Thinking Outside the Box

The Allegory of the Cave and No Exit are both complex pieces of work that analyze the power of the mind and the intent of the mind. It also takes a deeper look at how are minds work and how much control we really have over our mind. It seems that Plato and Sartre have differing views on the limitations the mind has. Plato said that the things holding them back were new environments and things that limited the potential people's mind truly have. Sartre felt that the biggest thing holding back the power of mans' mind was their deep dark desires. The first thing they thought of was their need to satisfy their desire and not to pursue things of greater meaning.

Plato had a solution that you need a person who was a strong will and desire to break the chains holding them back, and then, and only then would they be enlightened and see the light. Sartre's solution was somewhat similar to Plato's in that you would need a strong will, but he says that if people could just accept that their desires are never going to be fulfilled then they can stop trying to achieve their desires and focus and be enlightened. A common theme here is to have a strong will. Having a strong will, will usually help you focus push past your limitations in almost any situation.
           

Literary Analysis: 1984 by George Orwell

1. 1984 is a about a man named Winston Smith living in a country with a dictatorship type government known as the Party. Extreme measures are taken so that nobody will rebel against the Party. Winston cannot stand The Party. He keeps a diary to write in so he doesn't have to voice his opinions aloud. Love is against the law and one day he receives a letter from a woman named Julia saying I love you. At first he thinks that it is a trick, but she is really telling the truth and the two end up having an affair together.  They continue to have their affair and eventually Winston hears about a group known as The Brotherhood, who are trying to undermine The Party. They meet with the leader, O'Brien and they end up joining the group. They end up being arrested by the Ministry of Love and Winston is tortured. He is taught to love The Party and give up his rebellious ways and to not love Julia.
2. 1984 has a pretty straightforward theme. It is has to do with the idea of censorship. The government cannot control everybody at every time. Their trying to control everything will only cause people to want to rebel. This theme can even apply today. There are still governments around the world trying to censor the information that their people are seeing. You would think that the governments would learn by  now that this is not the answer.
3.    The author’s tone throughout the novel is paranoid, dark, and frustration.
·         “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.” I think this shows the dark tone of George Orwell. It tells of a scary and dark future.
·         “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.” This quote shows the paranoid tone of George Orwell. It is saying how The Party will find out your secrets if you aren’t careful.
·         “Big Brother is Watching You.” This quote in itself explains the paranoid tone of George Orwell.
4.       ·         One of the biggest literary techniques used by George Orwell was the point of view. The story was told from the point of view of Winston Smith. This had a huge impact on the tone throughout the novel and that it is obvious why.  Winston was often paranoid that he will be found out and that has gives the novel a paranoid tone.
·         George Orwell also uses a little foreshadowing. These give the novel a dark and eerie feel to it. For example the St. Clements Church theme song is, “Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.” That is creepy and most certainly dark.
·         Suspense is a technique used by George Orwell to set the mood and setting. The constant thought of Winston and Julia getting caught or not keeps the reader in suspense, therefore, creates a feeling of uncertainty.
·         The use of symbolism is a way for George Orwell to give The Party a face. The posters of Big Brother and monitors are symbols that let the citizens know that The Party is watching them.
·         George Orwell uses both direct and indirect characterizations in his novel. Direct characterization is used to describe the character’s physical appearance and their jobs. For example it says Winston works in the Ministry of Truth and that Julia is a dark haired woman. Indirect characterization is used to find out the character’s personality and motives. For example Winston writing in his diary shows he harbors some rebellious thoughts against The Party and that shows he is rebellious himself. Julia is shown to be optimistic when she believes that her affair with Winston will never be found out.

Allegory of the Cave Sonnet

To be trapped in a cave
Shackled and chained never to be free
Only the brave can set themselves to freedom
They must open their mind
And let the light in
Awaken from the shadows
His imagination roams free
He who leaves the cave
Must come back and set the others free
We must stand together
Join hands in creating a new world
And discover things out of the ordinary
Leaving the cave isn't a mistake
But a challenge we must accept for everyone's sake

