A Penguin with a Book

In today's culture, imagination and happiness are prized by many. Paintings hang on walls and fill museums, and plays are written. Imagination gives us stories and fun times, while happiness gives a positive outlook on life. However, not all people approve of imagination. Marcus Aurelius was one of them, believing imagination to be a stain on life. He says, “Erase the print of imagination. Stop the puppet-strings of impulse. Define the present moment of time” (62). Sometimes people let the false images they conjure control their lives and are led down a path they might not have been if the imagination had not been a part of it. Other times imagination prevents us from living in the here and now, and we get caught up either in stories or the past, imagining what could have gone differently. If imagination were to rule our lives, we would be stuck in a false world, where there might be truths but nothing itself would be the truth. He reinforces his thoughts by talking about corrup...

A memoir of a Great Books warrior in the first regiment: A war was about to begin. This was not just any crusade, for it would be intriguing and require deep strategy. I was going to be training with the Great Books army. I knew before going into the class that it would require work, but that the toil would be worth it. Studying war tactics and strategy and planning my own attacks was, and is, very appealing. However, there was that worry (once again), if I would be able to connect with the other fighters. A troop of fifteen warriors was a lot more in my mind that the seven there had been in the Intro to Great Books military over the summer. I had also been the youngest in my class before, but that was in elementary school where the whole class was close in age. These people were full time members of the army, whereas I was only a part time member. Nevertheless, I was excited to enter the army and have the experience. It came as a nice surprise when I found one of my friends was ...

Orestes is placed on trial for matricide in “The Eumenides”, one of the worst crimes a person can commit in Ancient Greece. Part of the reason he did so is because Apollo convinced him he should avenge his father’s murder. The furies now want justice served to him, and so Athena holds the trial to determine if he is guilty or not. Apollo makes an argument in his defense of Orestes that seems to slander woman, but in reality is not. In his argument, Apollo states, “[t]he woman you call the mother of this child / is not the parent, just a nurse to the seed, / … The man is the source of life - the one who mounts. / She, like a stranger, keeps / the shoot alive unless god hurts the roots” (260). It sounds like Apollo is saying the mother is really no mother to the child at all, and the only purpose for which she exists is to bear the child. He then presents his reasoning behind his statement. “The father can father forth without a mother. / Here she stands, our living witness” (261). Ap...

A king returns from war in “Agamemnon”. Some are joyful, others only pretend that they are. The ruler, Agamemnon, is not alone, for he carries another with him in his chariot. This other person is Cassandra, a seer, a prisoner of war. When she is first revealed, it appears like the others are friendly to her. However, while there are those who are actually nice, Agamemnon’s wife, Clytaemenstra, has motives for her front, the main one being so that she can attempt to gain Cassandra’s favor and lure her to her death. Clytaemenstra makes it seem like she is happily accepting the other woman into her home when she says, “Won’t you come inside? I mean you, Cassandra./ Zeus in all his mercy want you to share/ some victory libations with the house” (143). She appears like she is happy to have Cassandra into her house in order for her plan to work and because her husband requests that she “Escort this stranger in, be gentle./ Conquer with compassion” (139). She must act like the situation i...

In The Aeneid , Aeneas and a group of Trojans escape Troy, wandering through the Mediterranean in hopes of coming across the land promised to them. At many places they stop and start to build new homes, only to be told that is not the ending place. Eventually they acquire a prophecy, telling them to return to the land of their forefathers. However, a plague strikes and decimates their population and crops for a year not too long after their arrival. The infestation is the gods’ way of trying to hurry the Trojans along. Anchises possibly knew something was not right when the plague hits, for he declares, “Double back on the sea lanes, back to Delos now, Apollo’s oracle! … Pray for the god’s good will and ask him there: where will they end, our backbreaking labors? Where can we turn from help for our toil? What new course do we set” (108)? If Crete is supposed to be the end of the Trojans’ journey, why are they still afflicted? Their hardships are supposed to be over! The plague is ...

The first and probably most important reflection is that a reflection essay cannot be written in a day. You have to think and come up with the contemplations, which in my case took a few days. Then the writing part comes. Normally, meeting new people involves nerves for me. On the way to the campus on Friday, I realized something: I was not nervous to meet anyone. I think the blogs helped because it felt like we sort of knew each other. I was worried, despite having similar interests, that I would not click, but there was nothing to worry about because we are all buddies! As my mom put it, we got so close in one week because we were sharing space and ideas. If you are just with people discussing who did this, that, and whatever, you are not as likely to bond as fast. On the contrary, sharing thoughts about a challenging text and getting deep with others results in quicker connecting. Talking beforehand and then diving into tough material together makes for strong friends. I normal...

In Plato’s " Crito" , we meet Socrates who is in prison. His friend, Crito, proposes placing a bribe to help him escape, but Socrates refuses and proceeds to explain why he did so. While Plato was explaining the reasoning for Socrates staying in prison, I believe there is also a larger picture, one where he is attempting to convince the populace against placing bribes to help convicts flee. Plato was addressing those who have helped prisoners escape and the escapees by trying to convey the message of why running away and aiding runaways is not right. Crito says “Look here, Socrates, it is still not too late to take my advice and escape… a great many people who don’t know you and me very well will be sure to think that I let you down, because I could have saved you if I had been willing to spend the money” (56). From the way he explains his reasoning, it sounds like bribing people to help them out of prison was a common practice. It would make perfect sense then for Crito t...