Here are two potential essay prompts for Essay #5 with brief thesis statements: 1. Using the philosophies of Plato and Virginia Woolf, argue whether Daenerys Targaryen has achieved enlightenment and become a philosopher queen, or remains materialistic in her pursuit of power. Thesis: While Daenerys' journey mirrors Plato's allegory of the cave in some ways, her actions ultimately seem driven more by a desire for material gains and revenge rather than a commitment to philosophical enlightenment. 2. Compare Jon Snow's leadership abilities to Machiavelli's philosophy of effective political leadership as discussed in The Prince. Thesis: Though Jon Snow's honor-driven approach differs somewhat

2.  End of quarter plan
 Group Discussions: Perspectives and A
Game of Thrones
 Introduce Essay #5
 In-class writing: Generating prompts

3.  Today: Class 18
 Discussion:
Perspectives and A
Game ofThrones.
 Introduce Essay #5
 Class 19
 In class essay #4
 Class 20
 Make-up Exam
 Self Assessment
 Class 21
 Meetings by appointment in my office.
 Friday,Week 11
 Self-Assessment due before noon
 Revised Essay due before noon
 Final: Class 22: 25 participation points
 Final due before class begins.
 Game ofThrones Episode
 Final discussion

4. Group Discussions: Perspective and
A Game of Thrones
Get into your
teams to consider
the application of
Woolf and Plato
to A Game of
Thrones. Make
sure to find
textual evidence
to support your
claims.
Women!

5. “TheAllegory of the Cave”
“Shakespeare’s Sister”

6. Virginia! I am
telling you, I
have had it!

7.  Q: How does Catelyn Stark’s request for help in the
inn resembleWoolf’s rhetorical strategies for
acquiring and maintaining male attention?
 Q:WouldVirginia Woolf identify and/or sympathize
with Arya Stark?
 Q: How does Daenerys relate to Judith
Shakespeare?

8.  “When [women]
did marry, their
husbands were
men selected by
their parents;
[women]
essentially
became the
property of those
men” (837).
Cersi and Catelyn were used in the
same way in that they were arranged
to marry their current husbands to gain
more loyalties and support. Sansa is
another character that best relates to
this statement. Sansa would have been
regarded as the perfect wife if she had
lived during the time of
Elizabeth, because she is proper, lady-
like, excels at needlework, listens to
her father, and eager to marry the boy
she is arranged with.

9.  How isTyrion like the imaginary woman
described byVirginiaWoolf in
Shakespeare’s Sister?
 Q: How is Jon Snow’s life similar to the
middle-class women of the Elizabethan
Era?

10. Is it possible that the majority of the characters in the
novel A Game ofThrones are living in a cave, believing
the puppet show as Plato explains in his work,The
Allegory of the Cave?

11.  Plato writes, “To them, I said, the truth would
be literally nothing but the shadows of the
images”(Jacbous 446). On theWall, men are
figuratively chained as well.The men of the
Wall have little power in obtaining the truth.
MasterAemon comments about the mail
they receive, and says, “They tell us what
they want us to know, and that’s little
enough” (Martin 654).

12.  Plato
says, “Bewilderm
ents of the eyes
are of two
kinds, and arise
from two
causes, either
from coming out
of the light or
from going into
the light” (454).
In Robert’s case, he should have known
Joffery was not his true-born son for
Joffery did not inherit Robert’s dark black
hair, but instead has blonde hair from his
mother’s side. But, Robert chose to remain
blind from the possibility. In Eddard’s
case, he knew the truth about Joffery and
thatCersi killed the King’s Hand.
However, instead of taking action right
away to set things right, he gave Cersi
time to escape and did not look at the
bigger picture that she was actually
preparing to oppose him. So, in a sense, he
blinded himself with his honor.

