I CAN READ

So I made 5 mistakes in about 5 minutes and 15 seconds.

NO EXIT NOTES

Here are my "No Exit" reading notes. Props to you if you can make sense of this example of how my brain works! 

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

"No Exit" Jean Paul Sartre

1. Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment? Enter Sartre's space more fully and imagine how it would feel to live there endlessly, night and day:

-Hell would be a place where past mistakes and events constantly haunt you. This place can be ordinary or extraordinary but doesn't have to be equipped with literal torture instruments. It would be a place where all of the things that have happened to you that you've tried to forget are constantly being displayed in front of you and never disappear. The mind can be in hell in a beautiful place. It is the past that is haunting you regardless of the environment. The only way to find peace in a hellish environment would be to accept that there is nothing to be done about past events but even then peace would be difficult to achieve.

2. Could hell be described as too much of anything without a break? Are variety, moderation and balance instruments we use to keep us from boiling in any inferno of excess,' whether it be cheesecake or ravenous sex?

-Variety would make hell somewhat less hellish. Variety offers new experiences and keeps life interesting. We've all learned that there definitely can be too much of a good thing and having variety in our lives allows us to enjoy good things without overdoing one certain thing. Without variety we would overdo everything and enjoy nothing.

3. How does Sartre create a sense of place through dialogue? Can you imagine what it feels like to stay awake all the time with the lights on with no hope of leaving a specific place? How does GARCIN react to this hell? How could you twist your daily activities around so that everyday habits become hell? Is there a pattern of circumstances that reinforces the experience of hell?

-The characters converse a lot and that's really all that they have available to do. Garcin is surprised by the room and has many questions and seems unwilling to accept his predicament. I would be easy for me to create my personal hell in my own life. Living in the past is something that unfortunately a lot of people do. It takes a conscious effort to not let past experiences run your present life. It would easy to relive past traumas and live in hell but I choose not to do that.

4. Compare how Plato and Sartre describe the limitations of our thinking and imply solutions to the problem. Be sure to analyze their literary techniques, especially their use of allegory and extended metaphor.

-Both Plato and Sartre focus on the significance of the ability to learn new things. In The Allegory of the Cave Plato showed that one must consciously leave the cave to gain knowledge. Sartre is essentially saying that in hell you cannot leave the cave of misunderstood knowledge and therefore if someone escapes the cave, going back would be their hell. Potential solutions would be to live your life in a way that you are able to learn and reflect on your experiences. The extended metaphors that both use show how people go from ignorance to understanding. Going back to the cave would be hell because you know too much and in ''No Exit'' hell the understanding that they now have doesn't make them happy.

So pretty much the "hell" in the play isn't a hell defined by physical torture, it is defined by the people. The characters are in hell because of the people they are stuck with.

Irony: The characters accuse each other of being torturers when really they all are.

BRAIN WITH [6] LEGS

My group chose to read Great Expectations for our literature circle. We will have to read about 41 pages a day to keep on schedule. We will be communicating through Facebook message and we each have designated jobs. I, for example, am the connector. We also intend to create a Facebook group for ourselves where we can post our work and collaborate and eventually publish the work we put on the group once we've completed the book.

ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE SONNET

The cave is place you don't want to be
Though some occupy that cave forever
your view of reality is severed
It is a dark place where you cannot see
Your view of the world is small in degree
You have no want for outside endeavors
Truly a place you want to go never
Escaping these mental chains is the key

Luckily for you there is a way out
You can choose to leave the confining cave
Knowledge is the answer to gain the truth
The light will give you answers beyond doubt
Choose your own path you don't need to be brave
Leave the cave and abandon the untruths

BE GRATEFUL FOR EVERY DAY

This video is awesome and can really change your perspective on life and happiness! Plus this old man is totally awesome! Watch it here.

PLATO'S ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

1. According to Socrates, the Allegory of the Cave represents the chains that people allow themselves to be fettered by while others choose a life of knowledge.

2. The key elements of imagery are the cave, which represents the knowledge that is directly fed to us. The light which could represent the abundance of knowledge that we must search for. The sun is the knowledge that we must seek for ourselves and discover.

3. The allegory suggests that we sometimes allow our knowledge to be controlled. We often accept what we hear and don't question it and don't search for other possibilities. We can only be enlightened if we seek outside knowledge.

4. The image of shackles represents the narrow mindedness of the prisoners. They are essentially chained down by their limited knowledge. They are missing out on so much because they lack so much knowledge.

5. I think that traditions can shackle us in some ways. We are so used to doing one thing and believing what our parents believe that sometimes we don't go seek new knowledge to form our own opinions.

6. The freed prisoner is enlightened and understands the world on a different level while the chained prisoner doesn't even have enough knowledge to leave the cave.

7. Lack of clarity can occur from either coming out of the light or going into the light. If you come from the dark cave you will be blinded by the light (knowledge). If you come from the light into the darkness you will not be satisfied with the dark.

8. Prisoners become free when they decide to leave the cave. The knowledge outside the cave is readily available but the prisoner has to gain it.

9. I agree that their is a distinction between appearance and reality. Appearance can be influenced by personal judgments. Also, just because you can't see something it doesn't mean it isn't real.

10. If Socrates is incorrect, then people will continue to be shackled because they will continue to view appearances as reality without questioning it. People will draw false conclusions and have a narrow view of the world.