English 2850: Great Works of World Literature II

As I read Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, certain elements of the story reminded me of a different memoir I had read years ago by Richard Wright called Black Boy, a narrative of Richard Wright’s childhood in the Jim Crow South and his journey to the North. He discusses his sufferings as a child, including hunger, beatings, and racism, all post slavery as opposed to Frederick Douglas. Douglass was born into slavery on a plantation. As a young child he’d serve in the household rather than work the fields. Douglass was first exposed to reading and writing through his owners’ wife, who never had slaves before. She takes to him and begins to teach him to read until her husband tells her to stop, warning her that educating slaves is dangerous. In Black Boy, Wright grew up in poverty, fatherless at the age of four with a sick mother. He begins working at white folks’ homes at a young age, and quickly learns of the way white people view and treat black people. Wright also picks up a fascination of reading, like Douglass. At first, his grandmother wouldn’t let him read on Saturdays, which was the Lord’s Day and coincidentally the only day Richard had free time to read his books. Same as Frederick Douglass, white people had tried to suppress Wright’s quest to learn all his life. As Wright moved up south, he found work at an optical shop where the white owner hired him with the intention of teaching a black man the trade. But soon enough, his white coworkers were bothered by the fact that he was learning the optic trade and ran him off.  As Douglass was sent to Baltimore to learn the trade of ship balking, the white workers became worried that that the free black workers would eventually take their jobs, so they ran him off as well and forced him to learn the trade somewhere else. Both these writers faced similar challenges, but at different times. In the end, they both recognize the power of reading and writing and become engaged with the equal rights movement for African Americans.

-Amr

— Discuss the theme of appearances or masks in Tartuffe? How does the issue of appearances vs. reality connect with the central concerns of the play?

The idea of hiding behind another identity or putting on a false persona is one of the main focuses in Tartuffe. We have Tartuffe, the religious hypocrite, abusing religion for person gain in front of those are gullible. He hides behind a “mask” in front of Orgon, to win over his favor with the intent of taking over his household and stealing his wife. The issue of appearances and reality comes into play when eventually, Orgon is so obsessed with the idea of going to heaven, he neglects present reality because of so. This also ties back into the central concerns of the play being how religion can be used to deceive people and control their lives.

–The narrator tells us that “every new generation finds the doum tree as though it had been born at the time of their birth and would grow up with them.” What do you make of this?

–What seems to be the story’s perspective on the government in newly independent Sudan? What’s the relationship between the government and the villagers?

–Explain the shift in narratorial perspective in the final passages of the story? How does it change our own view of the text

–At the end of the story, the old man refers to his own son and says, “it is my hope that he will stay where his is and not return.” How do you explain this?

–What do you think this story’s ultimate perspective is on the issue of tradition vs. modernity?

Recitatif is the only short story published by Toni Morrison. The story focuses upon the relationship between two girls who are named Twyla and Roberta, beginning at the time of the orphanage and continuing to adulthood. Morrison explores themes of maternity, social status and race throughout the story. However, one important detail observed in Morrison’s text is that she does not mention the race of the two main characters. In fact, Morrison tries her best to keep their race ambiguous through their descriptions and ideals.

Toni Morrison’s short story is similar to a story that I have read a while ago as well. Recitatif is quite similar to a novel written by Chris Crowe which is known as Mississippi Trial, 1955.

The novel Mississippi Trial,1955 is about a murder of a child named Emmett Till. The narrator of the story is a white boy named Hiram who revisits his old town in Mississippi where he finds out that his childhood friend, Emmett Till has been murdered. The novel is based on the true story of the racially motivated murder of Emmett Till.

The two texts are similar and different to one another in many ways. In Recitatif, Twyla and Roberta’s relationships evolve and are challenged throughout their lives from their first introduction to one another in the orphanage and then to them talking in the restaurant as adults at the end. Hiram and Emmett’s relationship is fairly similar to Twyla and Roberta’s. Hiram and Emmett both met at a young age and they both befriended one another. The idea of race prevails in their relationship just like in Recitatif. Hiram’s and Emmett’s relationship changes throughout the story but unlike Twyla and Roberta whose relationship change due to the events of “bussing” and being apart from one another, Hiram’s and Emmett’s relationship change due to Hiram’s grandfather dislike their friendship and their distance from each other for a few years. Family plays a vital role in Mississippi Trial, 1955 unlike in Recitatif.

Although Recitatif isn’t as dark as Mississippi Trial the idea of race connects both of these stories since the two main characters in each story are from different races and both of their worlds collide as they begin and continue their friendship. However, Morrison attempts to keep race ambiguous while Chris Crowe keeps it prominent and obvious throughout his story.

