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Help me interperet this quote for my English final! (+ karma)
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Alright so tommorow for my English final I've gotta interperet this quote and then relate it to some kind of reading or literature we did during the course of the year in an essay format. I have my own interpretation of it, but I want some other input...I'm kind of a retard.
"You get tragedy where the tree, instead of bending, breaks."
-Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian Philosopher
Thanks NS!
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that sounds like it becomes a unfixable problem when it "snaps" when it bends it sounds like it can still mend itself, it still has time to be fixed.
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this is what i would think too
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i cant think of anything better than this
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Yeah I'm just trying to figure out something deeper than that, so I can write more. We read a lot of tragedies and plays this year so it probably all comes together.
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i will interpret this for you!
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The tree symbolizes the "right", the "good", or the "perfect". It has many limbs, and can withstand many things. When a limb is bent, the tree can recover, the tree is strong, the tree will heal with time. Even when many limbs are bent, the tree can still return to what it once was. But when the limbs are snapped, the tree cannot mend itself, neither time nor love will heal its wounds. The tree has broken, it has lost some of itself, some of its identity. The tree has now been warped, warped into something it will never recover from.
Something like that? Or did you mean a deeper meaning?
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maybe it could be about how flexible peoples moods can be, how sometimes people might respect a dicision you've made or a statement you've said, and another time the same opinion, or force in the case of the quote can break the branch of your friendship/relationship/etc and how,with a flexible branch, or person, you can make amends for mistakes you've made, but a break can never bring you back to them... i dont know, just something that comes to mind
how about, we're all the trees in the quote and each branch represents a relationship, wether friendship,family or whatever, and its about losing people you can relate too or something, you can relate to them because they are part of the tree..thats you...ehh, i've confused myself now
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Honestly that's a really bad quote to base an essay off of. It's not that deep, the obvious metaphor really is the only one. I'd just do my best bsing something about how all the tragedies you read this year only became tragedies when something really bad happened that couldn't be fixed, just like the tree breaking.
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if you need something more than a "literal" meaning...then i'm guessing it's something you learned in class or something along those lines that NS can't really help with.
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Build on that by saying how over the span of the tree's life, it survives all kinds of storms and it sways in the wind, but is strong enough not to break. When a storm finally breaks the tree, it's sad because it's toughed it out so long before breaking.
You can take it further by defining tragedy and how that correlates to your quote. Easy peasy.
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Let me clarify my previous post.
Use irony!
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What lit did you read? If you don't connect it with the lit, your teacher will (correctly) assume you didn't do the reading.
Try to make connections with the strongest links in the lit. Which one fits this statement best? Write a short outline with your main ideas, and then subpoints if you can think of them.
Are you allowed a notecard or a book during the final? Either write out or sticky note the quotes in the book so you can use them to back up and support your points. It's always better to use a quote than paraphrase, and it also shows you know the material well enough to get the quotes. Be sure to analyze them, and link them back to how they relate with the statement. If you can find the quotes, add them to your outline.
Even if you can't bring anything in with you, this will show you which areas you are weak in, and give you a decent direction for the essay. You'll be fine.
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Yeah this final really isn't too big of a deal, I took the first half today. My teacher gave us the question at the end of class today, but we can't bring anything already written on or any notes.
here are some books and plays we read this year:
-Oedipus Rex
-Romeo and Juliet
-Greek Mythology shit
-They Cage the Animals at Night
-Twelve Angry Men
so as far as tragedies Oedipus Rex and Romeo and Juliet definitely fit that criteria
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we did romeo and juliet and oedipus in 9th grade
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obviously you can connect with death as the breaking of a limb or two for Romeo and Juliet.
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when something is pushed to its limit, or when something has gone on for too long, it's too late to go back or fix it?
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Thats deep man. On these tests though it's not exactly how well you interperet the quote but how well you can relate it to the book. You can have a completely wrong idea about the quote but if you can support it with the books you have read your golden.
But Spencer I really can't help you more than that, you really think I read books? Ha.
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Relate it to a family tree.
I know a branch was broken from our family tree recently and it for sure was tragedy.
Even if one branch grows off in a wild direction it is still part of the tree and continues to grow and live life as a member of the family.
When a branch breaks however the tree will never be the same.
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thanks for all the input guys, i'm sure ill be good for tomorrow
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Perhaps you can bring tolerance into the equation, if this is something that's been dicussed in class. Definitely applicable to Romeo & Juliet, don't know about the rest of it...
What I mean is: WHY does the tree break? Sure, if there's a huge maelstrom the tree might get blown down, but then it's not tragedy. It's tragedy when the tree breaks, when it could easily have bent; i.e. tragedy is caused by someone or something that was inflexible, resistant to change, until it was too late.
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the poem thing is trying to say that when something like society for example has a leeway(bend) to it but if it snaps or in the society case collapses it will cause tradgedy or disaster
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a problem will only bend the tree, a tragedy will bend it too far and it will snap
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