...Comparing On a Portrait of a Deaf Man with Brendon Gallacher On a Portrait of a Deaf Man (OPDM) and Brendon Gallacher both explore a variety of similar themes, which the poets (Betjeman and Kay) use to present the characters accordingly. We find two characters that convey their love and anguish through their relationship with someone who has died − albeit imaginative for the narrator in Brendon Gallacher. In Brendon Gallacher, Kay delves into the past experience of the narrator and his joyous relationship with his imaginary friend. Similarly, in OPDM we witness the narrator delving into the past and describing his sense of anguish from the loss of his father as well as the loving relationship he also had with him. Moreover both poets’ skilful use language and structure effectively emphasises the character’s nostalgic look into the past. This emotion is clearly evident in both poems. The theme of love in both poems is also apparent and is used by the poets to effectively convey the affectionate memories of the past. In OPDM, the narrator’s love of his father is clearly shown when he remarks, “He took me on long silent walks.” Here the narrator remembers his father with great affection and emphasises his father’s deafness. The narrator continues to emphasise his love of his father with “In country lanes when young,” this shows the long relationship the narrator has had with his father, from childhood until his father’s death. The imagery of affection produced for the...
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...Most modern commentators have taken the ancient sources at face value and assume that the intended viewer of the Knidia was male. The satirical account of the writer known as Pseudo-Lucian (about 125 CE – 180 CE) was a rhetorician and satirist who wrote in the Greek language during the Second Sophistic period. He suggests that the statue was equally desirable for both hetero - and homosexual viewers. Charikles (an ancient Athenian politician, notorious for his role as one of the Thirty Tyrants), indeed, shouted out in a mad and deranged way, “Happiest of all gods was Ares who was bound for this goddess,” and with that he ran up and stretching his neck as far as he could kissed it on its shining lips. But Callikratidas (a Spartan naval commander...
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...Images never merely portray an authentic reality but instead they “inevitably betray the values of the culture in which they were created” (Howells, 2003: 70) Fig1.1: Self Portrait with Necklace of Thorns, 1940, Oil on Canvas Fig. 1.2 Henry Ford Hospital (The Flying Bed), 1932, Oil on Metal This paper will begin with a brief introduction of visual studies, painting in particular and go on to establish the fact that visual images not merely imitate reality but also inform the real world. When one views a painting, it is not complete objective view. There is a very thin line between objectivity and mind working under influence of ideologies. Complex interworking of representation of perceived reality by the painter, ideological approach of the viewer is at play, both, striving to figure out the real. The paper will try to analyze Frida Kahlo’s two paintings Self-Portrait With Thorn Necklace and Humming Bird and Henry ford hospital, The Flying Bed under this lens. The term visual might seem to a layman too simplistic to be critically analyzed but the field of visual culture expands the scope of our ways of seeing and the perceptions that govern an individual's spectatorship. It is easy to define visual as "What is visible to eyes" but new vistas are opened when as students of visual studies we set to decipher the fact that our understanding of reality is primarily if not wholly based on our pre-conceived notions, acquired ideas, collective unconsciousness (Jung), ideologies...
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...and others like them. Jonathan Kozol has become well known for his books focused on education and the poor; however, is most famous for leaving his “comfortable surroundings in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1964 to begin work as a teacher in a low-income, predominantly African-American Roxbury neighborhood in Boston.” (http://americanswhotellthetruth.org) Kozol is more of an investigator than a writer he develops relationships with the people he is writing about and tells about the conversations chronologically in his writing. In the core reading Laura was introduced early in the story and the fact that she is illiterate follows soon after by Kozol saying “Before I begin, she asks if I will read her a letter from the hospital” (Kozol, 1988, p.252). There are several other references to Kozol reading to Laura throughout the story which helps to remind the reader of everyday occurrences that they take for granted. Kozol’s report is written in a conversational style simply describing what he is seeing and relaying what he is being told. It is not a dramatization but rather a portrayal of real life. The descriptions are very vivid and allow the reader to visualize the living conditions. It is almost impossible to imagine that the descriptions are real;...