-Sadat Tashin

–What do you think the significance of Allende’s title is? What does it mean to be made of clay? –

-What happens to Rolf in his encounter with Azucena?

–Why do you think Azucena becomes a symbol of the tragedy that is unfolding in the story?

–What did you make of the President’s visit to the site of the disaster? What kind of commentary is Allende making here?

–How can you connect this story with your own experiences of natural or other disasters? Are there elements of the story that you can relate to? How?

The Belgium artist, James Ensor, was born in 1860 and spent most of his life in his hometown Ostend where he died in 1949. Ensor is considered by the MoMA to be “a socially engaged and self-critical artist involved with the issues of his times.”

“Masks Confronting Death” is an oil on canvas painting displaying a colorful group of mask wearing folks gathering around and peering at the skeletal Death. The top portion of the painting are shades of white which bolsters the central  figure of Death who is also adorned in white. The colorful carnival-like atmosphere appears ironic as it surrounds Death.

The painting while bizarre looking cannot be truly classified as Surrealism, but it somewhat draws upon that. It’s more of Expressionism where it presents irony in the fictionalized Death who is being physically confronted. One would think Death is omnipotent or even scary, but Ensor’s painting suggests otherwise As stated in the MoMA’s description of the painting, this may be a “reflection of the artist’s preoccupation with his own mortality.”

A medium-sized painting in the middle on a modest part of a white wall, “Masks Confronting Death” blends in well to the room with its own use of white. I noticed a few people briefly acknowledging it and taking it in. While bizarre looking, it did not make me tag it as Surrealist.

What drew me to this painting was how unusual the painting’s scene appeared and yet how it almost blended into the wall. The masked people all watching a skeletal figure was sort of mesmerizing and upon reading the piece’s description, it became almost silly. It was silly in the context of how ironic the situation was. I imagined to myself being in Death’s shoes surrounded by people looking like partygoers. This use of irony led me to ultimately favor “Masks Confronting Death” over the other works at MoMA.

I have a few of questions pertaining to this painting. One of which has to do with the small white mask or face at the far left which is concealed into the white background. Another is: how does Death feel in this situation.

Sources:

https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/312

–How is the theme of maternity explored in the story? Give at least two examples.
–Morrison adds issues of class to what is already a complicated story about race. Why? Where in the story do you see evidence of this?
–What is the meaning of Morrison’s title, Recitatif? How does it work as a title for this story?
–What are Twyla and Roberta fighting about in the section about school busing? What’s going on between them?
–Is the story’s perspective on race relations ultimately pessimistic or optimistic? Why?
–Why do you think Morrison chooses not to be explicit about which girl is African American and which girl is Caucasian?

Max Ernst’s Gala Eluard: Oil on canvas (1924)

Max Ernst was an artist born in Bruhl, Germany in 1891 to a strict Catholic family. He was introduced to painting at an early age by his deaf father, who was a teacher and a disciplinarian, training Max and his siblings to be God-fearing children alongside his stern wife. Ernst would attend University of Bonn to study philosophy and later drop out to pursue a career in the arts, driven by his interest in the craft of painting. Early on in his career, he was forced to join the German army in the artillery division during World War I. Here he was exposed to traumatic events that would cause his highly critical view of western culture, which would be the root in his vision of the modern world as irrational.

This work is painted by Max Ernst based on a photograph of the eyes of a lady named Gala Eluard, who was lover to three members of the Surrealist movement, her two husbands Paul Eluard and Salvador Dali and Ernst. The painting shows what is inside the head of Gala Eluard, the mysterious and unknown makings of the unconscious mind.

What first drew me to this painting were the three circle-shaped figures that supposedly depict the workings of Eluard’s thoughts. To me, it looked like it could be those strange specks floating about in your field of vision called floaters. As I thought more about it, it seemed like he painted those bizarre figures to represent random thoughts floating away in what seems to be infinite space. If you look at the design of the circles, they are all different from each other. I believe Ernst wanted the focus of the painting not to be on the eyes of Eluard, but the unfurling of her head, the revelation of all the irrational thoughts that filled her subconscious mind.

During the modernism movement, after the publication of Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams (1899), artists began to explore dreams and the subconscious mind. Ernst shows the influence of this movement on his work here, painting abstract, weird figures to bring attention to Eluard’s mind. It doesn’t seem to resonate with any certain emotion, and Ernst does not apply any constancy to it. Eluard also does not seem to emit any emotion in her eyes, or facial expressions that we can see. Her eyes look blank and ordinary, which makes me wonder, why use Eluard as the subject of this painting? Is it because she had taken upon three lovers, which Ernst would have thought would add depth and complexity? When they say she was lover to those three men, were they all at the same time, or at different times?

