Dialectic Journals Book 2

PICTURE: view the quote from Chapter 10 (scroll down) and my response... " fear the sea anytime, but never more than on a moonless night and in the hands of strangers"

Chapter 8: "...convulse with perverse glee at the misery of whatever luckless mate now found himself spitted above the coals. Up and down the lines of boys, teeth sunk into tongues seeking to suppress his fear-inspired hilarity." -80

I found I have connections to this passage because it seems the boys/soldiers first reaction to fear, or an awkward emotion is to laugh, with I often find myself doing in situations like that. When someone is yelling at someone near me, where I am in danger of getting yelled at too I find I laugh in hysteria. The part of passage where he says "convulse with perverse glee at the misery of whatever luckless mate now found himself spitted above the coals" I can relate to because I laugh in hysteria because someones being hurt/yelled at, which is also mingling with happiness that I am not in their place. This connection helps me understand how they (the other soldiers) feel about Alexandros (the boy being beaten) and the overall feeling of the group. I can almost see their facial expressions too, because I know how me and my friends look in that situation.

Chapter 9: "For once the flesh is seized, a phobokyklos, or loop of fear, may commerce, feeding upon itself, mounting into a runway of terror. Put the body in a state of aphobia, fearlessness, the Spartans believed, and the mind will follow" -78

I thought this quote was interesting because I think most people are terrified when their flesh or body is harmed, so I understand where the "loop of fear" or "phobokyklos" comes from. I think is is interesting that the Spartans believed that if your body is in a state of "aphobia" then your mind will follow, because I believe most fear is created mentally, which then affects your body (instead of the other way around). I believe that because of your past experiences/beliefs/memories; your mind creates fears, that trick yourself into thinking things that effect your body. I think if you can overcome something mentally, it will help you physically, instead of the other way around (like the Spartans believed). This is kind of like if you feel sick, when its really just your head telling you that you feel badly.

Chapter 10: "I fear the sea anytime, but never more than on a moonless night and in the hands of strangers."
I feel like I can definitely connect to this quote because I'm pretty much terrified of the sea and sailing in general. This is mainly because I am scared of anything that goes really fast or has sudden turns or drops, which usually happens because of the waves rocking the boat. If I was in the characters position I would be SO scared because I wouldn't be able to see what was happening (due to the "moonless night) but I could still feel all the motion. I would also not be able to know if something was going to happen, so I could prepare myself for it, but instead I would be shocked and suddenly terrified if a big wave came (or something scary like that). It would be like being spun around with my eyes closed, then being dropped on a roller coaster blindfolded (I HATE roller coasters.... dislike them with passion). If I was "in the hands of stranger" it would be so much worse because I wouldn't know how well they sailed, or their style of sailings, it would be a whole new experience.