Essay about Wallace Rhetorical Analysis - 1393 Words

A Rhetorical Analysis of â€Å"This is Water† If one were to try to imagine a world without air, then it would certainly be very different than the world as humans know it. Since air is essential to the livelihood of most life on Earth, it could be considered an â€Å"important reality.† In David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech, â€Å"This is Water† to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College, Wallace states that â€Å"the most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about.† (Wallace) Despite the necessity for air, most take its beautiful existence for granted. Wallace believes unawareness leads to unhappiness, and thus wants his audience to actively think about their surroundings. He†¦show more content†¦In â€Å"This is Water† Wallace speaks from his own experiences in order to help others; he went through depression before finally hanging himself in 2008. One should not think of this as contradicting his points, thoug h. This act shows that Wallace, too, was human, and capable of mistakes. Furthermore, he wanted people to have better lives than he did, and he believed they can do so by following his advice. A short parable comprises the opening paragraph of Wallace’s speech. In this, there are two fish swimming along when they pass an older fish, headed in the opposite direction, that asks them how the water is. The two fish continue along for a bit before one asks the other â€Å"what the hell is water?† This serves as an extended metaphor used by Wallace to demonstrate his main argument for awareness in life. Just as the fish do not consider their surroundings, people more often than not fail to considerShow MoreRelatedRhetorical Analysis Of `` What The Hell Is Water `` By David Foster Wallace909 Words   |  4 PagesFamed American author David Foster Wallace gave a commencement speech to Kenyon College’s graduating class of 2005. Most commencement speeches focus on graduates’ accomplishments as well as give general life advice. Wallace’s presentation follows this pattern at first, congratulating the students on getting their diplomas. However, most of his speech is dedicated to the idea of thinking beyond ourselves. Throughout the speech, Wallace argues we should live with empathy through his use of humor andRead MoreAnalysis Of Commencement Speech By David Foster Wallace1134 Words   |  5 PagesOne of the finest commencement speeches was given by David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College. Wallace’s speech can be viewed as enlightening to those who are often blindly single-minded. It forces the audience to take a look at the way they approach everyday situations, rather than being self-centered, consider others before yourself. However, many overlook Wallace’s impeccable rhetorical maneuvers, focusing on the constant clichà ©s and fictional anecdotes used. What people don’t realize is these clichà ©sRead MoreBraveheart Figurative Language1522 Words   |  7 Pages Wu 1 Raymond Wu Instructor: Ian Patrick Cresswell English 100 – 03 22 March 2016 MLA Braveheart Speech: In-depth Analysis Regarding Figurative Language Braveheart is a historical drama epic film from 1995. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won five. The film is non-fictional and depicts the events of William Wallace, a Scottish hero who led the Scots during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. However, despite the historical inaccuracies cited by criticsRead MoreSo Much Emotion from the Music of Hip-Hop703 Words   |  3 PagesRhetorical Analysis Hip-hop. How is it that uttering of two almost identical words can generate so much emotion, so much conversation, and so much controversy? People have been using music in a multitude of forms to document and share their experiences; in this respect hip-hop is no different. James McBride offers an intriguing proposal for our consideration: regardless of how we feel about hip-hop, it is here to stay because it has become a part of our global culture and represents a restless generationRead MoreGEICO Insurance Sales Promotion Analysis1435 Words   |  6 Pagesshould have at least one type of insurance. As for auto insurance, the law requires drivers to carry insurance when driving. Because of this need, the constant demand for having insurance drives many firms competing in this saturated market. In this analysis, the focus attempts to show GEICO Insurance promotional strategy in communicating its products and services to the market and identifies the effective ways in growing the br and-awareness. In 1936, a married couple named Leo and Lillian Goodwin establishedRead MoreThe Theories Of Learning And Communication1712 Words   |  7 Pages(1962) Internet. Cognitivism is the theory of inner mental activities, perceiving, recognising, conceiving and reasoning. Information is gained; the information is processed which leads to certain outcomes. Wallace described it as â€Å"the information processing view of human cognition†. Wallace. P18. (2007). Early cognitivists’ wanted education to concentrate on concepts, relationships, creative thinking, problem solving and further thinking skills. Piaget theorized four stages of Cognitive DevelopmentRead MoreThe Lamb and The Tyger by William Blake Essay1758 Words   |  8 Pageslights. â€Å"The Tyger,† written in 1774, and â€Å"The Lamb,† written five years later in 1789, are considered companion poems due to their similar humanistic topic and stark differences of each other. Through the use of specific titillation and use of rhetorical questioning, Blake sets up an ultimatum between the two poems, creating the illusion that each creature in the poems may have different creators. In this way, Blake questions traditional Christian doctrine in such a way that initiates curiosityRead MoreJohn Lewis s Speech On March Washington2261 Words   |  10 Pages John Lewis Rhetorical Analysis In the â€Å"Speech on March Washington† on August 28, 1963, civil rights activist John Lewis spoke at Washington D.C. In a movement for equal rights. Lewis’ purpose is to amplify his voice to show the unfair treatment of people of color during that time of segregation. Throughout the address, he applies pathos in order persuade the crowd of people to protest against the government s ways. Change is the main point in John Lewis’s speech, in where he contradicts theRead MoreThe Constructivist Approach Of International Relations1797 Words   |  8 Pagesamounts of resources into establishing, shifting, and changing social norms. Unlike international state actors, these organizations have far less resources in the countries that they are established, and their capacities are only in the limits of rhetorical statuses, but they utilize these tools in total maximization to shift policies in favor of their mission statements and agendas. The results are these organiz ations taking the initiative in assisting in humanitarian efforts, specifically in thisRead MoreContemporary American Poetry and Its Public Worlds Essay8159 Words   |  33 Pagesforces of therapeutic culture and the fantasies proposed in various kinds of advertising. For poetry to achieve cultural currency, in both senses of that term, it may have to find ways of reconciling the energies of romantic lyricism to overtly rhetorical ambitions and strategies. It will take me a long time to get to those ambitions because I first have to clarify plausible ways of using the concept of poetrys relations to a public world, and then I have to use that discussion in order to dramatize

