Thinking Outside the Box....

Create a post for your blog entitled "Thinking Outside the Box" in which you compare how Plato & Sartre describe the limitations of our thinking and imply solutions to the problem.

Plato saw people being restrained by other people. He saw the limitations of people, and the existence of a higher authority among the people through his discussion of government. Plato understood that people place limits on others and their quest for truth and knowledge. He saw that actions taken by the leadership affected those they ruled. Those kept in the cave were affected my the decisions of their captors to let only some be exposed to the truth and light that existed outside the cave. We too are kept from things, whether in childhood, or later in life, not everyone is exposed to the full degree of truth. Some may be allowed to see beyond the walls, but then comes the question, do we believe them? Are they our leaders?  Or do we think they're crazy for one reason or another?

Sartre wrote about the limitations that people inflicted on thermselves. Everyone in Sartre's story of "No Exit" was in the same condition as the people they were surrounded by. None could use a mirror, none could sleep, eat, brush their teeth, or even blink. The three people knew the truth of their situations, and of the actions that had landed them in their locations, but still refused to believe the truth that was proven to them. They could not leave the room. They could not ring the bell. They were stuck in their state. Living in Hell with other people and miserable because of their own selfishness, and mistakes. The Hell was not created for them , there was no one sent to make the residents more miserable than they already were. Through this, Sartre seems to be suggesting that Hell is a creation of those who can't possibly learn to deal with their surroundings, and for those who refuse to be content with what they are given in life, or death. The prisoners in Sartre's story were only put in a room. They may have been put there with other people, but their own worst nightmares became a reality only after they decided they were in Hell. In this, it seems to show that happiness is a choice. Little do we think that so too is Hell.

Both show captivity of people, and both have truthes for their players to realize. They both offer a commentary on life, while offering completely different ideas as to why those held prisoner remain there.

AP Lit Term

Dialect is defined as: the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar and diction employed by people distinguished from others. 

As a person who likes old movies, I suddenly remember a movie that's all about dialect, and how it affects a person's life. I even speak differently sometimes, and say some different things because of the area of the county I'm from. Don't even get my started on the way my southern realitaves talk. (Believe it or not... Missouri isn't strictly southeren... (southeren is southern speak for southern... confused yet?) :)





Here is an example in our own country. Their way of life, and way of speaking is very different from our own, but they are still Americans. They just hunt alligators, and live in Louisiana.

The Big Question... Revised.

Do cultural narratives about love and relationships create expectations and behaviors that lead to  an idealized, unfulfilled desire for immediate gratification?

The Big Question..

For mine, it takes a little explanation. I'm a person who is extremely idealistic. I see myself as the herione of a Jane Austen novel. I love all the characters who have overcome their trials to find their true loves, and reach their happily ever after. So, as a hopeless romantic, and a believer in all things mushy and fairytale-esque, I ask: Have fairytales and happy endings made people too idealistic in regard to their reality? Do people want the knight in shining armor, the white horse, the romantice rondevous on the balcony? Do people confuse the fairytale with their reality?

Hamlet Essay. Take 2

In Hamlet, characters think, and speak before they act. They talk to themselves, and to their audience about what has taken place, what they are thinking, and what they are planning. Hamlet's ability to plan, and to hear others plan gives the plot new directions and twists that would not take place without performative utterance. In that way, "self-overhearing" allows all people to hear our own plans before taking action. Just as in Hamlet, it gives us the opportunity to evaluate our positions, and ideas, and motivations.

In Hamlet, our main character is stuck between action, and inaction. He wants to take revenge but can't seem to decide how to go about doing it. He talks about it. He tells his audience his plans, and we learn more about his mental state and about the ideas that Hamlet has as he plots revenge. We over hear Hamlet making up his mind, changing it, and becoming more determined with his actions. We in our own lives do the same thing. We think. We act, then when it may not work out, we act again after making an assessment as to why the action didn't work out. That is what self overhearing does. It allows for corrections, and realizations.

Hamlet's ability to hear others plan, or rather for the audience to hear other characters plan allowed performative utterance to become a character of it's own. The words spoken by the characters were more important that what the characters did, what they said in exchange with one another determined whether or not they would act on their self overheard resolutions. The conversations with other characters in the play, allowed the plot to turn in different directions and change in ways that it would not have, had it not been for the words exchanged.

