Crito Analysis Essay Example for Free

Crito Analysis Essay Rhetorical Question: â€Å"But my dear Crito, why should we pay so much attention to what ‘most people’ think? The reasonable people, who have more claim to be considered, will believe that the facts are exactly as they are† (906). Personification: â€Å"’Consider then, Socrates,’ the Laws would probably continue, ‘whether it is also true for us to say that what you are trying to do to us is not right†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (913). Plato’s â€Å"Crito† is one of the many tremendously influential pieces of literature produced in ancient Greece. It is a thought-provoking, philosophical discussion regarding the role of the individual within society, and how to treat injustice. As part of a series of imaginary dialogues between Socrates and other characters, â€Å"Crito† deals with the conflict Socrates is presented with, as he awaits execution. Crito, one of Socrates’ close friends, urges Socrates to escape prison while he still can. Crito offers several arguments to justify his escape, including the shame he would endure from the public for letting his friend die, and the poor example it would set for the children of Athens. However, Socrates carefully analyzes each of Crito’s arguments for escaping, and proves them invalid through logic and deductive reasoning. The passage, â€Å"But my dear Crito, why should we pay so much attention to what ‘most people’ think? The reasonable people, who have more claim to be considered, will believe that the facts are exactly as they are† (906), d emonstrates the method that Socrates uses to persuade. Socrates asks a rhetorical question to expose the silliness of the Crito’s worries. It represents the wisdom and morals of Socrates. Crito’s strongest argument is that Socrates would be promoting injustice by accepting his unfair sentence. However, Socrates disproves this point as well, by reasoning that he would be harming the Law by escaping death. Socrates, who has tried to live his life as justly and peacefully as possible, would be breaking every moral he ever lived by if he chose to turn against the law. He regards the Law higher than his own life. He sees the Law as a father to him; it has raised him, educated him, and allowed him to live a comfortable life. No matter how much he disagrees with its ways, he cannot bring himself to disobey it. Throughout Socrates’ discussions, he often has conversations with himself and the â€Å"Law†. Plato personifies the â€Å"Law† by giving it human-like qualities and speech; it is suggested that the Law can be hurt, and angry. He does this to distinguish it as a character that has feelings. For example, â€Å"’†¦you will leave this place, when you do, as the victim of a wrong done not by us, the Laws, but by your fellow men. But if you leave in that dishonorable way, returning wrong from wrong, and evil for evil, breaking your agreements with us, and injuring those whom you least ought to injure yourself, your country, and us ,- then you will face our anger†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (916), demonstrates the authority of the Law. Socrates suggests it is better to die a victim who has lived justly and killed unjustly, than to return the injustice and hurt the Laws. He states, â€Å"†¦it is never right to do a wrong or return a wrong or defend one’s sel f against injury by retaliation† (911), which exemplifies the belief that injustice cannot be treated with injustice. Socrates mentions an agreement being broken in this passage; this alludes to the belief that there is a social contract between the individual and government. Socrates reasons that when a citizen lives in Athens, he is indirectly supporting the laws and abiding them. The individual has a moral obligation to the government. While it is beneficial to challenge the government under some circumstances, one threatens the foundation of a stable society by breaking its laws. Socrates, who has lived 70 years of Athenian life, is content by living in accordance with this contract. He feels a state simply cannot exist if laws have no power. He firmly believes in the importance of strict laws, as he calls them the most precious achievement of human history. Besides, he reasons that a man of his age, with little life left to live, would lose his reputation by â€Å"clingi ng so greedily to life, at the price of violating the most stringent laws† (915). For all these reasons, â€Å"Crito† remains an influential piece that poses big questions and promotes critical thinking.

‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B.Priestley Essay -- Drama

How has watching a production of ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B.Priestley enhanced the script and furthered your understanding of the play? Refer to themes and characters in your analysis. ‘An Inspector Calls’ – J.B. Priestley ===================================== Twentieth Century Drama Coursework ---------------------------------- Task: How has watching a production of ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B.Priestley enhanced the script and furthered your understanding of the play? Refer to themes and characters in your analysis. Following my reading of ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B.Priestely, I went to the theatre to see Daldry’s production. I found that watching the play on stage massively enhanced the script and furthered my understanding of the play. The use of scenery, sound, lighting, special effects, the actors and their actual movement about the stage all emphasised Priestley’s moral message of the play, which he felt was so necessary to express. The play ‘An Inspector Calls’ was written by J.B.Priestley in the winter of 1944-1945, when Priestley, as explained in his biography by Vincent Brome, had â€Å"an idea about a mysterious inspector visiting a family... before the (second world) war.† The entire play was written â€Å"at top speed,...† and finished within a week. Even though the play was written in 1945, it was set in 1912 and written on a basis of Priestley’s early influences in life. His childhood home was a place where socialist ideas thrived and he had a real experience of working class life through numerous visits to his grandparent’s house in narrow backstreets behind a mill factory. J.B.Priestley was very interested in politics, but could not agree completely with the policies of any one political party. One of the main reasons for him writing ‘An Inspector Calls’ was to put the labour party into authority. He was a socialist and based his views and actions on compassion, the sort of compassion that the Inspector wants to see in those he questions in the play. Brumley, where the play is set, is a large manufacturing town in the Midlands. In 1912 nearly 15 million people lived in large towns and cities. Most people worked in manufacturing industries, mining, transport and trade. England had huge social divisions, based largely on wealth and income. Priestley replicates this scenario when first describing t... ...outside of his safe world, inside of the house, to answer it. This signifies that he cannot escape reality and must face up to his actions. Finally, in order to show the that morals and meanings of the play are still relevant for a modern day audience, in Daldry’s production, the house lights are switched on for the Inspector’s speech and the core message of the play he has to deliver. Even though you may be watching how the Birlings have misbehaved, this is a reminder to the audience that no one should behave as they did and always face up to their responsibilities, which is the message Priestley wanted to convey in his play of â€Å"An Inspector Calls†. To conclude, I found that watching a production of â€Å"An Inspector Calls† immensely enhanced and furthered my understanding of the play, in many ways as explained and analysed thoroughly in this essay. Although Priestley’s ideas were noted when reading the play in class, I felt they were conveyed more emotionally had much more meaning when acted. All plays are supposed to acted in order convey the meanings of them in this way and I found Daldry’s production created that emotion and meaning extremely effectively.

