PLATO

Becs this ones for you!

 

Journal 3: Plato The Allegory of a Cave

            The Allegory of the Cave is a story of men who live their lives chained up in a cave, never knowing what the beauties of the world are truly like. Some might say they are prisoners of some kind, but that is beside the point. These men never see things as the really are. They see shadows and distortions of true things on the cave wall. One day one of the men it dragged out of the cave into the outside world to finally see the light of day. At first he exclaims in great pain,  for the sun burns his eyes that are so used to the darkness. After a short time, his eyes become accustomed to the light and the man begins to see things for what they are. Excited, he wants to return to the cave and tell his friends. He returns to the cave to tell his friends of the things he has learned, and the marvelous things he has seen. When he gets there he finds that his friends only laugh at him and say, “You are a fool gone mad, trees are not green, for what is green?” They do not believe what he says.

            Plato’s literary main rhetorical device was the use of an allegory, which is similar to parables in the bible. It tells a story that has a different meaning than the direct story line. In order to relay the story he uses dialogue, which gives the allegory a feeling of a play or production. What does Plato believe to be the perfect government? After reading a few times, it could be said that he thinks division of class is needed. In paragraph 54 he says, “Neither the un-educated nor the over-educated will be good servants of the senate”. Another point that could be taken from this piece is that learning is a wonderful thing, but it takes lots of effort, and some people would rather stay in the dark than take the time to discover for themselves. “The virtue of wisdom has a divine power which may be turned either towards good or towards evil” (Paragraph 49).

            This really just reminds me of parables in the bible, and strongly of religion. It relates to the world around us today. Many people believe in God and religion while others don’t. People who believe in religion believe that they have found the light; they believe that they see the world for the true beauty that it truly is. While people who don’t believe in God either feel as though something is missing in their life, and they strongly believe that there couldn’t possibly be any higher power. In relating to Plato’s Allegory, the people who belong to a religion are like the man who was dragged outside the cave, they want to share their knowledge. People who want nothing to do with religion, but haven’t taken the time to learn about it are like the man’s friends who laughed at him thinking him crazy. There needs to be a balance between all three of these scenarios. There needs to be a balance in all things in general, in government, in religion, in education. Without balance things fall apart.

Believe in yourself

Understanding Self-worth

A society is made up of multiple individuals, but how do each of these individuals find themselves within society? How is it possible for an individual to find self-worth within a society? Self-worth is a sense that an individual has pertaining to their own values, in other words self-respect.  A knowledge of self-worth can be expressed through Art, an understanding of Culture, and an individual’s beliefs.

            Art is a beautiful thing; it is like eating chocolate cake with your eyes. It is something that has been used for centuries to express feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and even scientific discoveries. How exactly does art help individual find their self-worth? It can show an individual, as well as others in society, who they are through the various styles and feelings the work gives off. Every artist has a unique style that is their own, no two artists paint exactly the same, and hence the reason art can describe individuality.  For example, Pablo Picasso was first known for his melancholy paintings -- these paintings were done in various shades of blues, and contained an essence of sadness – he later switched to a style now known as Cubism. A style that began in the 20^th century, it was the first abstract form of art, where artists depict people, places, and objects, with abstract geometric forms.  When Picasso made this switch people rejected his work because they saw it as unusual. Another example is Salvador Dali, a surrealist painter; he, along with many other artists of his time, used his paintings to express how the unconscious mind works inevitably describing how individuals have unique qualities that can help them gain confidence, and a sense of self-worth.

 On the other hand, many other artists take a more realistic approach to things, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, and Vincent Van Gogh. Da Vinci’s work was both scientific and artistic.  He used to art to show muscles throughout various living things. He also painted The Mona Lisa, one famous of his works, which expresses the way he viewed the world around him – realistically. Like Da Vinci, Van Gogh painted most of his masterpieces in a realistic setting. In other words he painted things just as he saw them. He used neutral colors, and object that he saw in his everyday life. Some of his masterpieces were different from the rest, this expressed his own unique individuality –his self-worth. These different styles of art show different personalities, and different ways the artist sees things around them. Much like artist seeing the same things in a different perspective, individuals can live in the same world, the same society, and still see things differently. The knowledge of this can help an individual see how wonderful they are, even if they do not see things the way everyone around them does.

