After weeks of stressing and over-analyzing every detail imaginable, I finally felt certain that the perfect schedule awaited me for my first semester as a Texas Longhorn. I found myself eager with excitement carrying my newly acquired textbooks back to my room. I peered into the bag, unable to wait any longer, and froze in shock; unable to move; unable to breath. “Politics in Latin America”, “Contentious Lives in Argentina”, “Latin American Culture” all rested in my bag, growing heavier in my arms as the full weight of the situation began to catalyze. The class that seemed so appealing, as a UGS, took the form of a miracle pill ordered off of the internet: not as advertized. I quickly scrambled back to my room to scan through any and all UGS courses to rid myself of this horrible fate. My friend happened to mention one that he almost took, and I decided to follow it up with some more intensive research in order to ensure no other repeats of my previous failure. It appeared as if this class called out to me, to develop the “confidence and poise to risk...questioning”; to challenge the status quo; to break my collar of the past. There was no other class for me now, and only one option for salvation remained, Add: Sophie’s World”.
Stephen Ross engenders a living, breathing Sophie’s World in the form of a classroom (or sometimes park benches) delivering us an experience parallel to Sophie’s. No book holds the meaning and answers, they rest as the foundations, designed to cause us to ask the questions. We can only find our truths and significance through the experiences of life. Sophie found the writings of the philosophers as a gateway into unexplored concepts and ideas. They completely morphed her outlook as she could not believe many refused or ignored this way of thinking. However once the philosophical lessons began to align themselves perfectly with her struggles and encounters, they rose to an entire new level in her life: the lessons remained her only hope for escape and freedom. Accepting enlightenment gift-wrapped and delivered to us might give us a few “ohs” and “awws”, but ultimately does nothing for our benefit. The author wanted to engrave into our mind that a struggle is necessary to find meaning in the unanswerable questions and issues. Steve Ross mimics this on countless occasions through a “silver platter” metaphor. Although Gaarder strives for us to discover purpose through our own conclusions (coming to terms with terms on your own terms), she also shows how that does not necessarily mean by one’s self. Sophie and Albert unite to achieve their own consciousness. At first they retain a strictly student-teacher relationship; however as their lives become more entwined they surprise and teach each other, developing a strong bond essential for their liberation. This appears evident in our classroom, as Steve introduced himself as a stranger, and now a found mutual respect, proven through our posts, has developed as we uncover more about each other’s lives. He created a similar environment, unlike any from the past, where we remain free to flourish independently and dependently.
Not only of how enlightenment reaches us, but the lessons along the way align with many of the teachings in Sophie’s World. Just as the telephone game showed the story that most enact year after year, the supporting cast acted as the status quo, seeming as if the unanswerable questions had already been answered, and hold no more value then common knowledge. Steve Ross utilized certainty to display how little we actually know, and prepare us for the journey ahead. Similarly, the Hume’s lesson taught Sophie the dangers of imposing her mind on the world, and how consistency in the past does not guarantee a lack of change in the future. The reality we perceived for so long proved to hold fewer truths then will ever be known, acting as a cloak, construing our vision, and putting false principles into our minds. Ishmael taught us to realize a mother culture existed, and even the message driving our reality and actions. Now Sophie’s World proves, however mighty it may appear, mother culture possesses vulnerabilities, and with the right will power and guidance, its chains can be broken. Albert Knag seems to hold the form of Sophie’s mother culture, resting at the core of her entire life thus far. These characters in a book, whose actions we know are controlled by the author, found a way to break their status quo out of the pages, to write and create their own story. As ridiculous as this may appear it holds a deeper theme, that she cannot show us the way to free ourselves from mother culture because we all hold a unique and self-implemented path to achieve this independence. Following, blindly, the words from the pasts will leave us there, unable to thrive and continue to reach new limits. We must consider the past, analyze it critically, question it, and use it as part of the foundation to build a meaningful future.