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...marriage still appears negative and unromantic. Marriage and the pursuit of it are central concerns in Middlemarch, but unlike in many novels of the time, marriage is not considered the ultimate source of happiness. Two examples are the failed marriages of Dorothea and Lydgate. Dorothea’s marriage fails because of her youth and of her disillusions about marrying a much older man, while Lydgate’s marriage fails because of irreconcilable personalities. Mr. and Mrs. Bulstrode also face a marital crisis due to his inability to tell her about the past, and Fred Vincy and Mary Garth also face a great deal of hardship in making their union. As none of the marriages reach a perfect fairytale ending, Middlemarch offers a clear critique of the usual portrayal of marriage as romantic and unproblematic. The Harshness of Social Expectations The ways in which people conduct themselves and how the community judges them are closely linked in Middlemarch. When the expectations of the social community are not met, individuals often receive harsh public criticism. For example, the community judges Ladislaw harshly because of his mixed pedigree. Fred Vincy is almost disowned because he chooses to go against his family’s wishes and not join the clergy. It is only when Vincy goes against the wishes of the community by foregoing his education that he finds true love and happiness. Finally, Rosamond’s need for gentility and the desire to live up to social standards becomes her downfall. In contrast, Dorothea’s...
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...Vanity Fair Something about author: William Makepeace Thackeray: an English novelist of the 19th century. famous for his satirical works Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.Family life and background Richmond, was born at South Mimms and went to India in 1798 at the age of sixteen to assume his duties as writer (secretary) with the East India Company. Richmond fathered a daughter, Sarah Redfield, born in 1804, by Charlotte Sophia Rudd, his native and possibly Eurasian mistress, the mother and daughter being named in his will. Such liaisons were common among gentlemen of the East India Company, and it formed no bar to his later courting and marrying William's mother.Mother Anne Becher, born 1792, was "one of the reigning beauties of the day," a daughter of John Harmon Becher (Collector of the South 24 Parganas district d. Calcutta, 1800), of an old Bengal civilian family "noted for the tenderness of its women." Anne Becher, her sister Harriet, and widowed mother Harriet had been sent back to India by her authoritarian guardian grandmother, widow Ann Becher, in 1809 on the Earl Howe. Anne's grandmother had told her that the man she loved, Henry Carmichael-Smyth, an ensign of the Bengal Engineers whom she met at an Assembly Ball in Bath, Somerset during 1807, had died, and Henry was told that Anne was no longer interested in him. This was not true. Though Carmichael-Smyth was from a distinguished Scottish military family, Anne's grandmother went to extreme lengths...
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...Developing Europe into a powerhouse, the Renaissance marked complete cultural transition of Europe out of the Middle Ages and identified a societal change of values and ideas reflected in the art and literature of the time period; the “rebirth” in Southern Europe, however, differed from Northern Europe. As both the North and South had access to newly printed materials courtesy the printing press, they did share commonality of thought- both supplied predominant Christian artistic themes, had an artistic ‘center’, and provided systems of guilds and patrons. The Southern, or Italian, Renaissance began during the 14th century and “inevitably, trade and commerce brought Italian ideas northward, where they influenced the artistic traditions” beginning the 16th century Northern Renaissance (Benton and DiYanni 53). The South focused on a return to the concept of humanism and revival of idealist, classic Greek and Roman values, but the North focused on the common man and daily realities of life. Centered around Florence then later Rome, aided by the patronage of the Medici family in the Early Renaissance and Popes in the High Renaissance, and inspired by Greek and Roman mythology, the Southern Renaissance movement emphasized humans (their capacities, values and worth). Italian artists made the viewer delve into the inner working of the human mind and their subject matter primarily consisted of gods and goddesses displayed with symmetry, balance, and linear perspective. Known for his goddess...
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...journalism, 1967. Career Daily Gleaner newspaper, Jamaica, reporter and sub-editor; Jamaica Information Service, information officer, 1967-69; Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, public relations officer, 1969-71; JCC Journal, editor, 1969-71; Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, Jamaica, publications editor, 1972-77; Social and Economic Studies, editor, 1972-77; freelance writer and researcher, part-time teacher in communications, publishing consultant, and speech writer, Jamaica, 1977-82; Institute of Jamaica Publications, managing editor, 1982-89; Jamaica Journal, editor, 1982-89; freelance teacher, writer, lecturer, 1989-; University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados, visiting lecturer/writer-in-residence, 1990; Caribbean Writers Summer Institute, University of Miami, Florida, director of fiction workshop, 1994, 1995; St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, Dana Visiting Professor of creative writing, 1994-95; University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, writer-in-residence, 1998-99. Life's Work Jamaican-born journalist, poet, and short story writer Olive Senior is one of Caribbean literature's leading feminist voices. Her works, though written in English, remain heavily influenced by the region's patois, and draw heavily upon its oral storytelling traditions. In both her verse and fiction, Senior critiques the political and cultural ties that continue to bind Jamaica to its British colonial past. Her protagonists often find themselves divided between...
