January Monthly Connection - Perspective

When thinking, reading, writing, or conversing, a person has to always remember to keep things in perspective, and consider other perspectives in order to fully understand any situation. This is especially important when discussing an idea as controversial as a hero. People can have very different ideas on what qualifies a person to be considered a hero, but whatever the situation, every person in the discussion must take into account the culture and lifestyle of the supposed hero. This can be difficult when someone is in the heat of discussion (especially in our english class) but it must be remembered in a Socratic seminar.
There was difficulty keeping things in perspective during the Wuthering Heights discussion in our class. Certain people continued to judge Heathcliff by today's standards and ideas. Heathcliff's location, emotions, past, and situation in life are completely different from anyone in the class, and yet some people had difficulty remembering that. It is important to remember that many of us would have acted in the same way he did if we were in his shoes. And "in his shoes" doesn't just mean in the same situation; it means in the same situation, with the same past, the same emotions, and the same desperate location. The idea of empathy is lacking in our class. Empathy is an important emotion in discussions and in life.