13.  [Plato] says: “Like ourselves
[…] they only see their own
shadows, or the shadows of
one another, which the fire
throws on the opposite wall
of the cave”(446).
 Similarly inVirginia Woolf’s
time, there were still may
highly regarded people who
believed, “the best woman
was intellectually the
inferior to the worst man”
(773).
A Game ofThrones women are really the
minds playing the game, but society gives
all the credit to the men.
Additionally, characters such as Arya and
Tyrion show the immense strength of
underestimated people.Thus, relating to
women in “Shakespeare’s Sister” and the
close-minded view of the prisoners in the
cave. As we view these pieces of work, we
take ourselves back in the time to see the
narrow scope of how the people perceive
and judge the world. As we read, we
compare the writing’s world image with
today’s world image.This additionally
causes us to think about the narrow scope
by which we view today’s world.

14.  “Watching is not
seeing, dead girl.
The water dancer
sees” (531).
 Socrates says, “To
them,…the truth
would be literally
nothing but the
shadows of the
images” (446).
Plato postulates that the prisoners, who
have seen nothing but shadows for their
entire lives, believe that the shadows are
reality as opposed to what is casting the
shadows. Likewise, Syrio tells Arya that
just because he told her he would strike
on the left, does not mean that he
would. By only “watching,”Arya was too
distracted to analyze Syrio’s
movements. She trusted him because
he had continually spoken his
actions, and this prevented her from
seeing his true movements.

15.  Q: Is Arya still a “prisoner”? Or has she left the
cave?
 Q: How does Jon Snow represent the freed
man from Plato’s allegory of the cave?
 Has Dany managed to break her chains and
walk into the upper world where the true
natural light is?

16. Essay #5: Over the course of the quarter, we have read the
ideas of six philosophers and discussed many notions and
objectives presented by them. We have also applied their ideas
about governments, rulers, and citizens; wisdom, justice, and
equality; and perspectives, privileges, and rights to our primary
text, A Game of Thrones. Because of the breadth of our
inquiries, I offer you several ways to proceed with this final
essay. Your paper, however, must include the following:

17. Your paper, however, must include the following:
 It must be 5-6 pages long (not including the works cited page).
 You must use at least four credible sources, and those sources
must be listed on your Works Cited page. At least two of these
must be sources we did not cover in class.
 Your essay must adhere to MLA formatting rules.
 You must submit it electronically to
palmoreessaysubmissin@gmail.com before we meet for the
final.
 Your essay must include an intersection between one or more
of the philosophies we read together and A Game of Thrones.
 You may choose a topic from the essay #5 prompt list, or you
may use one of your own. (Please see me (or email me) about
using your own essay topic before you begin.)

18.  Write or choose your prompt
 Define or explain the assertion/claim
being offered. Or, explain the essence of
the argument.
 Produce a clear, arguable thesis statement
that asserts your opinion.

19.  Use evidence to support your position: be specific
and accurate—named and factually correct
 Here is a brief overview of the kinds of support/evidence
you could include to bolster your argument:
— recognition of the opposition
— examples
— anecdotes
— contrast and comparison
— cause and effect
— appeal to authority
— facts/statistics
— details
— quotations
— dialogue
— definitions

20.  Avoid using movies and other more informal
aspects of society as evidence (pop culture)
 Stay away from blogging sites, Wikipedia, and
other sites that lack authority or credibility.
 Avoid evidence that everybody will cite (To
avoid this, reject first thoughts and keep
digging until you find ideas that are complex
and interesting.)

21. 1. Write a meaningful opening sentence or two
that makes a personal observation about the
focus of the question that reveals your
thinking. Do not write flowery, general
beginnings. Get right to the point. Use the first
sentence or two to begin to define the meaning of
the assertion. If you need to include directed
summary to provide context for your essay, do so
here.