            In addition to these famous artists having different styles in their work every artist, young or old, good or bad, has their own style. It is this style to their art that expresses their emotions. The style of a piece also expresses how an artist views things around them, whether it be how the physically view something or how they view a certain belief. There is a generic saying that is used often that states, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. The more the saying is thought about the easier it is to realize how true it is. A picture, or piece of artwork, can express how an individual views themself and displays to others how they view themselves as well as how they view their surroundings.  Many artists have said that painting is a form of meditation and a way to escape from the world around them. Therefore, art can help an individual step outside of themself, and bring them a sense of self-worth. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is a great example that shows that different people have different views of the same objects. In his writing Plato tells a story of men chained in a cave, all they get to look at are shadows on the wall of things passing by in the outside world. One day one of the prisoners is dragged out of the cave. At first he is not able to see because the sunlight is so bright; he screams and wants to return to the cave. Once his eyes adjust he realizes that it is wonderful outside the cave. He returns to the cave to tell his friends of his discovery and they just mock him. A great lesson can be learned from this allegory; every individual sees things with a different perspective. It is these different perspectives that create individuals; therefore there can be differences in the way an individual views their own self-worth.

            No two artists create the exact same master pieces. Each piece of work is a testament of the artist who created it. Moods within the work show how the artist felt while drawing, or painting the piece. Various ways of depicting objects such as flowers show differences in perception of view. Each piece of artwork that an artist creates illustrates their identity. All of these things show how the artist views their surroundings and more importantly how they view themselves—their self-worth.

Another factor that can help an individual figure out who they are, and discover their own self-worth is, is an understanding of culture. Culture is a part of society; which individuals are born into. An individual cannot simply choose to not take in the culture around them. In saying this, the culture they are born into defines who they are to an extent—there are many other factors that can play a key role in the development of an individual as well – it can also shape how an individual sees themself. Culture strongly affects how people behave. Inevitably the way a person behaves reflects how a person perceives themselves. People come from different cultures throughout the world; therefore, diversity plays a key role in the development of a person’s thoughts and beliefs. Culture throughout the world is vastly different; therefore, people are vastly different throughout the world. In one city it may be okay to do something where as if traveled to the opposite end of the country the same behavior may be considered a sin.  In saying this it can be easily concluded that a person’s identity can be shaped by the culture in which they live.

It is a sad truth that culture directly affects how an individual views their self-worth.  Three scholars conducted a series of studies to try to understand what kinds of things have an effect on an individual’s self-worth. In the first two studies individuals remembered either good things, or bad things pertaining to belongingness, and academic capability. While in the third study, women watched commercials that starred attractive female models. The authors stated, “We tested self-esteem as a moderator of the effect of threats to appearance on the extent to which women base their self-worth on appearance” (Buckingham, Weber, Sypher). The study showed individual women with higher self-worth had no problem while the individual women with lower self-worth put up extra barriers trying to protect themselves. Even if an individual does not want to admit it Culture plays a key role in how self-worth of individuals is viewed. The lessons that a culture teaches the individuals within builds a knowledge in their mind of how they think they should be. If the individual does not see themself fitting into society’s cultural beliefs their sense of self-worth is lower than an individual who fits in with society.

In addition to culture a person’s beliefs shape who they are, and who they are to become. It is not often that a person will act in a way that goes against what they believe.  If someone believes something they will stand for what they believe in all things, and at all times.  Is it then crazy to say that a person’s cultures and beliefs go hand in hand in shaping who they will grow to be? If a person is shy and does not interact with people they will remain shy their entire live. They will always be afraid of meeting new people. People who are shy are often just afraid of change. It cannot be seen directly but looking deeper it could be said. On the other hand if someone is super outgoing then they will learn and grow from their interactions between friends and acquaintances. Therefore they will grow from their interactions with people. The friends made throughout life help in the formation of the person an individual will eventually become. If an individual surrounds themself with friends who believe in same things as them, they will continue to belief those things throughout their entire life without much questioning. Yet, if an individual surrounds themself with others whose beliefs are different than that particular individual’s, they will begin to question their own beliefs. When an individual begins to question their own beliefs they are questioning their own identity and self-worth. Could it then be concluded that an individual’s beliefs can shape how an individual views themself? 