Through self-over hearing, one can discover a better, and truer sense of self. A sense that is independent of others influence. Through the performative utterance of Hamlet, the main character's self discovery became more imperative as he made decisions, and interacted with other characters in the play. This allowed the plot to twist, and the story to change in ways it otherwise would not have if others had not attempted to influence the characters through their words and authority.    

Hamlet v. Epic Heroes

Hamlet’s use of performative utterance allows an in depth look at thought processes, feelings, and the decision making process of the main character unlike epics, which offer views of only amiable triats in the character. Hamlet allows us to see the pain that he feels while attempting to complete his duty. His performative utterance shows a struggle of will and duty unseen in heroes before.

Hamlet is not the most brave of characters. He considers ways out of his duties, not only through escape, but through death.  We see a look at these thoughts in “To die, to sleep--To sleep--perchance to dream…” Hamlet considers the prospect of death to escape his hardships. Suicide was looked at as a sin, but when his afflictions seemed to be more than he could bear at once, he did not hesitate as other characters such as Beowulf may have. Honor did not mean to Hamlet what it meant to a normal hero. Due to the view we have of Hamlet’s inner thoughts, we have a better understanding of what Hamlet did see as important.  

                In the eyes of Hamlet, the world was not cut and dry. Nothing for him was black and white. Good would not always triumph over evil, simply because it should. He evaluated the world, attempted to gain a better understanding of the  complexities that existed among people and in life’s situations.        “Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life , But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all…” Through Hamlet’s thoughts, we see how a conflicted person feels. Hamlet we see is a man trying to makes sense of a world that he sees as unjust in the only way that he knows how, talking about it with himself.

                Hamlet understands that people have limitations. He sees man as fragile, and thinks of more than his legacy. People, he knows cannot do everything. Hamlet sees, and talks about the vulnerable state that man exists in.” For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th' unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin?” Hamlet sees that people are not subject to their will alone. He sees the outside factors that affect people. Hamlet knows that man is not in control of the outside factors that may affect  man’s ability to cope with the life that he is surrounded by. 

What's next?

In this video, it talks about a meme. Something we talked about in class. This has become a game that involves Google. I really wonder how THIS game affects the Miss Cleo feature on your computer. Technology really does affect our daily lives. More and more, I'm realizing how it affects my entertainment. I can spent signifigant ammounts of my time participating in meme transfer. Making things go viral, and using Google for silly reasons. These are valuable tools when used correctly. They are also sources of fun, or amusement rather. Even these videos, the blogs, the diaries kept on computers, are memes. What's next? What will everyone else have next?

A meme? and google? in the same video?!

Roy Christopher- an Outline

Before the conference:

The medium is the message. - Marshal McLuhan
Hamlet and Montainge were the first to give a window into thought that has now been copied by many who publish works today.

The Conference:

Ted Newcomb: Questions for Roy-

Q: How did you get involved in the internet?
A: mid 90's web developments and advertisements with BMX racing. The wed seemed like the next logical step.
Q: What got you more involved?
A: got more and more into computers and sucked in through jourmalism.
Q: Do you find balancing your time a struggle?
A: It's a mix. It's a wierd and complex mix of balancing time.
Q:Why did you self publish?
A: There wasn't a market for the type of book that he wanted to publish. The book was meant to be short, and read in short intervals.
Q: Were you surprised by the quick response? (to the book)
A: More surprised by the slow response. People now understand the cross-pollenation of ideas.
Q:What's your take on the re-mix culture?
A: Hip hop plays a major role. More and more people are figuring the culture out now.
Q:What are you working on now?
A: Ph.D and a book.

Important ideas:
The web represents an advent horizon.
Regression of ideas, people teaching what they consider to be the basics and fundementals more than the new technology is an expression of a new horizon.

Is it possible that the medium is no longer the message? - what can we currently use that is more important than the medium?

To participate in the digital age you need to be prepared. Program or be programmed.

Mobile is changing the dynamic of the age. The computer is supplanting the television. There is an irreplacable at home aspect to to being at home that mobile will never replace. We're not watching T.V. on a phone instead of a flat-screen!
Technology can create challenges in communication. Digital Natives squeeze out analogs.

Trust the youth. all generations have problems trusting the next.

"The future is already here- it's just unevenly distributed."

