OPTICS Art Analysis

(www.mfa.org)

Overview - Three children fishing off a small boat on a calm water. 

Parts - dark green shadow of the boat, the sailboats in the distance, the row boat, the attire of the boy, the bows in the girl's hair, the boat the children are in, the shadows of the boats in the distance, the fishing line, the different stances of the children, the dresses of the girls, wide array of colors in the water (light blue, dark blue, hints of yellow), the unusually small size of the boy's tie

Title/Subject - Calm Morning by Frank Weston Benson 

The title of this painting creates a time frame which also explains the beautifully still water pictured. 

Interrelationships - the fishing line to the children (the line is holding their focus), the focus of the children to the open water (where they are staring), the boy to the boat (his stance suggests his feeling of power and control), the boy to the girls (his feeling of dominance), the dark green shadow to the main boat, the texture/color of the open water to the boat (suggesting movement), the row boat to the other boats, the man rowing the row boat to the kids in the boat (people pictured on the open water)

Conclusion - As a whole, this painting depicts the power and strength that young boys hold and think they hold. Based on his stance, his feeling of superiority is apparent. However, by placing him in a setting controlled solely by nature that cannot be influenced by man represents the "personal fable" that many children feel. 

Hamlet 1.3 - To be or not to be

Throughout the whole play, and from the very first line of Hamlet's soliloquy in act 3 scene 1, we know that Hamlet is struggling with something internally by him saying to himself, "To be or not to be - that is the question" (III.i.64).  This contributes to the overarching theme of the novel, as well as Hamlet's hamartia (or fatal flaw) because of the concept of action vs. inaction. Will Hamlet acctually take action and use the power of his own free will? Or will he remain passive and inactive and allow fate to take over?  In this passage he is questioning life and death.  Specifically, whether he wants to continue on living his life in pain, or to end his life to end his endless conflict, "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer/The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/Or to take arms against a sea of troubles" (III.i.65-67).  Through these specific lines, large aspects of Hamlet's character are portrayed.  He is obviously very dark and depressed because of his serious contemplation of suicide. However, on the other hand, has not fully spiraled down to the level of pessimism that would allow him to take his own life.  Through this we learn how complex of a charcter that Hamlet is.  As the soliloquy is coming to an end, Hamlet says "Thus conscience does not make cowards (of us all,)/And thus the native hue of resolution/Is (sicklied) o'er with the pale cast of thought" (III.i.91-93), suggesting that his conscience is the main reason that he cannot seem to come to a final conclusion on whether to be or not to be.  During the whole play there are traces of uncertainty in the paths of life, linking to fate and free will.  This specific quote says that although we have free will and are able to make our own choices, fate within our consciences, telling us what is right and wrong, ends up determining a large part of how we live our lives.  Hamlet's soliloquy touches upon many overarching themes of the novel, and does a great job leading into the rest of the events to come in the tragedy.  

Fate and Free Will

1. In my opinion, exercising our free will has a lot to do with our paths in life. In life, we are constantly faced with choices, and the pathes we pick when faced with any kind of conflict determines who we are as people and where our lives will continue to go.
2. I know many religious people believe that we are almost "puppets" to God or other superior figures, however I believe that we have the abolity to control our lives into what we want it to be. Everyone has the same ability to become who they want, some just have to work harder to get it and that is your own personal choice, not a "role" you are playing in life. However I do not believe that people are always honest with eachother. I believe that people lie to keep themselves afloat and attempt to get rid of any problems that they may have.
3. Although I fully understand people's motivation for revenge, I do not believ that it makes anything better, "you can't fight fire with fire". One of my favorite shows is "Revenge" on ABCfamily. In this show, a woman is constantly trying to get revenge on the couple that killed her father. However, every step closer she gets to fulfilling her plan, she ends up getting pushed back or hurt by something else, she is never able to fully revenge her father. Similarly, I do not think suicide is justifiable. I understand the viewpoint that people who commit suicide hold that they're greatly struggling and life will never get better and everything, but the majority of people who commit suicide are only in high school, and have not even nearly hit their fullest potential. There is so much more to the world that what they're currently living and things can always get better if you don't lost faith in yourself.
4. Madness is anything that is seen as "insane" or "crazy" by other people around you. I think the context greatly affects this definition because something that can be seen as madness by a certain group of people, could be considered very normal by another group of people, deeming very different things as "madness". A label of insanity can be used as an instrument of power because people who are seen as "insane" are often seen as scary because they are "unstable and unpredictable". So in turn, the person who is considered insane has control over the "normal" person.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, author Samuel Taylor Coleridge tells the story of a ship traveling towards the South Pole, and an old mariner aboard.  Through religious connections, figurative language, and characterization, Coleridge reveals the deeper meaning that man does not have the equal respect for nature that nature feels for man.
Throughout the piece, Coleridge makes religious connections to all the different aspects of struggle occurring in the story.  One example of this is in the second part of the piece, ¨Instead of the cross, the Albatross/About my neck was hung" (Coleridge).  This emphasizes mans disrespect for nature because by using dark images connecting to such a horrible, gory time in Christian history  shows how little man acknowledges the pain they cause involving nature. Another place we see religion involved in the story is when the crew and mariner beg and pled for forgiveness from their horrible sin of killing the bird and are now being punished for it, "To Mary Queen the praise be given!/She sent the gentle sleep from Heaven,/That slid into my mind." In this quote, Coleridge emphasizes how little man understands the effect their actions have on the rest of the world, and believe that a simple apology will fix everything.  This connects to the overall conflict of man versus nature. 
Another big piece in the poem that really added to the message was the involvement of figurative language to emphasize the importance of the message.  One of the most predominant devices used was the personification of many different aspects from the story.  Towards the beginning of the story, when we first hear of the struggles the ship is enduring, ¨It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,/Like noises in a swound!¨ we see the ship personified. This adds to the overall message of the piece that men doesn't respect nature because although internally, man believes that he treats the world around him with respect, even though we know that this is not true.  The only reason that man was able to make it through this journey was because of the ship, but the only way for it to see and earn respect is by being seen as a human in its description. 
Thirdly, in the piece there is a lot of characterization. One big example of this is the characterization of the main character and storyteller, the mariner.  He is depicted as old, with a "grey-beard" and "bright-eyed." By showing the man like this, we see him in a humane setting.  Although the author's point was the negativity man has on nature, he depicts man as equal with the ship, and the Albatross and everything else that he lacks respect for to show that although man thinks he is much higher above the rest of the world, in reality everything is equal. 
In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's piece The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, he very successfully emphasizes the message and conflict of man versus evil through religious aspects, figurative language and characterization. 

