The Allegory of the Cave and Dante Essay -- Plato Allegory Cave Dante

The Allegory of the Cave and Dante â€Å"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.† This maxim applies to the poet Dante Alighieri, writer of The Inferno in the 1300s, because it asserts the need to establish oneself as a contributor to society. Indeed, Dante’s work contributes much to Renaissance Italy as his work is the first of its scope and size to be written in the vernacular. Due to its readability and availability, The Inferno is a nationalistic symbol. With this widespread availability also comes a certain social responsibility; even though Dante’s audience would have been familiar with the religious dogma, he assumes the didactic role of illustrating his own version of Christian justice and emphasizes the need for a personal understanding of divine wisdom and contrapasso, the idea of the perfect punishment for the crime. Dante acts as both author and narrator, completing a physical and spiritual jou rney into the underworld with Virgil as his guide and mentor. The journey from darkness into light is an allegory full of symbolism, much like that of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, which shows a philosopher’s journey towards truth. Therefore, Dante would also agree with the maxim, â€Å"Wise men learn by others’ harms; fools scarcely by their own,† because on the road to gaining knowledge and spiritual enlightenment, characters who learn valuable lessons from the misfortunes of others strengthen their own paradigms. Nonetheless, the only true way to gain knowledge is to experience it first hand. Dante’s character finds truth by way of his own personal quest. Dante’s poetry is rich in symbolism of light and darkness. At the beginn... ...ards monstrous figures and sympathy towards those who seem to be tortured unjustly. In his perverse education, with instruction from Virgil and the shades, Dante learns to replace mercy with brutality, because sympathy in Hell condones sin and denies divine justice. The ancient philosopher Plato, present in the first level of Hell, argues in The Allegory of the Cave that truth is possible via knowledge of the Form of the Good. Similarly, Dante acquires truth through a gradual understanding of contrapasso and the recognition of divine justice in the afterlife. Ultimately, Dante recognizes that the actions of the earthly fresh are important because the soul lives on afterwards to face the ramifications. By expressing his ideas on morality and righteousness, Dante writes a work worth reading, immortalizes his name, and exalts the beliefs of his Christian audience.

Differences Between Daisy and Brett Essay

Differences between Daisy and Brett I. Introduction Thesis: Daisy and Brett differ in conformity, personality, and lifestyle. II. Body A. Daisy 1. Conformity 2. Personality 3. Lifestyle B. Brett 1. Conformity 2. Personality 3. Lifestyle III. Conclusion Differences between Daisy and Brett In the two novels, â€Å"The Great Gatsby† and â€Å"The Sun Also Rises,† the differences between the two major female characters are greatly evident. Daisy, who is a major female character in â€Å"The Great Gatsby,† and Brett, who is a major female character in â€Å"The Sun Also Rises,† plays major roles in providing apparent themes for the two novels. They do so with different strategies and beliefs. Daisy and Brett differ in conformity, personality, and lifestyle. Daisy is a beautiful young woman who is married to Tom Buchanan. She is expected to be like other proper women of that time; therefore, she is. She is not independent and relies on her husband Tom for everything. In the novel, â€Å"The Great Gatsby,† Daisy can not decide between her husband Tom and her past lover Gatsby. In chapter seven it states, â€Å"As Tom left the room again Daisy got up and went over to Gatsby, and pulled his face down kissing him on the mouth. † She then murmured, â€Å"You know I love you. † This shows that she does not have a personality of her own and that she can not make decisions alone. In chapter one, Miss Baker states, â€Å"We ought to plan something. † Daisy then replies, â€Å"All right, what will we plan? † She then turned to Nick, the narrator, helplessly and asked, â€Å"What do people plan? † She lives an exuberant lifestyle with her wealthy husband and she gets everything she wants. In chapter one Nick states, â€Å"Their house was even more elaborate that I expected, a cheerful red and white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay. † Money is the source of her contentment as she states, â€Å"I’m p-paralyzed with happiness. † In â€Å"The Sun Also Rises,† Brett is an extremely attractive young woman. In the book Jake, the narrator, states, â€Å"With them was Brett. She looked very lovely. † Also, Brett does not give in easily to conformity as most women of that time. She loves to drink in large intervals as did most of the people during the period of time the story took place. An excerpt in chapter seven states, â€Å"Let’s enjoy a little more of this,† Brett pushed her glass forward. Then Mrs. Barnes states, â€Å"She is the only lady I have ever known who was as charming when she was drunk as when she was sober. † Brett is very independent and does not rely on a single man for anything. She makes her own decisions and looks after herself everyday. Brett’s lifestyle is far from perfect because she does not really own any possessions, but she is happy. Other females occasionally look upon her as a whore or slut solely because she is different, but she chooses the lifestyle she lives and loves it. To prove this point true Jake states, â€Å"Brett was radiant. She was happy. The sun was out and the day was bright. † The differences between Daisy and Brett are very evident to the reader. They are almost as complete opposites if analyzed closely. Daisy and Brett have very distinctly different views on conformity, different types of personalities, and two totally different lifestyles.

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