LIFE AFTER THIS BLOG POST

Writing a letter to my future self was a perfect opportunity for reflection. I got to really think about what is important and who is important to me right now. I wrote a little bit about some things that have been stressing me out and worrying me lately. It will be interesting to see if those things are as big of a deal as they seem now. Also, will the same things and people make me happy? My letter was extremely personal, after all, what can you really hide from yourself? I'm looking forward to receiving my letter and thinking back on this moment in time.

Practice Essay

Something happens in your environment.  It might be a sound just outside the field of your peripheral vision, it might be be an action that inspires or outrages you, or it might be an outright crisis or opportunity.  Adopt the persona of any character from either the "Allegory" or "No Exit" and explain how this character would respond to the event and why.  Explain how the response reflects the characterization, theme, tone, and general philosophy of the author (Plato or Sartre) who created the character.  Compare this analysis with the work you didn't choose (for example, if you choose Estella from "No Exit," explain her response in these terms and then compare with a slave from the cave in Plato's "Allegory).

Sartre and Plato tackled a similar issue in their works respectively titled "No Exit" and "Allegory of the Cave".  The questions of when one reaches enlightenment and what it means to be trapped cannot be answered in a black and white/ right or wrong way. Each author expresses a unique style and form of characterization in which these issues are addressed.

Sartre's general philosophy and theme implied that one does not reach enlightenment until they have experienced the world and then had everything taken away from them. Once they are left with nothing but the ability to reflect they can truly come to terms with their actions and truth. For example, Estelle from "No Exit" might here something outside of her realm of sight going on and know exactly what it is or see ghosts from her past moving on and making decisions. Because she has already experienced the world and been banished from it (to Hell) she would be able to guess at what it was or observe the situation and understand what was happening.  With herself removed she is more likely to reflect on why the sound occurred or why people are behaving in a certain way because she had once been there and been a part if it.  Had she been in the cave with Plato's prisoners this would not be true.

Plato's prisoners of the cave only know what they are shown. He was portraying the philosophy that one can only reach enlightenment through experiencing what is real in first person.  Had Estelle been in the cave and heard a sound from the outside she would have no way of knowing what it was and be completely unsure how to react. The prisoner's do not have the same freedom of thought that the characters of "No Exit" do because their knowledge is so limited.

Both authors attempted to address the same questions of how enlightenment is reached or brought out in us all. Their differing use of characters as well as their varied philosophies help us to understand their perspectives.

I CAN READ! (kind of)

Here's my trial of reading Dr. Seuss' Fox in Sox in one take! Please excuse my mother doing dishes in the background.

Literature Analysis #4

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

This was a collaborative experience and the other parts of this book analysis can be found on these blogs:
Taylor Duguran
Hannah Savaso
Ian Steller
Bailey Wineman
Annette Sousa
Meghan Martella

Summary: In the opening chapter we are introduced to Pip who has suffered a great loss of almost all of his immediate family except for his sister. He is in the care of his sister and her husband. Pip has a strange encounter with a ragged and frightening man who we later learn is the escaped convict Magwitch who threatens him with brutal death if he doesn't bring him the supplies he asked for by the next day. Pip is naïve and believes this scary man and returns home with the intentions to keep this a secret and meet with the man again.  Pip is forced into going to the home of Miss Havisham who is wealthy and quite strange. She was abandoned at the alter and keeps everything in her house the same as well as wearing an old wedding dress everywhere she goes. Here he meets Estella who he immediately falls for even though she is being trained by Miss Havisham to break the hearts of young men. Pip is an apprentice to his brother-in-law Joe until one day he receives the news from a lawyer named Jaggers that he has been left a large amount of money and takes off the London to learn to be a gentleman. Here Pip befriends Herbert and Wemmick. They lead a rather careless life until Pip must return for the funeral of his sister. Years later Magwitch reappears in Pip's life and reveals he is the source of Pip's sudden fortune prompting Pip to feel a sort of loyalty for him and try to help him escape London and the police who are after him. Compeyson, Magwitch's old partner alerts the police of their plan and is drowned in the river during an altercation with Magwitch who is in turn sentenced to death and Pip loses his fortune. Years after this Pip returns to Satis House (the old home of Miss Havisham) and sees Estella there. She is no longer married and has a new much softer demeanor about her. She and Pip leave hand in hand and Pip believes they will be together long after.

Theme: The theme of Great Expectations is the loss of innocence and the coming of age. Pip must learn to trust his inner conscience when it comes to the decisions he makes and who he trusts. He is often filled with guilt for the trouble he gets in to and ultimately has to learn o accept responsibility and himself. As he comes in to his own his outlook shifts and evolves with him.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

My version of Hell would look rather ordinary such as the world we live in now. But perhaps not inhabited by anyone else but myself. There wouldn't be any real instruments of torture such as in Dantes Inferno. Even in a normal place I believe one can be in Hell because  the mind can do dangerous things to you. Living in the space Satre set up, just a regular space with furniture but in endless day with those you can't stand would certainly be torturous.


Hell could most certainly be described as too much of anything without a break. Constant repetition can be maddening. I believe we use variety in life as a way to break up feelings and preferences to avoid getting sucked into a routine because that would cause life to become dull and upsetting.

Satre describes the setting through dialogue mainly through the characters making blunt observations of their surroundings. Being in a constant state of awareness and in constant light would be severely unpleasant especially if you were stuck in one specific place for a long time. Garcin is shocked at this new information that he will be stuck like this and tries to find loopholes and bangs against the door trying to get the attention of Valet.

Both Plato and Sartre create a place where people are trapped and alone with their thoughts. Plato's characters were trapped inside without ever being let out and Sartre´s are now trapped inside after having been on the outside.

Summary #1 Great Expectations: Introduction

In the opening chapter we are introduced to Pip who seems to have suffered a great loss of almost all of his immediate family accept for his sister. He is in the care of his sister and her husband. Pip has a strange encounter with a ragged and frightening man who threatens him with brutal death if he doesn't bring him the supplies he asked for by the next day. Pip is naïve and believes this scary man and returns home with the intentions to keep this a secret and meet with the man again.

Allegory Sonnet

While in the cave we all might be
there are so many things we'll never do.
So many things still left to see
the choice to leave up to me up to you.

To see the sights you thought you'd see never,
the blinding light of burning truth.
It's the binding shackles you'll have to sever,
the ones placed upon you in ignorant youth.

Some of us will chose to stay here in darkness.
The joys of enlightenment they'll never know.
You must decide to think clear and with sharpness.
Past the shadows out of the cave we will go.

Break the chains and exit with glory,
finally the chance to write your own story.