Allegory of the Cave

1.     The allegory of the cave represents the different outcomes of how people perceive certain dilehmas and situations and how they tell the difference between truth and fiction.
2.     A key image used in the allegory was the imagery of shadows which represented reality in multiple ways.
3.     The allegory suggests that the process of enlightenment or education requires to erase your past experiences of what you once believed and to have to change and through the significant change you will become a more enlightened and educated self being.
4.     The shackles in the allegory represent the restraint and power imposed on the humans by a source that controls them and posing ignorance into the minds of the prisoners and the cave represents the prison and unfitted home of the prisoners where they live their lives of ignorance in which they cannot be freed from.
5.     In times today there are many shackles to the mind that may not seem like it at first. But all distractions and some rules can almost prohibit us from using our minds in was way that we had originally wanted to. Instead our minds are being controlled to do something that they originally had no intent on doing.
6.     The cave prisoners are ignorant toward the life outside of the cave because they have not known anything else their whole lives. But the freed prisoners have seen the light and the new and improved way of living and pity the cave prisoners for not being able to have them see for themselves the lives outside of the cave.
7.     With knowledge and understanding represented by light kept in mind there are two distinct ways that lack of clarity can occur. This can be through one never having the opportunity to experience the light on the other side and the other is one being cowardly, ignorant and/or stupid toward the light at the end of the tunnel.
8.     According to the allegory cave prisoners are freed through help. As if a friend was showing another the life away from drugs and gangs and into a community of knowledge and better life.
9.     Yes in that I completely agree that there could be a possible distinction between what seems real and what actually is. The mind is a powerful thing and it is so powerful that it can alter reality without the person even knowing that is happening. This can usually be seen through strong emotional conflicts that the mind can trick the person into thinking that something isn’t real when in actuality it is 100 percent real.
10. I have no idea what the answer is.

Literary Analysis- All the Pretty Horses

General
1. The story is about a man named John Grady and his friend Rawlins. They decide that they're done with their lives now and want to become cowboys. To fit the country theme, they decide to go to Mexico. They eventually meet a boy named Belvins. Belvins gets separated from Rawlins and John and gets his horse and gun stolen from him. They try to find him, but after searching they conclude that they can not find him. They eventually come to a ranch and start to work there. John Grady seems to have a great affinity to horses and life as a cowboy. He starts to fall in love with the rancher's daughter, Alejandra. He is warned by Alejandra's great aunt to not have an affair with her, but he does not heed her warning. Alejandra's father soon finds out about the affair and turn John and Rawlins over to the police. When they get to the police station, they are convicted with being in league with Belvins, who has committed murder. Belvins is eventually executed and Rawlins gives a false confession. They  have assassins sent after them, but survive. Alejandra bribes one of the guards to let Rawlins and John go. John tries to get Alejandra to go with him back to Texas, but she says no, saying that she must stay with her family.
2. The theme of the book is that there is a loss of innocence.
3. The authors tone is that of one being omniscient. He seems indifferent to what is going on in the story.
4.Ambiguity- never sure of what was going to happen next with their criminal life.
Assumption- John Grady assumed that life would be easy as a cowboy... he was wrong.
Climax- When Rawlins and John Grady are attacked by the assassins, then released from prison.
Conflict- John  Grady battles his issues with his friend and with his love for Alejandra.
Dogmatic- Alejandra refuses to leave her family for John Grady.
Falling Action- John Grady gets back his horses and returns to Texas.
Omniscient Point of View- Narrator is all knowing.
Pacing- Story moves along quick.
Pathos- The author caters to the readers feeling by including a love story.
Purpose- to show the readers that trying to be an adult as a teenager is difficult.
Characterization
1. No, the tone and diction all stay the same as the story goes on. The tone of the novel also helps to depict that each character is described in the same way.
2.  The protagonist, John Grady, is a static, flat character. His views on life don't really seem to change by the end of the story. He doesn't seem to learn anything from his adventures in Mexico.
3. I felt like I had met a person. When I read a story, I usually feel like I have met a person, especially when the author does a great job at writing the story. Cormac McCarthy is a favorite author of mine, I always enjoy reading his books. I feel like I know John Grady, but I don't feel like I fully understand him.

Sonnet 138

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O0T1BESWW0&feature=plcp

Sonnet Analysis Part 1

This sonnet is one of Shakespeare's most famous sonnets. Its main theme is about truth and flatter in romantic relationships. The sonnet makes age and its effect it can have on a relationship. (Got this info from Wikipedia.)