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...literature. The language of new rulers was French. Saxons dealing with the King had to learn French and French was the language of court and the law for three centuries. Four genres of Middle English are: i. 1. Fabliau 2. Lyric 3. Dream Allegory 4. Ballad Geoffrey Chaucer Chaucer is the best story teller and the narrative poet. Chaucer tells his stories in a most effective way. He has the knack of transforming an old tale into a new one in such a manner that its appeal increases manifold and its human interest becomes perennial (lasting/permanent). An important feature of Chaucer's descriptive power is that his individual portrait also represents the type. Initially perhaps the sketches were devised to provide representatives of the chief classes of English society under the higher nobility. The portraits of the pilgrims are not all drawn in the same way. It is true that Chaucer...
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...Assignment Everyone has heard, thought, or even succumb to the act of saying some string of words like “Geez, gas prices have gone up.” More often than not, that phrase is used in a disgusted tone. Yes, the prices might fluctuate and usually tend to go up. One might be a little perturbed by having to pay just a little more than last month to get from one place to another, but I wonder if they have ever really thought or really understood the hardship of the work that goes into pumping that fuel into the tank of their automobile? Fondakowski’s production of SPILL used many effective details and tools that sought to help open the eyes of these kinds of tunneled vision spectators. SPILL beautifully paints the portrait for the basis of reality on the true cost of oil. Through her portrayal of ‘Louisianian’ culture, use of language, manipulation of time, and infusion of visual elements, she genuinely illustrates the effects of oil on people’s lives, not only as a provider of jobs and mobility, but also as a devastating alteration in one’s life. Fondakowski’s main approach of the play was that she enforced the theatrical style of docudrama. This type of dramatic choice, helped to fully address the pressing issue of oil and its cost by taking real people that were affected by the spill, and incorporating their tragic experiences, testimonies, and speeches. Each person and their portions from interviews were carefully and selectively picked to help further the plays theme. Take Arlene Weise...
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...on his neighbor’s belongings, such as his hosepipe. Cody is portrayed as a disturbed, bitter kid who yearns for affection. Since he cannot get that affection from anyone around him, Cody becomes reckless, and clumsy, which get him in trouble all the time. He opts to do bad in a bid to redeem himself off the failure. He seems to have been tortured by how life has not turned out the way he pleased, he is a loser and a bystander as life happens to his neighbors, such as the Dalmeyers. He further hopes that a day would come when all would break for better and have a way of approaching his real problems. His nosehole noise is seen by others as mockery, though he makes such sounds when he is anxious and angry. The theme of the story is the portrayal of a male loser who is unable to succeed in the real world. To compensate for his inadequacies, Cody creates a fantasy reality in the form of revenge on neighbors and classmates who irritate him. He plans revenge by putting boogers in their thermos and plugging lozenge into the neighbor’s water hose to make it explode. Another theme in the story is the quest for perfection that every person strives for. This is portrayed in the wave of consciousness that occupies Cody’s mind as a lonely boy who constantly imagines himself successful in the future. The quest for perfection is witnessed in today’s world in the familial, individual and corporate settings in the strange consciousness of people. Another theme portrayed in The End of FIRPO...