Tools That Change the Way We 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)


I've found that education is different for me than for generations of the past. Information comes easily, and without the effort that people of the past went through to learn. Learning is not just reading and writing now. It isn't basic math. Learning and thinking has become more critical. What do we want to learn? In today's world we have every resource available to us. Whether we use those resources for good, or for other more destructive purposes is entirely us to us. People can either go with the flow of information fed to them, or go beyond the relm of known facts to something worth knowing, that not everyone accepts as fact. Today, I have less of a problem challenging the facts given to me. I accept what I'm told, and don't go beyond the relms of convience. My thinking is something that hasn't gotten lazy. My ideas are still my own. I know what I think, I may not challenge it because of laziness, but I know what is right, I know what I should do still, I can thinik for myself, I have my good ideas. I may be lazier, but I know how to think for myself.

In Search of.....

After watching the "filter bubble" video, I have begun to wonder what I'm not seeing that I'd should, or that I need to. While redoing my "Shakespeare" search, I started to think... "Is this what everyone else is seeing?" So I used another, public, computer with Google. Then I used the same public computer with the Dogpile search engine. My results were very different. At home, my computer only showed me the author's biographical information, and quotes or plays that he had written. At the public computer, I was hit with fishing equipment, conspiarcy theories, and a few legitimate sources that were what I had seen before. The two were nothing alike.

Notes on "Hamlet"

Hamlet went from a whiny boy to a man with a purpose. He has evolved from a love sick, mourning, and composed prince to a man charged with dealing with the issues set before him. Hamlet changed my mind about the plot. His determination, and his willingness to act on his duty charged to him by the ghost of his father has turned the play from a story about a man waiting for his problems to be solved, to someone who has taken his fate into his own hands, Hamlet is no longer the submissive son. He is the vengeful prince, whose father was murdered. I see Hamlet becoming more bold than he currently is. All the characters have to express their intense emotions at some point, or end in sorrow, or worse...

Who Was Shakespeare?

First, from Google we find shakespeare.mit.edu, which takes us to a time line of important events in William Shakespeare's life. Born in 1564 at Stratford-upon-Avon, he married Anne Hathaway in 1582. His children Susana, Hamnet, and Judeth were born between 1583 and 1584. In 1596, Hamnet dies, then 1598 Shakespeare's first play is published. The next important point on the time line is Shakespeare's death in 1616.

Then, again from taking my search on Google further from "William Shakespeare" to "William Shakespeare's life" we find a more detailed summary of the life of Shakespeare. From http://www.enotes.com/, we find that William was the eldest son of John and Mary Arden. John was today's equivilant of the town's mayor, and his wife, Mary, was the daughter of local gentry. William was born in April of 1564, and attended the local grammar school until age 15. After leaving school, he worked for his father. William lived in Stratford-upon-Avon and it was there that he met his wife, Anne Hathaway, who was 8 years his senior. His daughter Susana was born 6 months later. William, then became an actor and writer for the theatre in London. When the plague closed the theatres William worked for, he began to write sonnets and narritave poetry. The Earl of Southampton has been recognized as Shakespeare's benifactor, although no real evidence exists. From this narritave of Shakespeare we learn that the sonnets that were written, were more likley signs of the time, instead of being expressions of a relationship as often thought. After becoming partner in the Globe Theatre, William Shakespeare became co-owner of another theatre. He worked until retiring to Stratford-upon-Avon where he died in 1616.

We are left to wonder much about the life of this man. Where the sonnets a reflection of feeling? How could a man write such passionate works of poetry, and it only be a sign of the time? Why did Shakespeare leave his rural life for London? What inspired him to write?

Students see Shakespeare in two ways. Hoplessly romantic (almost overly romantic) or dumb. Many students don't understand the simplicity of expression in Shakespeare's wordy lines. He expresses extreme emotion in legnthy, beautiful language, that many don't take the time to understand. They hear the words, without listening to the meaning behind the lines. Shakespeare leaves no emotion unturned as he goes to the depths of the human heart. Exploring and expressing what no man has before. My first real exposure to Shakespeare was a sonnet in the 7th grade that my literature class took apart to understand, and learn more about. I fell in love with the symbolism and the imagry used. It was like nothing I had experienced in my eight years of education. I had heard the name, but had never read the words. I understood then that it was beautiful. Now, I know that it is complex. There is more said in Shakespeare's word than is ever actually said. So much of Shakespeare is unwritten, and open to a person's own understanding. Shakespeare can mean something to everyone, but at the same time, every reader can come away with a message tailored for their mood, and state of mind at the time they read the work. I still struggle understanding what other people want me to see in the words on the page of anything written by Shakespeare. I read what the words on my page say to me. Not what the words on their page say to them.