As Emerson stated, “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men -- that is genius” (Emerson 260). This statement alone shows that to believe in your own believes creates the person that you become, as well as a sense of self-worth. Throughout his entire essay Self-Reliance he talks about not conforming to society. If an individual cannot separate themself from society then who are they? They are society. The individual needs to see a balance between self and society. It is impossible to completely separate a person from the society they are born in, however it is possible for an individual to figure things out for themself, to come up with their own beliefs towards things, to find their own self-worth. Again, if everyone just believed what others told them living life would be like living in the cave of Plato’s allegory.

A knowledge of self-worth can be obtained through Art, an understanding of Culture, and an individual’s beliefs. There is not one factor that affects how individuals view their self-worth, but many. In order for an individual to find their self-worth they need to dig deep into multiple aspects of their lives. Most of all they need not get discouraged if they do not see things in the same way others do, rather the individual needs to embrace their differences as a testament of their self-worth. A society would not be a society without the unique individuals within it.

Should I start up writing on this again?

So I have been thinking about starting writing a blip called Sleepless in Cedar City. Anyone interested in hearing my college freshman what to's?

Short Story

HEALING RAIN

            I woke up with a feeling of despair. Last nights incident still lingered like a stain on my mind, I couldn't change the facts. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I say those things to him? He doesn't care if I miss him. He doesn't care if I wonder about life. He doesn't care if I don't know how to live with out him. He doesn't care if I'll never be able to look into his eyes again. Keeping my mouth shut would have been a smart idea, intelligence is something I lack.

            As I walked out to the car, I noticed the rain. I love rain. Rain puts thoughts in my head. Thoughts of hope. Thoughts of Joy. Most people are depressed by the rain, there must be something wrong with me. I feel like running. Running far away from the world. Away from myself. How do you run away from yourself? Is it even possible? Change. Change is the answer. Changing yourself is running away from yourself. Is change what I want? Silly me, what am I thinking. HE is the one who called it off. HE is the one who found someone new. HE is the one who broke you. Why do you have to change?

            School wasn't that great. Walking through the halls felt as if the world was passing by me in with a whirlwind of emotion. Keeping a smile on my face was pointless. No one would even notice the tears sliding down my cheeks. No one would ever care.

He was in my first hour, Chemistry. How ironic. Of course he had to sit RIGHT next to me, as if nothing had happened.  My whole body wanted to explode, probably from a chemical reaction to his stupidity. Why did all this have to happen? I miss him, even every cell in my body hates him.

            Boys have no idea how much they affect girls. Every moment spent with them is a million heart beats. Every word spoken is a promise. Blake didn't understand this. HE didn't think I had emotions. HE only thought about himself. Only things that pleased HIM were important. He didn't care about my long brown hair. He didn't care about my blue eyes. He didn't care about my interests. He just didn't care about me.

            "I love you, Alyssa," Blake said.

            "Do you really?" I replied with doubt.

Looking into the sky I noticed the clouds, at the same moment it started to drizzle. Rain.

            "Yes, of course I love you, Alyssa," his blue eye shone like the smile upon his face, "Why wouldn't I love you?"

            Every muscle in my body tightened. Why would he? What has gotten into him...?

 “I don't know"

            "Exactly" He pulled me towards him, a look of mystery in his eyes. His face pressed up against mine he whispered in my ear "Your Beautiful". His lips pressed up against mine. I believed him.

            DING, DING, DING. I woke with a start. How had I fallen asleep in class? How long was I out? Had anyone noticed? I doubt it. If anyone had noticed, they didn't seem to care. I had THE dream again. Only this time... it had rained. Why did it rain? I gathered my stuff. It was time for me to go home.

