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.