Unit 2: Hades and the Underworld

Writing Task Instructions

Choose one of the prompts below for your next essay assignment.

Ethos, Pathos, Logos Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
  1. Write an essay persuading the audience to buy a product.
  2. Write an essay persuading the audience to agree with you on a controversial topic of your choice.

Your essay should include all three persuasion techniques. It would be a good idea to focus on one technique for each of your body paragraphs to have a nice 5-paragraph essay.

Research is not required for this essay, but if outside sources are used, MLA style must be used.
  1. Write an essay analyzing and comparing Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to the following possible topics:
    1. Social media / fake news
    2. Confirmation bias
    3. Climate change
    4. Democracy (or another form of government)
    5. First-generation college students and their families
    6. International student experience (culture shock)
    7. Another topic for analysis of your choice

Research is required for this essay, and it is wise to evaluate your sources! MLA style must be used. The following outline might be helpful to organize this essay:

  1. Introduction
    1. Background info about your topic and Plato’s Allegory
    2. Thesis statement comparing your topic to Plato’s Allegory
  2. Summary of Plato’s Allegory
  3. Analysis comparing your topic to the allegory (use the questions from the exercise in the previous reading for help)
  4. Solution–what can be done to save the “prisoners”
  5. Conclusion

End of Chapter Journal Questions

Answer the questions below using your own words in a short paragraph.

  1. We read 6 stories: About the Underworld, Ceres and Proserpina, Prometheus, Pandora, Sisyphus, and Tantalus. Which story did you like the best? Explain why.
  2. Of the 6 stories, who had the worst punishment, and why?
  3. What new vocabulary from these stories did you find the most interesting and why?
  4. Compare Prometheus’ stealing of fire from the gods to the knowledge (light) that Plato says is knowledge for humans.
  5. Choose one of the critical thinking questions that you found to be the most interesting to expand upon in your journal.
  6. Write a diary entry in the perspective of one of the characters. What would their daily life be like? What is their personality?

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It’s All Greek to Me! Copyright © 2018 by Charity Davenport is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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