The Individual in Society Pre-Reflection

1. When humans are in isolation, they go crazy.  We need people around us to share our feelings, emotions, opinions, and everything in between with.  One example of this from our readings so far this year is in Twelfth Night  by Shakespeare when Malvolio is isolated in a cell for being crazy even though he knows that he is sane.  However after a short amount of time alone, he begins to question if he really is crazy like everyone seems to believe.
2. In order to feel human,  individuals need relationships, connections, feelings/emotions,  happiness, a "fulfilling life," and a purpose in life (can be self-determined).  This question reminds me of the whole unit from freshman year "What do we need in order to live a fulfilling life?" and one of my all time favorite projects that I've done in school was my dream board.  The dream board demonstrates what we need in order to feel human because it shows everything that we desire in life to feel "normal" and live life (as a human).
3. When we don't take responsibility for our actions, we face all kinds of consequences.  A big consequence that many people face is internal guilt, which can continuously eat away at a person until their weak and can't do anything anymore.  A real life example of this that many teenagers face is when their parents get mad at them for doing something wrong and instead of punishing the teen, the parent says they are simply "disappointed" with whatever the problem seemed to be.  This is worse than physically facing your actions because you cant really make up for or fix whatever you did wrong, you are just left feeling bad about yourself.
4. A lack of compassion and understanding leads to prejudice and stereotyping.  A perfect example of this is from the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."  You need compassion and understanding to comprehend the different things that different people may be going through to avoid stereotyping and prejudices when you dont really even know what is going on.

Twelfth Night: Option 3 Act 4 Reflection

Although Act IV, scene iii was not particularly lengthy, nor full of important information, if I were the playwright, I would keep it in.  By keeping this scene in the play, it becomes more apparent to the audience Olivia's deep rooted love for Cesario, so much that she desires to marry him.  It also exemplifies how well Viola has been at deceiving the whole cast throughout the play, because even Olivia, who has fallen deeply in love with Cesario, cannot tell him apart from his(her) twin brother. Lastly, I would keep this scene in the play because it ties up some of the loose ends from Act IV scene  i when Feste the Fool and Sir Andrew bring Sebastian to Lady Olivia as Cesario.  Although this scene is not as important as some of the other scenes in the play, I find it very important and continuing the storyline of the play as a whole.

Shakespeare's Messages About Gender

In many of Shakespeare's plays, he expresses very interesting ideas about the roles the different genders hold in society, and more specifically in romantic settings.  Shakespeare's messages about gender roles through his play Twelfth Night  are still very necessary for society to consider today because there is still a constant battle for power among genders in the world today.
One big concept that Shakespeare focuses on in his play Twelfth Night, connecting genders and love/relationships is who holds the dominant power in the relationship.  When talking to Cesario about his romantic feelings for Olivia, he says "There is no woman's sides/Can bide the beating of so strong a passion/As doth give my heart; no woman's heart/So big, to hold so much" (II.iv.103-106).  In this quote, Orsino is projecting his idea that females just aren't able to love or express their love as predominantly as men, and as a result are simply weak.  On the opposing side of Orsino's argument, Viola, as Cesario says "We men say more, swear more, but indeed/Our shows are more than will; for still we prove/Much in our vows but little in our love" (II.iv.128-130).  This quote gives an interesting perspective on the topic at hand because she is standing up for females, while being seen as a guy by the world, solidifying the importance of her argument that although men are determined in the proclamation of their love, all it truly is is a proclamation and nothing more.    
These arguments are very important today because in society, males and females are seen through very stereotypical eyes that males are the dominant ones in relationships.  In one example from class today, "Happily Ever After: Perpetuating Stereotypical Gender Ideals" we see that even from very young ages, children are being taught how relationships should be, forcing them into the mold right from the get go.  Also, in "Shakespeare Gender Swap!" is is being exemplified how strongly the female and male stereotypes are held true in society, because even people who are on the "gender movement" still bash on women for doing the same actions that men are praised for.  The lessons about gender identity that Shakespeare is portraying in his plays are very important to society today.