Blog Post #2

Select one passage (no more than 15 lines) from any Book of The Odyssey in which repetition is used. Then, using your close reading skills, make an individual, complex, or unusual claim about the significance of repetition. You may want to close read a passage in which Telemachus repeats Athena's words verbatim, or perhaps there is something interesting to say about recurring words/images (i.e., weaving webs, birds, etc). To expand on the ideas discussed in 102, you may want to take a closer look at one of the multiple stories that are repeated (with a difference).

Recognition vs. Realization

Realization is the understanding that results from a successful process of deduction. To perform this deduction, one needs evidence to use in the deduction process. One type of evidence to use when trying to realize the identity of a system is a recognition of a component of the system. Said recognition is achieved by matching the perceived component to the memory of an identical component.

In his Theory of Forms, Plato explains that all chairs existing in the material world are similar but not identical to one’s conception of a chair, which he calls “the ideal chair”. Given the difference (however slight) between the appearance of a real chair and the conception of the “ideal chair”, in order to realize that an unknown object is a chair, one must compare the appearance to the conception and recognize the matching components, such as the curvature of the seat or the texture of the legs. When one has recognized enough similarities, one can use deduction skills to realize that the object is a chair. Determining that the object is a chair is a realization rather than simply a larger recognition because deduction is necessary; the real chair is not identical to the viewer’s conception of a chair, and therefore, the identity of the real chair could not have been realized without deduction. If the ideal chair were to materialize itself in reality, however, then determining that the object were a chair would merely be recognition and not a realization because the ideal chair in reality would match the ideal chair in the mind and therefore deduction would be unnecessary.

In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the cross-dressing and femininity-concealing Viola looks far different than Orsino’s conception of the ideal woman. Because these two appearances are so dissimilar, it takes the entirety of the play for him to realize her true gender. Before this ultimate realization occurs, Orsino recognizes many feminine traits in her, such as her “shrill and sound” small pipe. He compares her to women and by these comparisons, recognizes that some of her traits are feminine. He tells her that “Diana’s lip/ is not more smooth and rubious” and that “all is semblative a woman’s part.” But these recognitions are not enough to enable him to recognize that her gender is female. Recognizing in Viola’s twin brother many features of Viola including “one voice” and “one habit” enables him to, with deduction, realize that the “two persons” are twins. This realization functions as evidence from which he deduces that Viola is female and has merely been impersonating her brother. This realization, therefore, could not have occurred without the sum of the smaller recognitions, deduction, and their resulting realizations.

Blog 1

At first glance, the words “recognition” and “realization” look quite similar. Not only do the two words have eleven letters, start with the letter “r”, and end in “-tion”, both conjure up images of light bulbs brightening as ideas come to fruition. However, as the similar words reverberate through my skull, two separate meanings take form. I find that this question initiates my usual process of first recognizing an idea and subsequently realizing the idea’s importance.

But I am not the only one subject to this predetermined succession of events; as I look around, the thought concretes into tangible cases before me. When I watch my favorite show, Law and Order, I note the recognitions of the detectives as clues are gathered; later, the detectives use these recognitions to come to the ultimate realization – the capture of the murderer, or the criminal, or the lunatic.

As I look back at my favorite novel, The Room, I become aware of the recognitions the main character makes before realizing the importance of escaping her kidnapper. After the protagonist acknowledges the fatal factors, such as her diminishing food, strength, and beauty, she fully comprehends the urgency of the situation and consequently forms a plan of escape.

Through a study of my everyday life, I have come across countless examples of this progression of “recognitions” and “realizations” to find that recognition predetermines the realization, much like a symptom predetermines a disease.

Recognition and Realizations

When broken down to its basic Latin root, the word ‘recognition’ literally means to ‘rethink’—the process of recognition is one that implies a visitation to a concept or entity that has previously been introduced. A realization, however, connotes a fundamental shift in one’s own perception of a concept or entity.

An example of this can be seen in Virgil’s Aeneid. At the end of the epic, Aeneas—the eponymous protagonist of Virgil’s famous epic—falters before killing Turnus, the antagonist of the story. Aeneas hesitates to kill Turnus because he understands that Turnus has already been defeated and the war won by King Evander's forces. However, Aeneas recognizes the belt that Turnus is wearing—a belt that was previously worn by a young boy and ally of Aeneas that had been mercilessly slaughtered by Turnus. Turnus, in his arrogance, had taken the boy’s belt as a trophy. Even still, Turnus begs for mercy beneath the tip of Aeneas’s sword. Having recognized the belt and realized that Turnus was undeserving of mercy, Aeneas buries his sword into Turnus’s breast, killing him.

The ending of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest also illustrates the difference between recognition and realization. At the end of the novel (or movie), The Chief, a mute patient in a psychiatric ward, makes the decision to smother his friend, McMurphy, to death with a pillow. The Chief made this decision after seeing McMurphy for the last time—McMurphy having been lobotomized in an effort to quell his rebellious behavior. The Chief recognized McMurphy as his friend, but also realized that McMurphy had been reduced to a vegetated state and no longer demonstrated a capacity for a meaningful or enjoyable life. The Chief realized that killing McMurphy would be granting him freedom and an ultimate reprieve.

In both examples, both recognition and a realization occur. In both cases, the realization represents a dramatic shift in the perception of an individual and recognition occurs when an individual revisits or reviews a person or item that they once knew.

