Abstract This is a compare/contrast essay. It compares Dave from Richard Wright's "The Man who was Almost a Man" and Andre Dubus from "Giving up the gun". It shows that their experiences with guns were very similar despite the great differences in their background and upbringing. Their motives for the use of the gun, however, were far apart.
From the Paper "Another important difference between the two characters is in their goals for having a gun. Dave wants to be a man. Because he has a job and earns his own money, he considers himself a man. Even though he is seventeen, his parents still treat him as a little boy. He can't even manage his money. Not only Dave's parents, but his neighbors treat him as a little boy. He sees that almost every man in the village has a gun. He believes that owning a gun will bring him some respect that Dave has never gotten from anyone. He dreams to get one and practice shooting. He asks his mother: "Ma, ef yuh lemme buy one Ah'll never ask yoh fer nothing no mo" (Wright 388). Dave believes that the only way to prove himself as a man is to get a gun. On the other hand, he is not planning on a very dangerous action. After buying the gun from Mr.
Hawkins, Dave does not bring it to his mother as she had told; "instead he had stayed out in the fields, holding the weapon in his hand, aiming it now and then at some imaginary foe…" ( 389). Without realizing that he could hurt someone he kills a mule. Because of this accident he will never get respect from people in his community"
Abstract This paper is a visceral and historical reaction to the photographic work of Andre Kertesz, a Hungarian born photographer born in 1894. The paper traces Kertesz's historical development as an artist, discusses some of the more general points regarding his significance to the history of photography, and presents and examines three of his photographs.
From the Paper "Perhaps what is most striking about the photography of Andrew Kertesz - all shot in black and white - is how familiar it all seems, even if one has never heard of Kertesz before. Andre Kertesz was born in 1894 and died ninety-one years later in 1985. He took his first shots as a photographer in 1912 at the Budapest stock exchange where he worked as a clerk with a camera that his mother gave him ("Andre Kertesz" par. 1-3). This was the beginning of a career in photography that would span decades and leave the world with a photographic legacy that is powerful, emotional, and seemingly ubiquitous. Once Kertesz had his first camera, it became a semi-permanent part of his own body. He took it nearly everywhere."
Abstract This paper looks at some of the controversial works of Andres Serrano such as "Piss Christ"; "Pneumonia Due to Drowning" and ?Grand Dragon of the Invisible Empire.? The paper discusses how, when reviewing Serrano's works, it is important to look beyond the historical, monetary and political controversy for a moment and to evaluate his productions of art as works of art in and of themselves.
From the Paper "The photography and other works of the artist Andres Serrano have, in many ways, become synonymous with the 1980's and 1990's cultural wars, specifically with the fight of the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) to secure continued funding and to secure its continued existence from the United States Congress. The images of Serrano such as his "Piss Christ" in which an image of Christ on a crucifix was submerged in urine was used as a kind of "look at what the NEA hath wrought" proof of the organization's funding. Of course, even the greatest work of art can be rendered in a verbally reductive sense, as in ?Leonardo's "Mona Lisa" is just a picture of a woman with a funny smile, what's the big deal?? It is important, when reviewing Serrano's works, to look beyond the historical monetary and political controversy for a moment, and to evaluate his productions of art as works of art in and of themselves."
This paper discusses the French Surrealist poet Andre Breton and analyzes how his Surrealist art philosophy influenced the art world in the twentieth century.
2,150 words (approx. 8.6 pages), 7 sources, 2002, $ 80.95
Abstract This paper discusses the French Surrealist poet Andre Breton and analyzes how his Surrealist art philosophy influenced the art world in the twentieth century.
Tags: ART HISTORY / DADAISM, SURREALISM, breton surrealist art
Abstract This paper discusses the life and works of Andre Derain, who was one of the most interesting artists of the 20th century. The paper discusses Derain's various painting styles, but describes him as best known as one of the fathers of fauvism, which was the first movement of the modern period which developed in France. The paper specifically focuses on analyzing his artwork entitled "Charing Cross Bridge."
