1. EWRT
2
Essay
4:
In-‐class
essay:
Please
do
not
write
on
this
page.
Turn
it
in
with
your
essay.
1.
According to Plato, what makes the philosopher-king the best possible ruler? Do you agree with
his analysis? Why or why not?
2.
What is the allegory of the cave meant to illustrate? Explain how it does so. What primary
conclusion are we meant to draw from this extended analogy?
3.
Analyze the allegory of the cave for its strengths and weaknesses. Consider what the allegory
implies for people living in a world of the senses and for what might lie behind that world. To
what extent are people like (or unlike) the figures in the cave? To what extent is the world we
know like the cave?
4.
In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato writes of prisoners in a cave who can only see images on a
wall, and concludes, “All in all, then, what people in this situation would take for truth would be
nothing more than the shadows of the manufactured objects” (1). Explain what Plato means.
What primary conclusion are we meant to draw from this extended analogy?
5.
In what ways would depending on the material world for one’s highest moral values affect ethical
behavior? What is the connection between ethics and materialism? Write a brief essay that
defends or attacks materialism as a basis for ethical action. How can people aspire to the good if
they root their greatest pleasures in the senses? What alternatives do modern people have if they
choose to base their actions on nonmaterialistic, or spiritual, values? What are those values? How
can they guide our ethical behavior? Do you think they should?
6.
Socrates states unequivocally that Athens should compel the best and the most intelligent young
men to be rulers of the state. Review his reasons for saying so, consider what his concept of the
state is, and then take a stand on the issue. Is it right to compel the best and most intelligent young
people to become rulers? If so, would it be equally proper to compel those well suited for the
professions of law, medicine, teaching, or religion to follow those respective callings? Would an
ideal society result if all people were forced to practice the calling for which they had the best
aptitude?
1.
Woolf’s essay contains many ideas, both explicit and implicit, about gender roles. In an essay, (a)
discuss how Woolf depicts men and women; (b) evaluate the fairness of these depictions; and (c)
discuss how true or relevant these depictions are for men and women today.
2.
In “Shakespeare’s Sister,” Virginia Woolf uses a cool and controlled tone to explain the plight of
women throughout history. In a thesis driven essay, explain where, when, how, and why she does
so. Is her strategy successful?
3.
Explain why it is so important for a woman to have “a room of one’s own.” Obviously, the use of
the word room stands for much more than a simple room with four walls and a door. What is
implied in the way Woolf uses this term? Do you think this point is still valid for women in the
twenty-first century? Why are so many women in any age denied the right to have “a room of
one’s own”?
4.
Woolf says that “even in the nineteenth century a woman was not encouraged to be an artist. On
the contrary, she was snubbed, slapped, lectured, and exhorted. Her mind must have been strained
and her vitality lowered by the need of opposing this, of disproving that” (para. 14). Explain the
implications of this statement, and decide whether it still describes the situation of many or most
women. Use your personal experience where relevant, but consider the situations of any women
you find interesting.