#1 Recognition vs. Realization

At first, I wrote this blog post's title as "Recognition +/vs. Recognition" to examine the similarities and differences between recognition and realization. But now that I think of it, there isn't much to say on the matter of convergence because recognition and realization are very discrete in meaning and application. The idea that the two are similar is true--both exercise cognition in retrieving a thought of minimal to considerable familiarity from any stimulus that houses itself in the brain longer than thirty seconds (i.e. long-term memory)--though it is of a very common understanding that doesn't quite register the depth in each word's meaning.

Recognition is closely associated with "acknowledgement," which is a simple act of noticing, quite on par with the first tier of Bloom's Taxonomy, remembering, and possibly even the second, understanding. It is largely external--you recognize certain appearances, or even less physically, character traits in someone or something, and when a person is recognized, he or she is put on exhibition for a certain viewable quality. For example, Sanger Rainsford of Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" notices several curiosities: markings that show disturbance in Zaroff's forest, blood stains on trees, and a death cry that is unfamiliar to his ears. He loosely recognizes them as products of hunting but not specifically what and why.

Realization is a dawning-upon of meaning, nearly requiring a context of more complexity and even confusion than recognition normally finds itself in. It expects reflection upon previous actions, events, and ideas and the realizer's rearrangement of thoughts--imagine these creating a "path" leading up to the realization--to integrate the epiphany with his or her understanding of self or others before moving forward. Continuing in Rainsford's thoughts again, he eventually realizes that the hunt was for a very sophisticated animal--the human--after conversing with the General and "backtracking" to what he had seen earlier. There is also the archetypal hero who gains some sort of meaning after embarking on his or her most salient adventure yet, as with Katniss Everdeen in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, who after so long recognizing her enemy as her war opponent, the totalitarian society of Panem, comes to realize that both Panem and District 13 are her enemies, with different goals but startlingly identical characters in government. Since there seems to be a pattern formed by recognition preceding realization, it then would make sense for realization to cross to the upper tiers of Bloom's: applying, analyzing, evaluating, creating.

So there you have it--a moment out of context may occur with recognition, but when one synthesizes this exclusive thought with a wider web of ideas does realization truly arise in oneself. I would think we all innately use these terms in acknowledgement of their boundaries, but we wouldn't easily recognize their causal relationship if not for this willful juxtaposition.

Recognition and Realization

In my opinion, recognition is to acknowledge and see something but realization is to fully understand all aspects of something. A person can recognize that something exists, but realization takes the recognition a step further and is when they are fully aware. To recognize something is to acknowledge the presence on the outside, but to realize is to understand from within oneself. A person must understand internally to realize. Realization usually comes after recognition.

In Shakespeare’s King Lear, King Lear completely disowns his only loyal daughter Cordelia because he believes that she does not love him. He trusts his illegitimate son Edmond who is really just using Lear for his money and power. Lear recognizes Edmond as good and Cordelia as bad because they both appear to be on the outside. But in reality, Cordelia loves Lear and wants him to be happy and Edmond is using him for his own self interest. For most of the play, the evidence of the truth was right in front of King Lear, but he did not realize it or understand until later. He clearly saw the actions of both Cordelia and Edmond but his realization of the truth came from within and cause him to go crazy.

In the movie “Spiderman”, Peter Parker recognized that he had super powers and what he physically could do. But throughout the movie, Peter realizes who he really is. He finds that he can do good for other people by using his powers in the right way. Peter fights crime and saves the day many times before he realized that family and friends are also important aspects of his life. He needed to take care of his Aunt and Uncle, and spend more time with Mary Jane. He realized that being Spiderman wasn’t about dressing up in a costume but actually helping the people he loves. His realization came from within and allowed him to more fully understand who he is and the implications of his actions.

Recognition vs. Realization

Recognition and Realization are two forms that share the similar essence of knowing, or "to find out" in the verb tense. The similarities and complexities of the two reflect the Spanish words conocer and saber, which both translate to "to know" in the English language. However, their actual meaning and usage is quite distinct. While they are not a direct correlation to recognition and realization, the distinct difference of saber (having knowledge of) and conocer (being acquainted with something) reflects the variety of meaning that knowing can have.
Recognition is in many senses the less profound version of realization. It is the act of knowing; a more continous knowledge of something that is reflected in recalling the essence of the object. You recognize a person you have met before, recognize the validity of the argument, or recognize the danger of the situation. In the novel "Catcher in the Rye", the protagonist Holden Caufield has a distinct, somewhat pessimistic but certainly an honest view of people. He recognizes most as "phonies", a view that stays somewhat constant throughout the novel and reflects his knowledge of human behavior. It is perhaps a result of his attitudes and opinions, but neverthless he exemplifies recognition in a constant knowledge of the truth of people.
Realization, on the other hand, is more profound and unique in that it describes a moment of knowing where you at some point realize the truth of something. In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, the man who is released from the reality of shadows to the outside world is hit with the knowledge of the true form of things. All he knew was an illusion, and at that moment he gains the knowledge of what life truly is. He has realized at that point, not simply recognized something he has seen before but actually has found the true form of every reality. Recognition is important as the base of understanding, but realization achieves deeper knowledge and the progression of knowledge through its instant deposition of the truth.