Synthesis

The two texts that I will synthesize are Plato's the Allegory of the Cave and the movie The Island. There are many similarities between these two texts. They are both about a person finding out that the world is completely different than what they were taught. In The Island the main character is a clone who escapes from the facility that he was created in. He ventures into the real world trying to figure out what is right and what is a lie. In The Allegory of the Cave the main character escapes from prison, which was in a cave. He discovers that everything he was taught was not the truth. He grew up in the cave and was taught through shadows on the cave wall. When he escapes he learns that everything is not shadows. In both stories the main characters return to their prison and try to inform the other prisoners. They can't go back to believing the lies they were told before their breakout.

My def of Joy

Joy, to me, is doing something that makes me happy. It's something that that makes me smile and laugh constantly. It would also make me feel calm and relaxed.

Plato's Allegory of the Cave

In Plato's book, The Republic, Plato explains his theories about how everything is forms. He does this by writing a story about some prisoners who are chained together facing a cave wall. These prisoners grew up in the cave. Behind the prisoners there is a short wall and behind that is a large fire. The guards teach the prisoners by putting shadows of animals and objects on the wall in front of the prisoners. One prisoner escapes and sees that animals and objects are not shadows. Having seen this he can't go back to believing the guards.
Reality TV is changing our perspectives on reality. These shows are over dramatized and scripted. Most people, however, believe that they are not scripted. They are starting beginning to act like these people. My sister loves the reality show The Hills. She is constantly acting like the girls on that show. She believes she can’t live unless there is drama in her life. She can’t go back to a relatively drama free life. She has to continually pick fights with family and friends and put her boyfriend in the center of her life.

Gender Roles in society

A gender role can be defined as a specific set of socially accepted actions associated with a gender. There is a significant difference between the roles of men and women. Men are supposed to bring home the money, fix the broken items around the house, and be macho. Women are supposed to raise the children, do the household chores, make dinner, listen to their husbands, and look pretty. These roles are not only insulting and oppressive but completely unreasonable. According to these roles women have no identity. They are only known as a wife and a mother. They are not allowed to have money or think for themselves. Women have been trying to fight this oppression since the 60's. Women and men should be treated the same and have the same opportunities. The roles aren't fair to men either. Men are expected to be macho and mostly unfeeling. The ad is a good example of the roles men and women are expected to fill. Women are objects that men own. These roles are holding us back. Society shouldn't be setting roles for people because this only leads to intolerance. A woman can fix a sink just as well as a man can. We should be able to coexist without any prejudices. The world would be so much better without gender roles.