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Charing Cross Bridge
Conclusion
From the Paper "The abandoning of more traditional modes of painting is extremely evident in this painting. The photographic quality that is often scene in landscape paintings is not present. In addition, Derain uses extremely vivid colors and the colors have very little variation (light and dark shades). Instead Derain uses flat color. At the time this was a very revolutionary form of painting. Indeed Bazin et al explains that most of the fauvists including Derain were often confronted with bourgeois conformity or the tutelage of younger artists (Bazin et al). However they displayed a type of progressive freedom in the way they carried themselves and how they spoke (Bazin et al)."
Abstract This paper discusses the essay "Killings" by Andre Dubus about how Matt Fowler, struggles externally with the task of murdering another man in an effort to avenge the death of his son. It examines how Andre Dubus tells the story of a group of people who are faced with conflict on a daily basis and how the dominant idea or theme of the story is that all men will act on their emotions and every emotion exhibited in the story is anger. The end result is a group of characters that can only be classified as murderers and no one is truly better than the other. It shows how the story revolves around inner and external conflict and how the plot, setting and characters all reflect a dominant theme of darkness and despair.
From the Paper "The story later describes how each of the characters had experienced many emotional changes that caused their violent and sometimes bizarre behavior. Matt Fowlers aggressive and revengeful behavior certainly resulted from his feelings of remorse over the loss of his son. But what of the character that killed his son. What type of conflict did he face, and what caused him to be able to commit such a terrible act without any feelings of guilt or sorrow? What type of conflict did the other characters in the story feel, such as Matt Fowlers relations? Interestingly, Dubus describes each of these characters in great detail, elaborating on the ideas of conflict, and intertwining conflict with the mood and dreary theme of the story."
Abstract This paper explains that Graham Greene's "The Quiet American" and Andre Malraux's "Man's Fate", both novels, take different positions against communism. The author points out that, although highlighting the positive side of communist principles and criticizing the capitalist beliefs harbored by "naive" Americans, the primary goal of Greene's book is to denounce the U.S.'s so-called peace initiative in Vietnam. The paper relates that, on the other hand, Andre Malraux believed that only communism could save the poor from exploitation by the Nationalist groups in China.
From the Paper "In Greene's book, the central characters Pyle and Fowler are symbolical representatives of their respective countries? policies. Pyle is young and full of naivet? just like America, while Fowler is more or less impartial like Britain as Mr. Heng once says, ?Mr. Fowler, you are English. You are neutral. You have been fair to all of us.? Pyle is neither so neutral nor so fair in his assessment of Vietnamese politics. Like American leaders, he innocently believes that a "Third Force" can resolve important Vietnamese political issues. However, it is important to understand that author has used innocence as a synonym for ignorance here."
Abstract The following essay shows how Andre Dubus in "The Fat Girl" depicts individuals that are forced to change their originality in order to attain social acceptance. The essay also reveals how absolute satisfaction lies in one's own acceptance of one's originality.
From the Paper "Andre Dubus was born in the United States of America in 1936. An author of the late 20th century, Dubus was famous for his short stories. He was presented the Rea Award for the Short Story, the PEN / Malamud Award from the American Academy of Arts and the Letters Award for his noteworthy works of writing. The collected work of his short stories, Dancing After Hours, excelled and got him the recognition of being one of the distinguished psychological pragmatists amongst the contemporary authors of short fiction. He died in 1999, leaving among his annotated works, Dancing After Hours, The Doctor, The Fat Girl and Meditations from a Movable Chair."
Abstract The writer interprets the stylistic elements in Dubus' writing that reveal his position about the social and individual consequences of murder. According to the paper, this is done through the title, plot, and the characters of the play which strengthen the connection between the story and its reader.
