Question :
Paper 1 Assignment
- Compare and contrast the attitudes toward and roles of women and/or gender in Medeaand Republic. How does this compare to the place of women in society today (either in the U.S. or around the world)?
- One of the central debates about Medeais whether the title character is meant to be viewed as a heroine or as a monster. In other words, is it a celebration of female power or a cautionary tale against it? Look closely at the play and use examples to support one or the other of these positions.
- In Republic, Plato presents the theory that a person’s soul (or psyche or human consciousness) is divided into three separate elements that each have a separate function. Explain Plato’s theory and evaluate its usefulness as a way to understand what it means to be a human being. What does the theory get right about human beings and what does it overlook or get wrong? What might be a more useful way of thinking about how to be a “just” person?
- On page 165, Socrates explains that his model for a just city and a just person is an “ideal” and not likely to exist in real life. Nevertheless, he thinks it is important to have an ideal to aspire to, even if it can never be reached:
So it was in order to have a model that we were inquiring into the nature of justice and of the completely just man, supposing he could exist, and what he would be like if he did; and similarly with injustice and the most unjust man….But we were not doing this in order to demonstrate that it is possible for these men to exist.
Do you agree that it is important for people to have ideals (cities, persons) to hold up as models? In what ways is Plato’s ideal city actually an ideal (in your opinion)? What aspects of his ideal city do you agree should be considered as a model or ideal, and what aspects are not ideal? What changes would you make in constructing your ideal city or society?
- What lessons can Plato’s Republicteach us about our own society today? Specifically, consider Plato’s critique of democracy in Book 8. Why does Plato think democracy is such a falling away from the ideal society? How would you defend democracy against the charges Socrates levels against it?
Paper guidelines:
1. Formatting: regular one-inch margins, 12-point readable font. On the first page in the upper left-hand corner, put your name, the class, and the date. Give your paper a title that is suggestive of your main argument. For each successive page after the first, use the header function to put your name and the page number in the top right corner. You will upload a copy to Canvas, so save your paper as a file that includes your last name (for example: Smith_paper1.docx).
2. Make sure you give yourself adequate time to prepare the best work you can. That means re-reading the texts, taking notes, thinking about the text, creating an outline, writing a rough draft, reading over your draft, and revising carefully. Do not simply summarize the texts or class discussion. Use the paper as an opportunity to think more deeply about the texts and topics raised in the prompts.
3. Write clearly and concisely, paying attention to word choice, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Write in a formal tone appropriate for a college essay. Avoid using the first person. Begin with a short introduction that lays out the main ideas, including a thesis statement. The thesis should be an arguable proposition, not a statement of fact. Body paragraphs should begin with a topic sentence that announces the main idea of that paragraph. The rest of the paragraph should cohere around that idea signaled in the topic sentence and include evidence from the text and explanation and analysis. Consider the overall structure of the essay. Ideas should flow logically from one paragraph to the next, making use of transitions when necessary. End with a brief conclusion in which you summarize your main point(s) and leave the reader with something new to consider.
4. Make sure you demonstrate that you have read and considered carefully the readings by integrating analysis of specific passages from the texts into your essay. Choose your quotes judiciously and remember that no quote is self-explanatory. Follow all quotations up with a page number reference in a closed parenthesis (MLA style). A Works Cited list or Bibliography is not necessary.
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