To Facebook or Not To Facebook...

That is the question. Whether tis nobler to hide thy life from the world? Or monitor the heck out of your "digital foot print." There seem to only be extremes in the digital world. Either you let people see every inch of your life, and let it haunt you for the rest of your cyber life, or you take no part in a cyber existance. Facebook has changed the way people communicate. It has made it easier to locate long-lost friends, and has allowed people to stay in touch with one another in a way never before experienced. Facebook, also makes it easier for people to see things you may not want them, or anyone to see. You can not control what others say about you, or what people may post at any given time that you just don't want the world to know about.

After reading and discussing an aritcle about Facebook, I better understand the lack of privacy that I experience on Social Networking sites, and on the internet as a whole. Nothing is private, nothing stays between the people having the converstaion. The internet is a wonderful tool with much potential for good, but it also has the potential to wreak havoc on the users who trust too much in their privacy settings.

(Don't) Be Hamlet

Hamlet, is having trouble deciding whether life is worth living. He is coming to the conclusion himself that people only continue living because they fear what may come from "the undiscovered country." He understands the emotions that may cause a person to end the agony that he sees as life, but he fears death. Not only because it is a sin in the eyes of those arround him, but he fears the unknown. "For in that sleep of  death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil must gives us pause."

In Hamlet's mind, there are two options: kill himself, and end his Earthly troubles, or fight the battles he needs to fight, to slove his problems. His dilema, is not only an physical one. He must decide for himeslf whether he is moraly prepared, and spiritualy ready to accept death, though he does not know what comes after.

Hamlet does, however, have responsibilities that outweigh even his self importance. His duty to his country, his duty to his father, and his duty to himself to be the person he has the potential to be. He must fufil his responsibilities, and learn to deal with the stresses that come with the life he leads. He must do his duty. No one will do it for him.

Hamlet is still young. He has much life ahead of him, and must try to get past himself to learn to deal with his own life. He will have struggles in the future. Life doesn't get easier. He needs to learn that his life is one of heartache and pain. He needs to tough it out.

Literature Analysis

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel about a young man who has his portrait painted by his obsessed artist friend who is facinated by Dorian. Basil, the artist, introduces his young friend to a more worldly friend, Lord Henry, who begins to adversely influence Dorian. After the portrait is completed, Dorian becomes overly concerned with looks, and worldly experiences due to his new friend. After falling in love with an actress, Dorian rejects the girl, and finds the next day that she has killed herself out of grief. Young and worldly Dorian feels the grief, but does not show it in his appearance. Instead, he finds the painting showing what his face should. Dorian after putting the death of his love behind him, continues in a more worldly, and experience driven lifestyle. He develops a less than favorable reputation, but is still accepted into social circles because he has remained beautiful. As his reputation worsens, his portrait does also. Basil, the artist, comes to confront Dorian and sees the portrait. After and argument, Dorian kills Basil and hides the body. He then sees the brother of his love, who is attempts to avenge his sister's death, sending Dorian into hiding, after the brother is killed in an accident, he feels safe, and tries to make anew. In a rage, Dorian stabs the painting because of soul it revealed, the real soul. Dorian was found dead on the ground, while the painting, as beautiful as the day it was painted, was unharmed next to him.



The overall theme of the novel is that art, is not simply art. Art is part of the person who created it, the person who it was created about, and the person it was created for. It is not simply for enjoyment. Art serves a purpose, whether it be to showcase qualities, or to instruct as the literature did for Dorian in the novel.

The novel has a dark, melancholy tone. The main character brings trouble to himself because of his actions, causing grief for all of the characters involved.  
"We degenerate into hideous puppets, haunted by the memory of the passions of which we were too afarid, and the exquisite temptations that we had not the courage to yield to."

"The basis of optimism is pure terror."

"When one is in love, one always begins by decieving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls romance."



Diction: "My dear boy, no woman in a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals."


Inversion: "Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul."


Parallelism: "I choose my friends for their good looks, my aquaintances for their good characters, and my enimies for their good intellects."


 Imagery: "But the picutre? What was he to say of that? It held the secret of his life, and told his story. It had taught him to love his own beauty. Would he ever look at it again?"


Syntax: I never approve, or disapprove, of anything now. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life. We are not sent into the world to air our moral prejudices. I never take any notice of what common people say, and i never interfere with what charming people do.