From the Paper "The play's title also points to the suffering of Frank's loved ones. The victim's death was so disturbing for his parents that the father's heart was dying to kill Strout. Matt tells his friend ?(Ruth) can"t even go out for cigarettes and aspirin" without seeing Strout, "it's killing her" (Dubus 64). The constant daydreaming of Frank's murder killed Matt and Ruth from inside until they took out their revenge on Strout and calmed their emotions. Simultaneously, the playwright also reflects through the thoughts of Matt Fowler, how the loved ones of Richard Strout would be killed inside by his murder. Thus, the writer builds on a deeper meaning for the play's title by depicting how the emotions of families are killed on the deaths of their beloveds."
This paper is an overview of the minimalist movement in art and it most prominent minimalist painters: Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Robert Morris, Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Sol LeWitt and Robert Morris.
Abstract This paper defines Minimalism as the tendency by a new generation of artists towards non-allusiveness and decontextualisation from tradition, impersonality in tone, and the flattening of perspectival schema's though the emphasis on surface, and the subsequent neutralization of depth cues. The author states that there is little agreement as to when the movement officially came into being, and who if anyone was its innovator. The paper states that Minimalism emerged primarily as a reaction against Pop and Abstract Expressionism.
Table of Contents
The Emergence of Minimalism
The Influences of High Modernism
Robert Rauschenburg's "White on Whites"
Frank Stella's Black Paintings
Carl Andre and the Influence of Brancusi
Dan Flavin and the Russian Avant-Garde
Sol LeWitt and the Opening Up of Space
Robert Morris and Phenomenological Vision
Conclusion
From the Paper "Superficially Minimalism was everything that motion-painting was not, and indeed it's physical characteristics embodied, at least for the American critic Clement Greenberg, the very elements that modern formalistic abstraction had strove so hard to escape from. It's closest physical relative was early Constructivism, whilst its ideology could be said to have been initiated by Kasimir Malevich's Suprematism movement. Both Constructivism and Suprematism renounced the need for art to be visually complex, Malevich through his Black Square and Vladimir Tatlin's via his Counter-Corner relief?s, although these cannot really be seen as anything more than a indicative forerunner of this new aesthetic. "
Abstract "House of Sand and Fog" is a novel by the American writer Andre Dubus III in which the principal characters engage in a struggle over possession of a house. The paper shows that the house functions as a symbol of membership in American society and the combatants -- an immigrant Iranian colonel and a woman recovering from cocaine addiction -- have more than money at stake in their fight to own a home to which each has a legal right. The paper explains how the tragic plot is driven by the failure of the parties to communicate and by their suspicions of each other based on their prejudiced views of each other's cultures.
From the Paper "As Dubus develops his story, however, none of this is simple. All the characters' motivations are complex and by employing three narrative voices -- Behrani, Nicolo, and an omniscient narrator who describes Burdon's thoughts and actions -- Dubus creates a balanced picture in which everyone is shown to be capable of great self-deception, prejudice, and ignorance. Behrani, for example, persistently avoids introspection and when he finds himself dwelling on his own motivations he simply says, "I must discipline myself to keep my attention on my present tasks and challenges" (164). "
This paper discusses the use of irony to tell horrific stories in compelling ways in three stories: "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O?Connor, "The Curse" by Andre Dubus and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce.
1,045 words (approx. 4.2 pages), 3 sources, 2002, $ 36.95
Abstract This paper explains that in all three stories---?A Good Man is Hard to Find,? by Flannery O?Connor, ?The Curse,? by Andre Dubus and ?An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,? by Ambrose Bierce---the authors' use of dramatic irony to force the reader's perspective into the minds of the protagonists, making the pain of what they experience surreally intense. The author believes that in these stories the irony can make us laugh, reveal truths that would otherwise be hard to express, or sharpen our focus on the absurdity of a situation. For example the paper explains that in "A Good Man is Hard to Find", the use of irony force's the reader's perspective to take in what the grandmother cannot ? the horror that is going to unfold, committed by men who gave no more thought to murdering children and old women than they would to catching a fish for dinner.
