This paper discusses the book, "The City of Joy," by Dominique Lapierre, which projects the underlying message that despite the devastating life of the slum dwellers in Calcutta they have hope and love.
Abstract This paper explains that author Dominique Lapierre researched this book by living with the people of India and the people who try to help them for three years. The author states that critics have called "The City of Joy" one of the most important books on the culture and sociology of India. The paper points out that the author does not look at the topic through rose-colored glasses; he shows the abject poverty in enormous and memorable detail.
From the Paper "This is a story of people who are used to hardships and have learned how to deal with them through courage and good humor. Rather than bemoan the loss of everything he had worked so hard to obtain, Prodip Pal revels in the joy of his sons. "What a blessing those sons were" (Lapierre 7)! This is the central conception to the book, and one from which everyone can learn important lessons. These people do not feel sorry for themselves ? rather they revel in the joys they can find, because they "shared in a communal world and respected its social and religious values, maintaining the ancestral traditions and beliefs" (Lapierre 45). This is why the decrepit slum is called "The City of Joy." It is more than clear they are poor, but they are happy, and it becomes a joy to read about it, even though many of their experiences are quite simply unspeakable."
Tags: india, hardship, courage, poverty, community
Abstract This paper discusses the broad spectrum of poverty, misery and desperation that Dominique Lapierre describes in his novel "The City of Joy," about Calcutta. The writer describes the leper colony, the lack of sanitation, the horrible conditions on the street and even in hospitals, and the trade in human bodies, organs, blood and fetuses. Human life is cheap in Calcutta, human rights are a foreign concept, and people are openly exploited by others for their economic value.
Outline:
Health, Hygiene, and the Economy
The Hospital
The Life of a Rickshaw Puller
The People who Have to Donate Blood to Earn their Living and the Pushers who Encourage them to Do So
From the Paper "One aspect of life particularly striking to a Western reader is how some people's lives are seen as innately more valuable than other people's lives in The City of Joy. For example, poor people are allowed to sell their blood until they are too weak to stand. People beg to survive, or pick through the garbage, hardly caring if the condition of the food puts their lives at risk because they are so desperately in need of food. The priority is living from day to day, not long-term survival and the improvement of one's life, as it is in the West."
Abstract Analysis of the Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres oil painting. Discusses the title and content of the 1859 painting, and its revision in 1863. Representation of women. Frankness of the artist's expression; sexual fantasy. Implied message of painting regarding French colonialism. Art historian Walter Friendlaender's account of the painting. John Berger's "Way of Seeing."
From the Paper "John Berger's Ways of Seeing makes many suggestions about how to look at works from the great period of Western oil painting (1500-1900). He argues that the traditional ways in which art history looked at painting involved a great deal of mystification, that is, "the process of explaining away what might otherwise be evident" (Berger 15-16). In Berger's view mystification involves explanations of the meanings of pictures, the reasons why they were painted, and what they meant to the painters and the owners. Analyses that mystify cover up certain aspects of this art; specifically those related to domination--domination of women by men, of the weak by the powerful, and of the not-rich by the rich. A closer look at one picture demonstrates how careful interrogation of what is in front of the viewer brings out information and possible meanings that are not ..."
Abstract This paper describes the Neoclassical art movement, a severe, unemotional form of art that was traced back to the style of ancient Greece and Rome. It was a combination of aesthetic attitudes and principles based on the culture, art, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome and was characterized by emphasis on form, simplicity, proportion, and restrained emotion. The paper discusses and compares two artists from this period, Jacques-Louis David and Jean-Dominique Ingres. Several of their works are examined in the paper.
From the Paper "In Europe, the nineteenth century was an age of radical change during which the modern world took shape. In a world that was experiencing a population explosion of unparalleled magnitude, revolution followed revolution, a pattern punctuated by counter-revolution and conservative reaction. In thought as well as in science, the nineteenth century was an era of grand new theories through which visionary thinkers attempted to unify whole bodies of knowledge into precise, well-ordered systems. Artist in the nineteenth century were also confronted with new innovations and their individual artistic styles and works changed with the times. These artists found themselves using the elements of line, shape and color to represent their private world, the realm of imagination and feeling. The functions of the artist and of the artist's medium were decisively transformed by the modern world. "
Abstract In this article, the writer examines the social and political contexts of race. This paper discusses the impacts of race and racism on society and politics within multiple colonies including in British North America, the early Americas, in French Saint Dominique and Haiti. Specifically the paper analyzes and confirms how race stimulated and maintained a turbulent and disjointed political and social environment during early history and how race was used to define various groups' worth, rights and abilities in early history. The writer discusses that race played a vital role in the shaping of the social and political structure that still exists in many areas of the United States today.
Outline:
Introduction
Analysis of Race Relations Early History
Conclusions
From the Paper "In the early United States those of European descent were primarily considered white or Caucasian, and anyone of there contrasting color whether black, brown, red or yellow were widely referred to as members of other races. During the time of colonization black generally came to refer to those of African ancestry and brown was often delegated to Hispanics; red clearly referred to native Americans while yellow referred primarily to those of Asian descent. Race played an important role from a social and political context in early U.S. history, where members of the Caucasian race or primarily of European descent were afforded more luxuries, benefits and acceptance than those of other races. Those not clearly of Caucasian descent even if lighter skinned were often relegated to a certain racial heritage even if mixed."
Abstract This paper discusses how "The Fountainhead" is a highly readable novel with a purpose, made so by the depth and internal conflicts of the characters. It looks at how the clash between Howard Roark's ego and the stand of the established society have been weaved into an intricate tapestry along with the philosophy of the characters. It also examines how the book illustrates the reasons behind the hatred and denouncement innovators normally face in the world and also why man's ego is the power behind the progress of mankind.
From the Paper "Rand follows the style of first-person narration in the book so strictly that the word sociopath is not mentioned anywhere in the book. Howard in the book dubiously describes himself as on outstanding architect destroyed by society, not properly understood by anybody, hardworking and very fair in his dealings. But apart from the unsure confidence of the protagonist, the tragedy of the book is his undying desire to validate the correctness of his own morality. The reader soon comes to understand that apart from possessing the normal adolescent attitudes of disrespecting authority, being original and generally be a bad guy, Howard also desperately seeks the comfort of the child's need to secure parental approval of his moral stand though he never admits it."
This paper discusses the revolutionary changes in society and in art during the 19th century in Europe and some of its artists, which altered forever the face of art.
Abstract This paper explains that painting in the 19th century, still highly influenced by the spirit of Romanticism, progressing through the "schools' of Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, proved an even more sensitive medium for personal expression. The author points out that the Impressionists sought to create the illusion of forms bathed in light and atmosphere, which required an extensive study of natural light as the source of all color, leading to the revelation that the actual color of an object is always modified by the quality of the light in which it is seen, by reflections from other objects and by the effects produced by colors lying against each other. The paper reviews in detail the work of Francisco Goya, Jacques Louis David, Eugene Delacroix, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, J.M.W. Turner, John Constable, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Georges Seurat, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh and Auguste Rodin.
From the Paper "The history of 19th century painting in its first sixty years has often been interpreted as a contest between Eugene Delacroix and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1781-1867) who broke away from David on matters of artistic style, for he believed that David's art was too realistic and based far too much on Greek influences. For Ingres, painting encompassed flat and linear figures, a manner that was severely criticized as being "primitive" and Gothic. However, Ingres soon became the leader of the academic forces in their battle against Delacroix and his contemporaries."