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...JAMES JOYCE -AN IRISH MODERNIST MODERN FICTION GROUP NUMBER 4 GROUP MEMBERS : HAFSA SHAHID R CONTENTS: Introduction to James Joyce Modernism and James Joyce A portrait of an Artist as aYoung Man Ulysses Themes and Style of Joyce's two Works a) Mythological Allusions b) Kunslerroman c)Stream of conciousness c)Focus on inner time rather than outer time d)Search for identity e)Treatment of religion f)Treatment of sexuality Conclusion James Joyce (from February 2, 1882 to January 13, 1941) was one of the most preeminent Irish authors of the 20th century. He is known for his literary innovation strictly focused narrative and indirect style. James Joyce matriculated from University College of Dublin in 1903. After moving to Paris, Joyce planned on studying medicine. The lectures were conducted in a technical French but Joyce’s education had not prepared him for it. Despite his mother’s attempts to get him to return to Catholic Church, Joyce remained unmoved even after her death. Joyce studied at Clongowes Wood College from 1888 until 1892. When the family’s financial state devolved, Joyce had to leave the school. After a brief time at Christian Brothers School, Joyce was enrolled at Belvedere College in 1893. In 1898, Joyce began studying Italian, English and French at University College Dublin. At this time, Joyce also began his entry into the artistic...
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...Classical Roman and Greek art, Romantic artists were inspired more by the unrestrained, dramatic works of the Medieval and Baroque eras. Both art periods (Neo-Classical and Romantic) came about in response to (and a desire to differ from) an earlier period. The Neo-Classicists were rebelling against the vulgarity and excesses of the Rococo period and the Romanticists were displaying their rejection of the order, harmony and rational thought of the Neo-Classicists. The Neo-Classical art period (like many art periods) evolved from a previous art period -in rebellion from it. This art period, however, is different from most in that it wasn’t invented by the active artists of the time. It was, perhaps, the first art movement started by writers and theoreticians (Lucie, 1992). German scholar and leading propagandist for the Neo-Classical movement, Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768) deplored the Rococo style, which was all the rage in Dresden, where he worked. In his pamphlet, Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture, he said that the modern artists could only become great again by imitating Greek art (Stokstad, 2005). Cardinal Alessandro Albani (1692-1779), who possessed a large collection of ancient art (sculpture, cameos, vases, etc.), hired Winckelmann to become his secretary and librarian. In doing so, he solidified his position as the top expert on Classical art. Artist (and friend of Winckelmann) Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-1770) was commissioned...
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...2.1 Dostoyevsky's Works, 1859-1863 The first of Dostoyevsky's works to excite critical attention following his years of prison and exile was Notes from the House of the Dead (1860), an account of his experience in prison, told in the form of a collection of biographical and psychological sketches of his fellow inmates. The book was especially welcomed by liberal critics because of its sympathetic approach to the subject and its realistic portrayal of the sufferings of the convicts. In 1861, Dostoyevsky published his first long novel, The Insulted and the Injured, also to critical acclaim. It is the story of a young student of middle-class origins, a person of sensibility and talent, whose life is ruined by the ill will of a cynical aristocrat. The novel features a complicated plot with many separate lines and many characters. This book inspired the leftist critic N. A. Dobroliubov to epitomize Dostoyevsky's leading quality as his "pain for man, his impassioned defense of the moral and human worth of downtrodden people." In 1863 Dostoyevsky promptly disillusioned his supporters in the liberal camp with his next work, "Winter Notes on Summer Impressions," an essay concerning his tour of Europe. In this essay, he attacked the west European dream of the triumph of reason. He resisted the idea...
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...Navarasas Human life is a rich fabric that is given colour and texture by the many happenings that shape it. The mundane actions that characterize every day as well as the extraordinary happenings that make and keep our lives interesting are all threads that get woven together to form this tapestry. The one thing that is common to all these threads is the fact that they evoke feelings in us, we respond to them with our emotions before they can become a part of our internal life. Indeed, life can be thought of as a continuous sequence of emotions that arise in various contexts and circumstances. These emotions, or rasas, are what give life different hues, shades and colors. Thus it is not surprising that most performing art, which tries to present to the viewer a slice of human life focuses precisely on these rasas, or emotions in order to appeal to the audience. That rasas are the mainstay of performing art, or natya, is a fact that has been well-recognised for centuries now. The NatyaShastra is an ancient Indian text dated between 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD which analyses all aspects of performing art. It is often called the fifth veda because of its importance. In it one finds a thorough exposition on the rasas, or emotions that characterise Life as well as Art. The NatyaShastra describes nine rasas or NavaRasas that are the basis of all human emotion. Each is commented upon in detail. It is useful to keep in mind that a rasa encompasses not just the emotion, but also...
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