From the Paper "?An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,? by Ambrose Bierce, tells the story of a man being hanged from an intensely personal viewpoint. Peyton Fahrquahar, southern gentleman and planter, is about to be hung by Union soldiers after he attempted to burn a bridge and so prevent their advance. As the author dryly notes, ?The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded..? As with the protagonists in the other two stories, Fahrquahar has played a part in his situation by not being alert enough, soon enough: when a man in a confederate suit comes to his gate to get a drink of water, he doesn?t realize he is a Union spy setting a trap for confederate collaborators."
Abstract This paper discusses and analyzes the book "Tejano Empire: Life on the South Texas Ranchos," by Andres Tijerina, which gives an intimate and sometimes disturbing look into the lives of the Tejano ranchers who settled the harsh area of Southern Texas and were eventually forced out of their homes by unscrupulous land dealings by the whites. The paper presents a brief outline of the book's contents, a summary of the author's thesis and a reaction to the book. "Tejano Empire" is a history book, but is also a social history book which presents the lifestyle of early South Texas and a disturbing history of a people who have rarely had their story told.
From the Paper "If there is anything the author failed to do, it is really establish what motivated the whites to remove these people from Texas, other than sheer greed. It is also quite clear that Tijerina is writing from the Tejano point of view, and champions the Tejanos. This bias creates quite a readable and compelling book, but does not give the other side at all. An equally compelling addition would have dealt with what the whites did with the land, how they succeeded or failed, and what compelled them to remove the original inhabitants who seemed to manage the land so well. Clearly, the whites did not succeed, or there would not be so much empty land in the area today. Also, if the whites left the area, why did the Tejanos not return to reclaim their land? "
Abstract "The Last of the Just" by Andre Schwarz-Bart, focuses on an old Hebrew legend of a group of men destined by God to be the culmination of the hearts of all mankind. The account traces the existence of the 'Lamed-Vov' through the male offspring of the Levy family, beginning in the twelfth century - with each of the chosen living and dying their destined martyr's death. The paper shows how the book travels down in time through the successive generation to the generation of the Second World War, ending with the intimate and extensive life of Ernie a Jew, the Last of the Just, who lives through the ghetto and dies in the Auschwitz gas chambers. The paper discusses the author's ability to convey the emotions and feelings of anti-Semitism from each generation, culminating in the most horrific act of all, the Holocaust.
From the Paper "This document does better than almost no other I have read tracing the history of anti-Semitism through the past two thousand years. With the life and death of each Just Man lived a generation of sorrow and a multiplication of the suffering heart of all humanity. The special attention that Schwarz-Bart plays to the modern, and the repetitive cycle of horror makes clear that the message of this text is one of horror, hope and, of course, a warning. Schwarz-Bart has given a very personal narrative that brings to light the humanity of those Jews who have died in the last two thousand years for the simple reason of just being Jews."
Abstract In "L?Immoraliste" by Andre Gide and "The Captive" by Marcel Proust, neither main character attains his desire. This paper shows that the reason for each gentleman's failure can be found in the theories of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. It explains that, according to the work begun by Freud and continued by Lacan, desire is forever elusive because the object of desire is continually non-existent. This lack of an object for desire is explored by applying the theories of Freud and Lacan to the works in question.
From the Paper "The main desire of Michel, the narrator in L?Immoraliste is self-actualization and self-discovery. His own inner soul becomes his elusive Other. The problem however arises when circumstances devastate Michel's original self, and another takes its place. It is interesting that Michel and Marceline's positions as they relate to each other change progressively throughout the novel, as do Michel's own disposition and desire. In the beginning of the narrative Michel is ill, and Marceline is healthy. These positions reverse as the novel continues. The hope of a new baby is lost with Marceline's miscarriage and things basically deteriorate in Michel's inner world as they do for Marceline's physique."
