reality you're viewing isn't necessarily real, but it's real to you.

We Hang Together

• interdependence-"the underlying key to any strategic alliance, community partnership, or interpersonal collaboration"
• coke/pepsi are interdependent by being constantly aware of their competitor
• Leaders can't adopt strategies that are based on isolationism, competition, or self-interest because that would give too much power. They must adopt strategies that fits the majority's interest.
• "strategic alliance"
• two ways by Friedman-

"central direction involving the use of coercion"
"Voluntary cooperation of individuals"

• Americans focus on the "go it alone" method which does not work

A Poetic Inquiry

I wasn't too fond of the Big Question I chose at the beginning of the year, I didn't put a lot of thought into it so my sonnet does not relate to it.  Instead I searched sonnets on google and picked one that I liked.

Beauty

Beauty is liberal as the heavenly air,

Beauty is boundless as the universe:

The waves of evil ponderously immerse

The pearl of good; beauty is everywhere.

Beauty is a devout a deep despair;

Hopes that with heaven's highest stars converse:

The poisonous blossom of a devil's curse;

The first and last word of an angel's prayer.

Creation and destruction at thy beck

Call love and lust: throiugh battle's bloody swarm

That youth with smiling face sees but thy form:

And, 'mid the shrieks of the fast sinking wreck,

A poet, standing on the wave-washed deck,

Stares awe-struck at the beauty of the storm.

Sonnet Analysis

• Sonnet comes from the Italian word sonneto which means little song.
• There are two types of sonnets

-petrarch sonnet (Italian)
-Shakespearen sonnet

• Sonnets are composed of 14 lines

-an octet and a sextet
-3 quatrains and a couplet

Hamlet Essay

      Words aren't always just words, sometimes they're actions or feelings or more. In Hamlet Shakespeare uses soliloquies, conversations, and speeches to show what the characters are feeling and how they're acting on those feelings throughout the play. Through these soliloquies and speeches we, as readers, are able to watch the characters and the story change and progress. An inside look to the characters thinking process helps the reader better understand the why behind the action.
      A big part of Hamlet is the to be or not to be soliloquy where Hamlet addresses a lot of big life questions and reveals his feelings towards the events going on in his life. Another time Hamlet uses words to express his feelings and his actions is when he's instructing the players on how to act out their parts, he advises them not to overact and to make the part believable and authentic. Hamlet's instructions directly relate to his actions with everyone around him, trying to put on a show, never revealing how he truly feels, never letting his guard down. These examples of self-overhearing relate to me because everything I say or do affects my future and the actions I'm taking towards building my future. Right now I'm busy applying for colleges and the words on my application might look like just words now, but they're actually life changing statements, those words could turn into a whole new life for me.
      Hamlet's performative utterances allow us to have a look inside the mind of Hamlet and see what he truly feels and how he acts on those feelings. Words have the ability to set our feelings out to be followed up by our actions which make words a very powerful part of us.