Mattar 1

Simon Mattar
Storer
English 3H Block 4
11/26/19

Socratic Circle Reflection: Hills Like White Elephants and Winter Dreams

Socratic seminars vary so much from classroom to classroom. Each one is very different
in their own way. Luckily, this is the second seminar that we have done in this classroom, so I
knew what to expect in a way. Last time, I did not prepare that well, so I made sure I did this
time. This time I spoke twice. The first time was questioning someone who just spoke about how
the woman initially felt at the beginning of the story. The second time was me bring up a
symbolism connection for the last question which was if they came to a conclusion. I brought up
the new idea that maybe the train not arriving yet symbolized how they have not come to a
conclusion yet. The author dedicates a short paragraph to how everyone was waiting for the train
because it has not arrived yet. I believe that there was a reason for this. I think that I did a better
job of understanding the material that we were discussing compared to last time. The night
before, I made sure to re-read each story. This definitely helped a lot. Also, not many people
asked questions, however, I did. Questions help clarify what a person is saying and may even
help contribute a new topic or point into the discussion. One thing that I would want to do
differently is to try not to stick to my pre-made notes as much. The conversation is not always
going to be a specific format. It changes with what people are saying. If I am able to just come
up with ideas with the flow of the conversation and not just stick to my sheet, I think that I would
be more effective.

My inner circle was the first group to go during the Socratic seminar. There were
probably 8 or 9 people in our circle. The first person spoke right off the bat, which set the tone
for the duration of the seminar. I believe that everyone participated in our group and spoke at
least twice. First, we started off with the “Hills Like White Elephants” text. Last Socratic
seminar, most people were not citing the text and just addressing summarized places in the text.
This Socratic seminar, people were using more in text citations, which made it more believable
hearing somebody’s statement. It is hard to truly trust what someone is saying when they are
giving their own summary because they can twist the plot a little bit to support their own thesis.
The main question that we discussed was if a decision was made by the girl at the end of the
short story. Most people said yes. They related this to the man getting the bags for the girl, which
symbolized him leaving her because she wants to have the abortion. She also gave him a short
and smart remark to the man when he asked if she was fine. This showed how she was done with
the man and wanted to move on in life. Having almost the whole group participate in this
question really helped it reach more than the surface of the question but go deeper in its entire
meaning. Another thing that I would like to add is that my group did a great job of was finding
symbolism in the text and using it to answer questions. This showed their deeper understanding
of the text. For example, someone connected the girl holding one bead and pushing the other one
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away and keeping the child and pushing away the American. Overall, I thought that our group
did a great job.

Thesis: Dexter looks for beauty, money, and self-image rather than true love in his relationship
with Judy.
Many paragraphs are used to describe the qualities of Judy. She is one of the most
beautiful women Dexter has ever seen. She is the daughter of a very wealthy father. She is also
very clingy and flirty to the men that she talks to. Dexter repeatedly falls for Judy regardless of
her staying out late clubbing with different men. Someone would not show interest in someone if
they are always going out with other people. Also, he wants a girl that will make his image look
better. Dexter leaves a lower-class girl named Irene, who he was engaged with. He leaves her for
Judy because of her money and social power in society. At this point, he still knows that she goes
out with different men every night.
In 2005, a hit song was released by Kanye West. It was called “Gold Digger.” It is about
a girl who is trying to get with Kanye West because he has a lot of money, hence the word “gold
digger.” A gold digger is someone who wants somebody for their money. There is no correlation
to true love in their relationship. To compare, Dexter keeps going for Judy despite her flirtatious
personality with other men. This is because she is beautiful and has a lot of money. In other
words, Dexter is the “gold digger” himself.