Hamlet Prediscussion ?s

1. I don't believe revenge is the right way to deal with wrongdoings. Revenge only worsens the conflict and creates deeper feelings of hatred between the persons. It does not solve the problem but rather increases its intensity.

2. I think it's better to think before you act! However I am guilty of acting and then thinking afterwards. It's easy to do both. I'd say the majority of the time, one should think before they act!

3. I believe reality is reality. It's the same for every person, everyone lives and breathes and deals with conflicts and relationships and other life issues. They difference is that each person perceives the concept of "life" in their own way. Though we're essentially "all in this together" if you will, everyone lives for different purposes, therefore what happens around us all will have different meanings depending on the person.

4. The core of a good friendship is honesty. Once the truth factor is removed in a friendship, the friendship dies or is severely damaged, often beyond repair. Other qualities include loyalty, good communication, the ability to make one another smile, an over-all sense of love between friends, and the willingness to go to bat for the other.

5. Parents should try to teach their children lessons without waiting for them to make their own mistakes. If this does not work, then they should allow their children to make mistakes and learn from them. I think that once a child turns 18 they should be allowed to do what they want, and make their own mistakes to learn from them. The parents are still there as advisers, but not enforcers.

6. No, I don't think so. A lot depends on the new spouse, the situation concerning the first spouse's death and the situation concerning this new marriage. There is a lot more to consider and so I do not think that children always need to be supportive of their parents' remarriages.

7. Yes. Grieving can only go on for so long before it overtakes one's life. It's important to grieve but it can become unhealthy and the person will lose relationships and possibly their own life because of it.

Matrix Blog #2

1. He thinks that if he just knows what is going on around him, he can live peacefully. He wants to forget about the world and live as a slave in the matrix for the rest of his life. I understand where he's coming from but I don't think he should have betrayed his team like that.

2. He's not sure he's really fit for the job, he feels a little inadequate for the position. An example could be maybe Harry Potter, whose greatness was put upon him.

3. Being logical doesn't always been being perfect. Sometimes you should do things not because of the logic behind them but morality. If humans were flawless, we wouldn't need anything or anyone. We'd be self sufficient. Transformers is an example of evil in the form of technology.

Matrix Blog #1

1. When he's in the matrix, he sees that this is "real" and how "it really is". When he goes back to the world we know, he has a higher sense of understanding because he knows how "it really is" and it's different than what he thought before.

2. We use our senses to tell what is real and what is unreal. If we can see, touch, hear, smell or sense it, we assume it is real. I think reality is a definite concept measurable and quantifiable because of everything around us. What is happening now and what we see and know is reality.

3. I think our current society may parallel the world of The Matrix in some ways, like how everythnig is controlled by the technology. We're not controlled in that sense, but we kind of are because everything we know comes from the media. I think technology has mostly increased the quality of life but it definitely has lessened the quality in some ways, because it has revealed things that are not so good for us to know.

"The Cave"

1. This allegory is about wisdom. Socrates is trying to explain to Glaucon that wisdom is not something that many possess or understand. Many of us are "in the dark", or ignorant of what is really happening all around us. However, we are accustomed to living this way and think nothing of it, much like the prisoners in the cave. If we should somehow see a glimpse of wisdom and understand it, we would most likely think of it as a terrible thing. But the more one understands wisdom, the more one comes to see that it is crucial to living a healthy life and is a most beneficial characteristic to possess. Although the truth can be ugly, it is the truth; and living in the truth, however negative it may seem at times, is far better than living an ignorant life.

2. He's trying to say that truth is not easily accepted at first, but once one realizes its importance and the extent of it all, they simply cannot get enough. Unfortunately, this realization often happens later in life.

3. The "dark stage" in the cave can be perceived as young children, not enrolled in school yet. What they understand seems to be everything there is in life and they desire no more. Once they begin to learn, naturally their brain does not take it lightly. But as their education continues and intensifies, their eyes are opened up and they see what all is out there for their minds to capture, and they learn, gaining wisdom and understanding.

4. It could connect to technology today with the elderly, or adults who don't want to understand new electronical devices. They don't know what is out there and so they ignore the newest developments in technology. If they try to learn, it is so difficult that the majority of them quit. But those who keep up with it find that only the beginning is rough, and after that, they cannot get enough of the new technology out there and yearn to learn more and more.

Sentence Composing #7

Practice 2
model: visibly
When she told him, she tried to excuse herself, lamely.
Before the waves crashed, the seagulls tried to escape, unsuccessfully.

Practice 3
model: slowly and evenly
She crossed Washington Avenue, confidently and purposefully.
They crept along Hynes street, quietly cautiously.

Practice 4
1) Model: slowly
Sample: triumphantly
Near the end, she sighed, gratefully.

2) Model: quietly
Sample: dreamily
We strolled down the road, nostalgically, where the children played with an old, tattered, red ball and chased each other until dusk.

3) Model: heavily
Sample: desperately
She was sobbing, uncontrollably, among her closest friends, until a man, the the father she never had, whisked her up into his arms.