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CHAPTER IX--PLATO

(Who is who..or whom, and why is the difference, here portrayed
artistically so significant?)

PLEASE REFER TO CHAPTER SEVEN FOR EXTENDED NOTES
PRIMARY SOURCE EXCERPTS AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES FOR PLATO

I. COOKIES ARE IDENTICAL BECAUSE OF THE MOLD, P. 80--(form?)

II. THE LETTER FROM HERMES AND PLATO’S ACADEMY: RECALL THE REPUBLIC:

A. ETERNALLY TRUE, BEAUTIFUL AND THE GOOD

B. THE WORLD OF IDEAS / FORMS--WORLD SOUL ANIMATES NATURE

C. TRUE KNOWLEDGE CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED AFTER 55 YEARS OF STUDY ACCORDING TO PLATO? WHY SO LONG?

D. THE WORLD OF SENSE AND OF THE SOUL WILL DEFINE A DICHOTOMY THAT ANIMATES WESTERN THOUGHT? IS A SYNTHESIS POSSIBLE?

E. THE CAVE and the LINE ALLEGORIES WILL BE EXAMINED EXTENSIVELY. WHAT METAPHORS FOR THEM APPEAR THROUGHOUT THE NOVEL?

F. THE PHILOSOPHICAL STATE--WHO NEEDS WHOM? PLATO WILL ARGUE THAT THE TRIANGLE OFFERS A SUITABLE MODEL. YOU WILL SEE IT IN THESE PAGES.

G. NOTE THE CHART ON PAGE 91

III. STUDY, FOR EXAMPLE ON PAGES 80-81 HOW GAARDER IS WRITING THE NOVEL. WHAT MAKES SOPHIE A DYNAMIC CHARACTER?-IS SHE PROFITING FROM THE DIALECTIC?

A. WHAT DOES SHE THINK OF BEAUTY?--HAS SHE CHANGED FROM CHAPTER I?

B. WHAT IS REAL FOR HER?

C. RECOLLECTION..DID SHE LIVE BEFORE, AND WHAT DOES "BEFORE: MEAN?
D. THE IDEA OF "RECOLLECTION" IS DISCUSSED IN BOOK X OF THE REPUBLIC:

SEE ALSO WORDSWORTH'S "INTIMATIONS ODE" (PART 8 OF "SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS."

IV. RECALL THE IMPLICATIONS FOR LITERATURE AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS. LITERARY CRITICISM EVOLVES FROM PLATO AND ARISTOTLE:

  1. THE MIMETIC THEORY--ART IMITATES WHAT? LIFE, NATURE, REALITY?
  2. WHAT IS THE IMPLICATION WHEN WE POSIT REALITY? WHAT DID PLATO ARGUE (SEE CHAPTER VII OF SOPHIE, AND BOOK X OF THE REPUBLIC.)
  3. PLATO [RECALLING SOCRATIC IRONY] ARGUES THE POET IS THE FATHER OF LIES....DOES HE MEAN IT? NOTE THE RHETORICAL BASIS FOR THE REPUBLIC IS THE DIALOGUE EMPLOYING WHAT LITERARY DEVICES?
    1. SOME EXAMPLES:
      1. THE RING
      2. THE SHIP CAPTAIN
      3. THE NOBLE LIE OR MAGNIFICENT MYTH
      4. THE WATCH DOG
      5. THE CAVE
      6. THE LINE
    2. CLICK HERE FOR THE TEXT AND SECONDARY SOURCES.

4. FROM THE MIMETIC THEORY WILL COME THE PRAGMATIC THEORY [RENAISSANCE] AND THE EXPRESSIVE THEORY [THE ROMANTICS], KEEPING IN MIND ARISTOTLE'S MODIFICATIONS IN THE POETICS. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS. (See also Abrams' The Mirror and the Lamp for an extended commentary.)

IV. THE CHAPTER ENDS WITH SOPHIE SEEING A SQUIRREL (P. 93). WHY DOES THAT MATTER?

NOTE

REMEMBER TO LOG ON TO "SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS", AND PRINT OUT THE PRIMARY SOURCES FOR PLATO AND ARISTOTLE UNDER CLASSICAL PERIOD. READ THESE IN CONJUNCTION WITH SOPHIE. CLICK HERE.