Knowledge vs Ignorance

The plot of Oedipus is a search for knowledge and the result of this search is its climax, where Oedipus comes out of the darkness (ignorance) and into the light (knowledge).

Which is better knowledge or ignorance? What kind of knowledge should we all possess? What things would be better off left unrevealed? To what extent are we responsible for what we know?

You can respond to each question individually or together but must post twice by November 27th at 11:59pm.

Truth and Nature

For this blog there are two parts. You must post twice but can do so in any combination.

First, you can follow this link and select a quote from the page to discuss as relevent to Romanticism, Thoreau, and yourselves. http://www.whale.to/vaccine/quotes4.htm

Or you can answer this: Which of the maxims would be best to live by? Explain.

or you can do both- Post by 27th of November- 11:59pm

Reason (Enlightenment) vs Faith (Romanticism)

To this point in our course we have seen the pendulum of world view swing from a faith based religious / Puritan society to a reason based America breaking free from Britain. We will soon see society's pendulum swing back to a romantic view of the world and then forward to a logical realist view of the world. Where are we today and how do you know? Where are we headed?

Macbeth # 3 Gender Ambiguity

Issues of gender and role reversals are evident throughout Macbeth. It could be argued that Lady Macbeth is as power hungry and ambitious as Macbeth if not more. Unfortunately for her, she died, arguably, as a result of overstepping her place in society; of usurping the "correct" order of things. To what extent do gender issues exist today? What is true about the social hierarchy with regard to men and women? Is the way it is today the "right" way?

Scarlet Letter #2

Through the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne presents his conception of the Human Condition- what it means to be human. What do his views say about humanity? What do you feel is at the core of the Human Condition? Love? Curiosity? Fear? Sin? Evil? Why do you think so? What in your life has shaped your views on man? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_condition

-Two posts by october 2

Macbeth #2 "Fair is Foul, and Foul is Fair"

In Macbeth, Shakepeare creates a world of Moral Complexity, a place where the lines between reality and illusion are blurred, where ambiguities distort Macbeth's vision as well as ours. In a place like this, values can easily invert leaving readers with enormous challenges as they attempt to place blame. What about our world forces inverted values and moral dilemmas? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilemma Where in your life have you seen these? How do you deal with them? How do you determine right and wrong?

Macbeth Question #1

Shakespeare's Macbeth is a great warrior on the battlefield. He seems to be in line for greatness. He is a character of great ambition and it seems he will stop at nothing to achieve that greatness. But how far is too far? Is ambition dangerous? To what extent would you go to reach your goals? Would you hurt someone else?

Please repond not only to the question but also to eachother.

Scarlet Letter Question # 1

It seems to me, every work we have studied up to now leads us to questions of identity. Why is it that the great writers and thinkers of America are constantly struggling with who they are? To what extent do you struggle with this? How much do we really know about ourselves?

please respond not only to the question but to eachother as well.