22. 2. Qualify your stance if there is a common or strong
argument for a different perspective. Try an “although” thesis
(Example: “Although grass is generally green, it can also be
other colors.”Then your first page will be about green grass.
Acknowledge that you are familiar with this stance; In the
next pages, you will discuss/argue for the existence of the
other colors. Then will come your counterargument (rebuttal
or concession) and then the conclusion. Be careful not to
contradict yourself.

23.  If the prompt requires an agree or disagree
stance, be sure to demonstrate an
understanding of argumentation by
acknowledging both sides of the
argument. This is sometimes done by
writing a con-pro paragraph immediately
after the introduction; the remainder of the
essay becomes different paragraphs which
confirm or amplify your agreement or
disagreement with the assertion.

24.  If the question requires a defend, challenge, or
qualify stance on a political or philosophical
assertion, be sure to address all the issues raised by
the claim/assertion. Your evidence would be
specifically named examples that support the claim
you make in your topic sentence. Examples from
multiple sources that support the same conclusion
make your claim more valid. Each paragraph then
would end with an interpretation of the similar
conclusion that can be reached after examining
differing types of evidence.

25.  You may use your posts and earlier essays
as fodder to help support your arguments;
as such, you might consider previous writing
that you want to explore further.To use your
work effectively, you may want to write your
own prompt. Please see me (or email me)
with your idea so we can make sure your
prompt will generate 5-6 pages.

27.  The question must prompt an argument.
 The question must refer to at least one of the
essays we read in class.
 The question must include reference to A
Game ofThrones.
 The question may ask the writer to include
references to other texts, historical events, or
contemporary issues.

28.  Pick a character or two (or a family) from A Game of
Thrones that expresses the Machiavellian philosophy of
“the end justifies the means.”
 Elaborate on how they justify the acquisition &
consolidation of their power. Make an argument that
upholds or rejects this approach to gaining and holding
power.
 Finally, extend that argument to contemporary
America. Does the end justify the means for us today?
Use specific examples to support your final assertion.
Brainstorming Essay Prompts: Example
Brainstorming Essay Prompts:
Example: Machiavelli

29.  Choose a character from A Game ofThrones that you see
as dynamic, that is, one that has grown during the novel.
 Argue for or against the philosophy of Plato concerning
the process of enlightenment. Does the character follow
the steps of the unchained prisoner? Does he or she
become a philosopher king/queen because of the
enlightenment? Or does he or she remain materialistic and
greedy, as Plato says of the less enlightened leaders? Or is
there another reason for incompletion of the steps? Use
specific, step-by-step examples. Substantiate that your
character irrefutably did see the light.
 Then, consider America today: Do we follow the same
steps to enlightenment? Are our leaders philosopher-
kings? Should they be?

30.  In “Shakespeare’s Sister,”Virginia Woolf uses a cool and controlled
tone, a rhetorical strategy that allows her to manipulate male
audience members into listening to her arguments about the
plight of women (and working class and poor men) throughout
history.
 Do marginalized characters in A Game ofThrones use these kinds
of rhetorical strategies to increase their own power base? Make an
argument for one or more characters that achieve power based on
the ability to control rhetoric. Make sure to provide specific
examples. Explain how the character’s rhetoric influences others’
thinking and ultimately wins him or her opportunity, power, or
freedom.
 Is rhetoric still such a powerful tool in contemporary society? Use
specific examples to support your argument.

31.  Remember, these need to be argument
prompts.They also need to generate 5-6
pages of writing. Be sure to provide sub-
questions to the primary question. Write
questions you can answer!

32. 1. Using at least one philosophical perspective
and A Game of Thrones, write one or two
good questions that you might consider
answering for your final paper.
.
 Remember to pose your questions so as to
prompt an essay that can be argued.

33.  Post #33: Post at least one essay prompt
that you wrote for essay #5.
 Post #34 Pick and post two potential essay
questions for essay #5.You can use the one
you wrote and one from the formal
prompts, or you can use two from the list that I
provided. Write a one or two sentence answer
to the prompts. (a rough thesis)
 Prepare for in-class essay