Marc Antony was Julius Caesar's righthand man when he was alive. He was very devoted to Caesar and because of that some of the conspirators thought he should be assassinated at the same time at Caesar. However, Brutus convinced them not to, because he believed Antony was "no more than Caesar's arm when Caesar's head is off" (II.i.182). As it turns out, Antony's goal after Caesar is killed is to avenge his death and he will do whatever it takes to make that happen. Antony has good morals throughout the play, but does some conniving to get what he wants. Antony convienced the conspirators to let him speak at Caesar's funeral and he used it to his absolute advantage. He took a crowd of citizens that completely believed in Brutus and made them want to kill Brutus. Before Antony speaks the citizens say things like,"Brutus! live, live!" and "Let [Brutus] be Caesar" (III.ii.46-51). After his speech, they say, "Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay! Let not a traitor live!" (III.iii.208-209). Antony now has the people of Rome on his side 100%. He then forms the Second Triumvirate with Octavius and Lepidus and they fight and defend against Brutus, Cessius and the other conspirators to win control over Rome. Antony changes from being just Caesar's righthand man at the beginning of the play that no one really believes in to one of the most powerful, brave, clever, and convincing men in Rome at the end.
Marc Antony was a very interesting character to me because of his dramatic change throughout the play. I thought it was amazing how powerful and convincing he became when nobody besides a few of the conspirators believed in him at the beginning and just thought he was a guy that liked to have a good time. He proved them all wrong, which I liked. He also was a very good friend to Caesar in deciding to risk as much as he did to avenge Caesar's death.
A modern day person that I think relates to Marc Antony is Barack Obama. The first similarity is Antony did not have very much experience coming in to the play or many people who strongly believed in him. At first, Obama did not either. Both of them, however, gained many supporters throughout their play (Antony) or campaign (Obama). Secondly, both men are great, persuasive speakers that can get a crowd on their side very easily. A source that shows both of these things is: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/personoftheyear
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Allegory of the Cave
1. The "shadows" Plato would tell us we cannot trust as truth are the illusions or things in our lives and worlds that are not completely true or not all there. In "The Allegory," the people in the cave believe that the shadows are reality, when we know that they are not. A shadow we encounter in our everday lives are people who pretend to be someone they are not. They may cast a "shadow" or put on a mask to impress people or fit in with a certain crowd. Another example is Hollywood, celebrities, and tabloids. They portray lifestyles and attitudes that are not real; they are just illusions. Some people strive to be like these celebrities, but they do not have a realistic lifestyle.
2. An online source that portrays "shadows" is http://www.realitytvworld.com/. Reality shows are huge illusions or shadows in our world. The truth is, nothing in these shows is actually real despite statements from the producers that say they are. It is all dramatized and played up to catch people's interest. An example of a show like this is "Jon and Kate Plus 8". The show is filled with unrealistic drama, and people may think they know what goes on in the family's real life by watching the show, but they do not. All they know are the "shadows" this show and others like it portray.
3. Shadows impact society in the way they trick people into believing things that are untrue. When we see these "shadows" in places like television, the news, or politics it can be hard to see the truth. Believing the lies could be dangerous, and we need to analyze the information we are given to see what we can believe, and what is just a shadow. An example of this is when young girls look at fake, airbrushed models in magazines and try to be like them. It is impossible, and they can harm their health and self-esteem tremendously.
2. An online source that portrays "shadows" is http://www.realitytvworld.com/. Reality shows are huge illusions or shadows in our world. The truth is, nothing in these shows is actually real despite statements from the producers that say they are. It is all dramatized and played up to catch people's interest. An example of a show like this is "Jon and Kate Plus 8". The show is filled with unrealistic drama, and people may think they know what goes on in the family's real life by watching the show, but they do not. All they know are the "shadows" this show and others like it portray.
3. Shadows impact society in the way they trick people into believing things that are untrue. When we see these "shadows" in places like television, the news, or politics it can be hard to see the truth. Believing the lies could be dangerous, and we need to analyze the information we are given to see what we can believe, and what is just a shadow. An example of this is when young girls look at fake, airbrushed models in magazines and try to be like them. It is impossible, and they can harm their health and self-esteem tremendously.
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