Plato’s Republic explores the topic of the stories and myths that should be told to the citizens of the city

by | Oct 23, 2023 | humanities

Summarize what happens in the passage in your own words, then conduct an analysis of the rhetorical strategies that the speakers employ to achieve a particular aim in that section of the dialogue. Make sure to provide specific textual evidence from the passage to support your argument. As you develop your ideas and claims, consider the following questions: How does the speaker craft their message to engage and persuade their interlocutor(s)? Does the speaker make appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos? If so, how and to what ends? If Plato employs an analogy, allegory, myth, or other figurative device in your passage, what conceptual work does that figure accomplish? How does this passage relate to Plato’s larger worldbuilding project in the dialogue, either in defining the way the world currently is or in articulating the way an idealized world might be?
For the purposes of this assignment, you will treat Grube’s translation of Plato’s Republic as the primary source.

Consider:
Not what the text means but HOW the text creates meaning (and/or persuades its audience thorough rhetorical choices
Rhetorical devices/choices and their impacts on the audience: what specific device/choice is used? What appeals does the device/choice create. How does it contribute to the main argument/message and impact the audience?
Types of choices: diction, syntax, tone, characterization, dialogue, structure, figurative language (simile, metaphor, hyperbole), etc.

The passage:
No, by god, I don’t think myself that these stories are fit to be told. Indeed, if we want the guardians of our city to think that it’s shameful to be easily provoked into hating another, we mustn’t allow any stories about gods warring, fighting, or plotting against one another, for they aren’t true. The battles of gods and giants, and all the various stories of the gods hating their families or friends, should neither be told nor even woven in embroideries. If We’re to persuade our people that no citizen has ever hated another and that it’s impious to do so, then that’s what should be told to children from the beginning by old men and women; and as these children grow older, poets should be compelled to tell them the same sort of thing. We won’t admit stories into our city—whether allegorical or not—about Hera being chained by her son, nor about Hephaestus being hurled from heaven by his father when he tried to help his mother, who was being beaten, nor about the battle of the gods in Homer. The young can’t distinguish what is allegorical from what isn’t, and the opinions they absorb at that age are hard to erase and apt to become unalterable. For these reasons, then, we should probably take the utmost care to insure that the first stories they hear about virtue are the best ones for them to hear.
That’s reasonable. But if someone asked us what stories these are, what should we say?
You and I, Adeimantus, aren’t poets, but we are founding a city. And it’s appropriate for the founders to know the patterns on which poets must base their stories and from which they mustn’t deviate. But we aren’t actually going to compose their poems for them.
All right. But what precisely are the patterns for theology or stories about the gods?
Something like this: Whether in epic, lyric, or tragedy, a god must always be represented as he is.
Indeed, he must.
(Plato, Republic Book II 378b-379a)

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


This question has been answered

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Answer

Sample Answer

 

The passage from Plato’s Republic explores the topic of the stories and myths that should be told to the citizens of the city. The speaker, who is not explicitly named in the passage, argues that stories about gods warring, fighting, or plotting against one another should not be told because they are not true. The speaker believes that these stories can lead to citizens easily hating one another, and instead, stories that promote unity and virtue should be told.

To achieve their aim, the speaker employs several rhetorical strategies. First, they make appeals to ethos by emphasizing the importance of the guardians of the city thinking that it is shameful to hate one another. By framing their argument in this way, the speaker establishes their credibility and positions themselves as someone who wants what is best for the city. This appeal to ethos helps to engage and persuade the interlocutor(s) by appealing to their sense of what is right and moral.

The speaker also makes appeals to logos by presenting logical arguments for why certain stories should not be told. They argue that the young cannot distinguish what is allegorical from what isn’t, and the opinions they absorb at a young age can become unalterable. This logical argument supports their thesis that certain stories should be excluded from the city to ensure that the citizens grow up with the right values and virtues. The use of logical reasoning helps to persuade the interlocutor(s) by presenting a strong, rational case for their viewpoint.

In terms of figurative language, the speaker does not employ any specific devices in this passage. However, they use vivid and direct language to convey their message. For example, when discussing the stories that should not be told, they say, “we mustn’t allow any stories about gods warring, fighting, or plotting against one another.” The use of strong language helps to emphasize their point and engage the audience.

This passage relates to Plato’s larger worldbuilding project in the dialogue by highlighting the importance of controlling the narratives that are told within a society. Plato is concerned with creating an idealized city where citizens are guided by virtue and reason. By carefully selecting the stories that are told, Plato believes that he can shape the values and beliefs of the citizens. This passage demonstrates Plato’s belief in the power of storytelling and its ability to influence individuals.

In conclusion, the speaker in this passage employs rhetorical strategies such as appeals to ethos and logos to persuade their interlocutor(s) about the types of stories that should be told in the city. They argue against stories of gods warring and emphasize the importance of promoting unity and virtue. This passage contributes to Plato’s larger worldbuilding project by highlighting the role of storytelling in shaping the values and beliefs of citizens.

This question has been answered.

Get Answer