The word “person” comes from the Latin word persona, which means mask or actor. One of the by-products of meeting and getting to know other persons is that we learn to know ourselves more fully. Nowhere is this truer than in the world of literature. Through studying other actors (characters) we deepen our self-awareness and learn to develop our potentials.
Examine the concept of self-knowledge by looking at the way others have thought about themselves, the way others have seen progress in their journeys through life. Begin with Hamlet. What does he learn about himself? Of course, at one level he figures out that he misses his father. However, focus your attention on something significant that he learns about himself and applies in his relationships with those living in the play. Then compare that self-knowledge with two other readings in this module:
• the testimony of either the Ancient Mariner or Bartleby
• a claim about Americans made by either de Toqueville or Emerson
In this assignment, you will connect a realization made by two characters (Hamlet and the mariner or the scrivener) examining them to see if they are similar to, or different than, a position in Democracy in America or one of the lectures from Society and Solitude.