            I walked outside the building, rain stilled poured from the sky. Everything was still. The sky had been crying all day. I needed to cry, but the tears just wouldn't come. Buzz, text from Mom.

            Stayed at work. Walk home.

Great. I get to walk in the pouring rain. Mom had done this a lot lately; stayed at work I mean. As I walked the rain started to clear my thoughts, it made my mind new. I'll be okay, I don't need Blake in my life. I started to make a plan, a plan to brake Blake.

            I was two blocks from my house, I had already walked fourteen blocks, when I saw Blake's car coming down the road. I felt like curling up  in a ball, or hiding in the alley. I felt like running. Once again, I felt like crying. I needed to get away. I stopped. Why did I stop? He pulled over beside me. For a moment, we just looked at each other.

            "Want a ride?" The smirk on his face made him look like a small child about to do something they know is naughty. Why did I find it so cute?

            I really wanted to say yes, I wanted thing back the way they were two days ago. "No, its okay. I've only got two blocks to go. Fourteen blocks ago would have been nice. Maybe even TWO DAYS AGO!!" Why did I yell?  I've never yelled, not at him. I never knew yelling could feel so good.

            I just walked away. I didn't stay to listen to his reply. I didn't care how hurt he looked. I just didn't care. I needed to get home, I needed my space. I needed to be alone.

Tears found their way down my face, falling in perfect unison with the rain. Crying felt good, almost like a rebirth of my soul.

            I woke up to the sun shining on my face through the slits in the blinds. Saturday, definitely the best day of the week. I wouldn't have to think about Blake today. I rolled over to look at the clock,  12:50, how had I slept so long?  Time to get up.

            I slowly found my way to the kitchen. Cereal sounded really good right now. I got a bowl out, then grabbed my favorite cereal, Captain Crunch. When I was getting out the milk I noticed the note taped on the fridge.

            Ali,

            I went out. Be back tonight.

            Love, Mom

I'd be spending a Saturday alone, again. It seems like every Saturday goes the same. Mom leaves, I sit around and watch movies; Sad movies, movies where people die, loves are lost. I couldn’t handle watching a lost love movie today… I decided to be adventurous, I was going to tackle the monster, and clean my room today.

            It had been weeks since I cleaned the place. It could probably be mistaken for a dumb yard, garbage and clothes littered the floor. It might take more than one Saturday to complete a job like this. I grabbed a garbage sack from the laundry room, and got to work. I started by sorting through all the garbage on the floor. How long had some of this been here? There are papers from months ago. After about an hour of working, all the garbage was picked up. My strength was washed away, like a mountain side eroding over time. All I wanted to do now was sleep.

            I slowly started picking up clothes and throwing them in the general direction of the closet. I found what used to be my favorite pair of jeans. The pockets were studded with jeweled peace signs. They screamed, cute, expensive, and most of all confident.  Confidence is another one of my down falls. As I picked the pants up a small piece of paper, folded into a small square fell to the floor. What’s this? It was a note. A note from HIM, from Blake.

                                                  My dear Ali,

                        You are the sun to my shine. You make my cloudy days

                  skip the rain, and go straight to sun. Thanks for being beautiful.

                  Please don't ever change. I love you.

                                                            Blake

            The tears came. They had held their ground for two days, unbelievably long. I'm surprised they hadn't come before now. They felt like acid streaming down my face, making a small pool on my carpet. What would mom say if she saw this? She'd probably just laugh. There was no sense in crying yet the tears still came.

            The tears fell from my eyes like the rain fell from the sky, nothing could stop them. Being all alone didn't help. I had no one to call, no one to turn to for help. Blake had been the only thing I could hold to in my life. He was gone now. Gone with the wind, gone like my childhood, gone like death.

            "Ali, I love ... Your blue eyes, almost as much as I love you." Blake's eyes shone with a mysterious look when he spoke these words.

            "I love you, Blake." I meant what I said. Nothing could change the facts.

Rain poured from the sky, sea gulls screeched, it was the perfect moment... The moment I had always dreamed.