-Amr

I hate going to the MET but for some reason I end up going there each year for the past five years. This time it was no different the experience was dreadful, but since the project required it I abided by it. One of the many reasons that I hate the Met is because it’s not easy to navigate and I hate asking for directions. But I swallowed up my pride and asked for the direction to the modern and contemporary art. As the directions stated I went through the roman art made a right to the African art and going through the whole exabit it was at the very end of the first floor. After I finally arrived at the destination and started looking around nothing seemed quite impressive which was odd because it was packed with visitors. I arrived front of the black iris and started looking at mainly because it was one of the few paintings there that didn’t had people crowding it.

The work I decided to look at was Black Iris III by Georgia O’ Keeffe. The painting dates back to 1926 and is an oil painting. It shows a magnified image of a flower, with all of its dimensions enlarged far beyond its original realize proportions. Since the picture is almost as if it zoomed in, she puts great attention to the details which captures the attention of her audience and which was the other main reason why I was drawn in by this work of art. She emphasizes on type of detail that could be easily overlooked at a first glance, which could be her reason for drawing this piece out of proportion to such size. She wanted to draw attention and make her audience see the flower from her eyes. How she perceived it. So the viewer who wouldn’t take second glance at a flower is drawn in to take a closer look.

O’Keeffe is one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century who had iconic contribution to American modernism. She was born on November 15, 1877 and was the second of seven children. She grew up on a farm near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She studied at Art institute of Chicago from 1905 to 1906 and the Art Students League in New York from 1907 to 1908. There she learned the techniques of traditional realist painting. But the greatest influence on her as an artist came from Arthur Wesley Dow. It was his revolutionary ideas that made her one of the very first American artists the practiced pure abstraction. (okeeffemuseum.org).

One can say before the 19^thcentury art lacked imagination, which was introduced to the world of art in terms of modern art. Modernism challenged the traditional way of thinking and depicting art as you see in the real world. They started drawing from their imagination, how they perceive the world not simply see. Thus, we get themes like abstraction, impressionism, expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. These are not natural rather unnatural way of viewing the world. We see this in Black Iris III by O’Keeffe as natural flower is painted out of proportion way larger than its original size. Showcasing the them abstraction and impressionism. Who knew what she originally intended for her audience to perceive but it does a great job in cultivating their attention.

One question is why flower petals because I see them reoccurring in her other works as well.

HEAD OF A WOMAN

The work I have decided to critique is the “head of a woman” by Pablo Picasso. Pablo Picasso was born in the 1880s to a family with creative roots. He was among the most powerful craftsmen that embraced cubism. Picasso is seen to be unique amongst the most inventive craftsmen of the twentieth century, who played a noteworthy effect affecting youthful specialists. Picasso is additionally outstanding for helping to establish the time of the cubist development, alongside the creation of a model which was built, the co-innovation of composition and the various measure of styles of which he created by investigating more remote than different craftsmen. The cubist development was a kind of fundamental way to deal with the portrayal of shape and space.

Picasso’s sculpture “Head of a Woman” is a fascinating piece of art. While seeing this model it is changed each time you move your own head, stroll around it, and curve nearer. According to me it simply has a method for an evolving shape.While taking a glance at it, it first appeared to me as a man or some sort of animal. Taking a gander at the name, one would acknowledge what the model is. The subject of this figure is Fernande Olivier. She had functioned as a craftsman’s model in Montmartre and was a yearning painter. The piece has a considerable measure of harsh and sharp trims; however, the surface was exceptionally smooth. It is interesting how Picasso appears to see underneath the skin. He uncovers the ligaments in Fernande’s neck. We also see the broke surface of Fernande’s face, her hair an arrangement of crevasses and upland edges. Picasso talked about being gotten by Fernande’s magnificence and started a long association with Fernande Olivier; however by 1909, when he made this head the strain in their relationship was appearing. By 1912, the relationship had finished.  

It is viewed as the primary cubist figure. Cubism was a craftsmanship development that altered European painting and model in the mid-twentieth century. The possibility of cubism is that as opposed to survey subjects from a solitary settled point, the craftsman splits them up into a few unique perspectives/appearances of the subject so they can be seen at the same time. The originality and the perfection of the sculpture are fantastic and one of a kind. This particularly drew my attention as it is one true depiction of art in its best state. The general appearance of the sculpture seems as though it was recently created even though it is decades old, thus showing us clearly how art is never forgotten.

The question that I have about the work is: Why does Picasso outline the head of Fernande to have highlights of a male? Why does Picasso base his form to the lady Fernande?

References

Picasso, P., In McCully, M., Staller, N. E., National Gallery of Art (U.S.), & Museum of Fine   Arts, Boston. (1997). Picasso–the early years, 1892-1906. Washington: National Gallery of Art.