Which POV is the right one??

As I was thinking about the differences in Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, I began to wonder how the story would be told from each person’s point of view. What would Ophelia think? Would she reveal feelings of guilt, anger, etc. What would Claudius write? Polonius? Each of these characters would have a very different take on the situation and respond very differently. 

I began to think about this, and realized this is true for everything. EVERYTHING! Not just plays or books, but in life. For instance, people are wrongly accused all the time. People may tell their side of the story that differs completely from someone else’s. 

So, when many sides are presented, who are we to believe? How do we agree with Hamlet over Ros and Guil? This is where my point comes in. If we were to read Ros and Guil are Dead first, would we be more partial to them over Hamlet? This is very similar to the way we learn about our childhood, death, etc. Many times we choose to believe what we hear first. Hamlet portrays Ros and Guil in ways that allow us to think we know who they are before we even meet them! POV can be a very dangerous tool!!

THE BOX

As we brought up in class today, the idea of being in a box is terrifying. However, after we discussed it, I began to this analogy in a different way. The only way to think about death and what it is like, is to think about what it means to be alive. Most importantly, we value life based on what we look forward or enjoy the most. This leads me to my point concerning the box. 

Being alive trumps being dead! With that said, if one is dead, hope doesn’t exist! Hope is what drives and pushes us in life.With that being said, if we were trapped in the box alive, we can HOPE that we will eventually get out. But if we are dead, the box just merely is a space without hope.

In addition, the box also functions to show the life of actors themselves. Actors do not have any free will. They are subject to the director and the play. They cannot created lines for themselves, they must abide by what is one the script. 

What do y’all think??Also, I can’t wait to hear Cameron’s view regarding the song THE BOX!!!

Everyone Else is Wrong (Brandon & Andrew)

During our class discussion on the nature of reality, Brandon and I were viciously attacked by certain members of the class. These attacks were based upon a complete and total misunderstanding of our assertion.

Our assertion is that an objective reality does exist, but there is no way to prove that said reality exists. Instead of reusing our arguments from class, we are going to use Godel’s proof. Godel’s proof says that there is no system of logic that can explain everything. Put simply, there are things that are true but that can not be proven. This is the essence of our argument. Reality is real, but it can not be proven.

Biologically, the nature of how we interact with the world prevents us from proving an objective reality. Very frequently our brains are fooled into believing in a false reality. Dreams are experiences that seem so very real in the moment, but are ultimately false. In an extremely vivid dream, our senses are completely fooled into believing a false scenario. If one’s senses can be fooled into believing that one’s dream is a reality, then no amount of sensory data could possibly prove the existence of an objective reality; and because our minds compile sensory data to develop a view of the world there is no way to prove that one’s experiences are real.

Relying on others to make life meaningful

Today in class we discussed the scene in which the Player tells Ros and Guil that an actor serves no purpose unless he has audience. We ended up relating it to life in general by saying that people are always hoping that someone or something is watching in order for their actions to have meaning. However, Hamlet had always acted on his own, when no one was watching. He told no one his plans to avenge his father's death, and he was acting solely based on his own conscious. Hamlet never tried to be a hero; instead, he struggled to comprehend what was best for everyone around him. I think Hamlet was a good example of someone who couldn't go through with a plan because he had no one else to validate it but himself. He was stuck in his own mind and only had the ghost of his father to rely on.
Does anyone else think Hamlet relates to this specific discussion in class today?

Death

I find it very interesting to think about how it is impossible to imagine our own deaths. It is said that this is also the reason that we wake up if we die in a dream. I know that this causes many people some grief. Do you think that we should try and understand this or just deal with it?

IMPORTANT BLOG ANNOUNCEMENT

Attention everyone! I would like it to be known that as Mrs. King's favorite student, I am now taking control of the blog. I own it now. I'm king of the blog. You can't stop me. I talked it over with Mrs. King. She's 100% cool with it. In fact, she's encouraged it. Now that I'm in charge, Sara is no longer allowed to post on the blog. Ever.

Further changes will be made as I see them fit.

more reality stuff

This translates to "This is not a pipe." How does this statement make you guys feel?