            Blake leaned in and kissed my cheek tenderly. Butterflies filled my stomach, it felt as if my body would explode. My feelings were indescribable, something I had never felt before. Love.

            Blake leaned in close and whispered "Can I kiss you?" Without waiting for a reply he kissed me. My real first kiss. The butterflies in my stomach could no longer be tamed. I had never felt like this before. I had a feeling of belonging.

            "ALYSSA!" Mom's call woke me with a start. I was laying on the floor of my bedroom, I don't remember falling asleep. I felt dizzy. Why did I keep having dreams like this? The rain... there was more rain in this one than the last one. What did this all mean?

            "Alyssa. Did you forget about our plans tonight?"

            "No, I just... I didn't mean to fall asleep. I... wait what plans?!" I hoped she didn't sense the terror in my voice. I had forgotten we were going to HIS house for dinner that night.

            "We are going over to the Carter's house for dinner, remember? You were so excited about it last week, I don’t understand how you forgot."

            "I... must have lost track of the day..."

            "Be ready in five minutes."

            If she had noticed the terror in my voice, she didn't let on. She simply walked away. Maybe she didn't care. No one else cared, it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't.

Ugh. Time to face the fact, tonight I'd be going to Blake's house; I looked my refection in the mirror, and there is no way I'd be going looking like this. Mascara streaked down my cheeks, my hair was everywhere. Best of all I had a peace sign printed into my face, thank you favorite pair of jeans!

            What to wear though... My white sun dress? No, its was still raining, its to cold for a dress. What about my favorite jeans... with a long sleeve cardigan? My eyes stung, that was Blake's favorite thing I used to wear. I'd be wearing that tonight. It was my best revenge.

            Slowly I slipped the jeans on, they were cold. They felt foreign. I felt fat in them. They were perfect. The cardigan added to the effect I looked... just the way I used to look. I'm kind of pretty with out all my baggy clothes.

            It was time to go. Fear hidden inside me, I went out to meet my mom in the car. I didn't know what to expect when we got to Blake's house. The ride over there was dead silent. Mom didn't utter a word to me. I was to jittery to talk.

            Tragically, we made it to their house. I didn't speak while his parents welcomed us. It was as if I was in another world. Where was Blake? Maybe, if I was lucky he wouldn't be there.

            I don't have good luck. Blake came out of the kitchen within seconds of my hope. He looked as amazing as ever. His blue eyes were shining brighter than all the stars in the heavens, his angelic blonde hair made the features of his face look even more heavenly. He was perfect, as perfect as I remember.

            "Hello Alyssa." He used that smile... again.

             "I... uh... Hey Blake." I was speechless.

            "Would you like to come out back and meet my dog?"

            He had used it, one of my weaknesses, dogs. I love dogs. "Yeah sure. Why not?"

            His smiled looked as if he had just won the lottery. I hoped he didn't except anything. His dog had better be the cutest dog on earth... or else this couldn't be going to a good direction.

            He led me through the kitchen to the backyard. I followed in silence, even if I had know what to say, I don't think the words would have come. I was fighting back tears. I felt for the rain clouds, it must be hard to hold in the rain.

            Blake took my hand in his hand, as he led me to the back corner of the yard. Butterflies began to fly around in my stomach.

            "Ali. Can I still call you that? "

            "Uh yeah.  I guess you can."

            "Okay, Ali, I don't have a dog. I just wanted to get you alone."

            "I... I knew it."

Thunder clapped sending a thunder of sound through the valley. Rain started to fall from the sky. At first slowly, until it started to pour. Healing Rain.

            "Listen... I love you. I always have." I could see in his eyes that he meant it.

            Before I could utter a word, he leaned in and whispered, "I'm going to kiss you." His lips brushed up against mine. The butterflies in my stomach erupted. I had never felt a feeling quite like this. A feeling of Belonging. A feeling of trust. A feeling of love. At that moment I knew. I knew he meant what he said.

            "Blake, I never thought I would say this, but I love you." Tears streamed down my face.

            It started to rain even harder. I love the rain. Especially the healing rain.