Tuesday, September 18, 2012

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH

It's rare that I'm ever faced with a high school essay that makes me think. Sure, english teachers have asked me to analyze some pretty obscure symbols..but doing so hasn't actually changed how I perceive my own surroundings. The whole process has become of a matter of me identifying different "literary elements" and spewing out some BS about the author's intent. While I've become a pretty good BS-er, I feel like school (primarily English) should have more depth. For that reason, I'm glad that my current english teacher is willing to defy this whole system. 

Unlike previous years, my 2012 summer reading essay called for an understanding of the text in relation to the real world. In three simple words, he asked us "What is Truth"? 

To this I'll provide a little snippet of my essay,  

In the simplest of terms, truth is the absence of a lie—a false construct brought into existence by the human race. Although intangible and abstract, both the former and the latter aid man in his quest to understand the world around him. When confronted with theory, philosophy, news, or hearsay, man employs both terms to define what he perceives as valid. Throughout this process, the definition of truth develops into an absolute reality untarnished by fiction and falsehood. The fallacy of this procedure, however, rests in the subjective nature of truth and lies. Often, the line between what man defines as “truth” and what man distinguishes as “truth” appears blurred and unclear. It becomes evident that “truth” itself is simply perception, often corrupted by authority figures and human limitations.

Though it's definitely not my best work, I like the amount of thought I put into creating this idea. For that, it gets a little section on my personal blog that no one but Stephanie reads (woohoo)!

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