Angle of Repose – Summary

Jordan Pye 8-12-11 Angle of Repose Written by Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972. Based on the letters written by Mary Hallcock Foote, the inspiration to Stengner’s character, Susan Ward, Stegner writes about a man, Lyman Ward, who has developed a bone crippling disease and has become dependent on others to assist him on his mission to discover his grandmother’s journey to Grass Valley. To accomplish this, Lyman went through a vast amount of letters and placed them in order of occurrence.His grandmother, Susan Burling Ward, had embarked on a journey of a lifetime with, her husband, Oliver Ward; on which they encountered many new hardships as they pioneered the West. Like many great quests, it leads him unfathomably into the murky shadows of his own life. Although people are not perfect and may face difficult circumstances in life, the noble character traits of Oliver and Susan enabled them to overcome their adversities. Born and raised in Ne w York, Susan was well educated, a fine writer, and a good painter. On the other hand, Oliver was stalwart, gifted, stoic, but most importantly, was worthy as a husband and provider.Leaving New York to pioneer the New Frontier, Susan was hoping that they would someday return as successes to reunite with her old friends. Beginning their journey in New Almaden, Oliver successfully acquired a job as a mine engineer. Also, Susan was getting a chance to be a writer for Scribner’s magazine. Lyman tells it was a time of true happiness. When an incident occurred between a fellow employee, Tregoning, and their boss, Mr. Kendall, Oliver was asked to perform a job that went against his principles and thus quit. Although he quit, Susan was delighted that he left his job than to keep it and do something immoral.While Oliver was out of work, Susan offered to use her freelance earnings to support them while he searched for a job. Refusing, he sent her to stay with friends in Santa Cruz whil e he looked for employment in San Diego. Susan and Oliver displayed admirable traits in New Almaden even though it meant that harder times were to follow. Next, when Oliver and Susan moved to Leadville, Oliver informed Susan that he would be gone a great deal of the time at the mine. Trying to be strong, she countered and said that she had book illustrations to keep her busy.Shortly after arriving, she met Frank Sergeant, Oliver’s assistant, and was impressed by his excellent looks, and wanted to draw him. As she tried to adjust to life in Leadville, she was coddled by Frank Sergeant, who went to her house every morning to build her a fire, chop and carry wood, burn her trash, run errands for her, and take her horseback riding. At the beginning of Book 5, Michoacan, Lyman revealed why he wrote about his grandparents. He explained how his mother died when he was two and how his father was â€Å"a silent and difficult man,† therefore, he was raised by his grandparnets.Wa rd recalled a time when he had to write a report on Mexico for an assignment, and his grandmother, Susan, told of her time in Michoacan. She greatly preferred it, because of its history and culture, to any of the mining camps. It was apparent to Oliver that he had given his wife an enjoyable experience. Lastly, although Oliver and Susan were similar in many ways, they had many differences as well. In an illustrative incident, Oliver was in town really late one night trying to discuss a project with a group of potential investors. When they refused his offer, he became drunk.Not knowing where he was, Susan ventured out to look for him. Upon finding him, she was concerned about helping him, not realizing that he was drunk. Finally figuring he was drunk, she became incredibly upset with him and with the news that he had failed to obtain investors, Susan demanded Oliver to sleep outside. When Lyman and his assistant, Shelly, came to this part, Lyman related the departure of his wife, El len, to when Susan took the children to Vancouver Island. During the same time, Oliver led a survey party to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.As a result, Lyman felt similar pain to Susan after Oliver left. An additional crisis that they faced in Mesa was because Oliver was so busy with the canal, he left important paper work about property to one Mr. Burns and consequently, he lost the property. Although irate at first, the two of them surmounted the mistake and moved on. Both, Susan and Oliver, had different ways of handling their adversities, but in the end, they always forgave each other. The metaphor angle of repose means it is the slope at which dirt stops sliding downhill and stays put.An example of the metaphor was Oliver Ward digging trenches†¦ first as a mining engineer, then as an irrigation engineer, and the dirt kept on falling back into the trench, making his work that much harder. Finally, he found a way to work without having the dirt back fall on top of him. When Lyman Wa rd was at Zodiac Cottage, he hoped to be able to relate the pieces of his life together the same way his grandparents did- meeting the challenges of the present by making something new out of the substance of their old lives.The story of Susan Burling Ward was really the story of her marriage and her life as a frontier/mining wife who faced hardship after hardship, disappointment after disappointment as her husband struggled to make a living in a rough, competitive world without compromising his integrity. Even though Oliver and Susan Ward had many differences, in times of misfortune, they put their differences aside and worked together.

Obesity in America Concept Paper - 1420 Words

James Smith October 19th 2011 Creative Writing Concept Paper Obesity in America In America, the amount of people who suffer from obesity in the last 40 years has increased significantly. It has become such an issue that, in 2001, the surgeon general declared obesity an epidemic in the country. Even though the amount of children and adults that are obese has seemed to level off, the numbers of overweight and obese people are still very high. Just about 1/3rd of children are considered to be overweight or obese and just about†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Theres more passive recreation available to children with television, computers and Nintendo.†Ã¢â‚¬  (â€Å"Obesity Epidemic† 31 Jan. 2003) While many people would think it would be the opposite, studies show that low income people have the highest rates of obesity. While people are not quite sure why this is, it may have to do with the areas they live in. For starters, there is a lack of supermarkets in these low income areas and a surplus of convenience type stores. And even so, at the sup ermarkets the healthier foods such as the fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy products have higher prices, of which most people in lower income areas cannot afford. The lower costing foods that they can afford are usually things such as fast food, junk foods and drinks such as soda. Also, in these lower income areas there is usually a higher rate of crime, so children are not out getting the exercise they need by playing. They are staying inside to stay safe. The mothers are also more likely to develop obesity. They will use whatever good and healthy foods that they have to feed their children and then eat the cheaper foods to fill her stomach. This usually leads to an overeating when good food does become available. In today’s times, most Americans consume about 1/3rd of their total calories outside of the home. 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