Online Dating And Its Effects On The Way People Look For Romantic Relationships Essay Example For Students

Online Dating And Its Effects On The Way People Look For Romantic Relationships Essay Introduction Online dating has changed the way people look for romantic partners. With websites like match.com, okcupid and even mobile sites like tinder finding a partner is only a few clicks away. These sites make it easy for the users to change small things like height, weight and even make their profession sound better. With the rise of photoshop the the ability to find any photograph on the internet, many online daters are cautious when using the sites. â€Å"In a survey of online dating users, over 80% of participants registered concerns that others misrepresent themselves† (Gibbs, Ellison, Heino, 2006), and, in another large-scale survey, â€Å"deception was identified as the biggest perceived disadvantage of online dating† (Brym Lenton, 2001). This research is extremely important as a way to see why exactly people use online dating and why they attempt to self enhance or take it far enough to just be deceptive.Review of Literature The research surrounding lying, identity and online dating is an extremely important topic as the world continues to get online and leave traditional dating in the past. There is also a fine line between lying and self enhancing or doing your best to put your best features out into the world. â€Å"By engaging in substantial amounts of selective self-presentation, daters enhanced their physical characteristics relative to how they look on an everyday basis. This is especially the case when compared to levels of deception in other elements of the profile, such as height and weight† (Gonzales, A. , Hancock, J. 2008). The rise of people getting catfished, â€Å"lure (someone) into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona†. The research of why people lie and why people are more inclined to lie onli. .ipants to come in and talk to the researchers but many were simple surveys and did not require much outside of organizing the results. Separating Fact From Fiction: An Examination of Deceptive Self-Presentation in Online Dating Profiles only had 80 participants but they way they had great questions that were asked. Yet due to the lack of participants the results seem skewed especially when looking at the ages of the participants and the websites that they use for online dating. As they were all New Yorkers that were almost randomly selected, they was a severe lack of variety. If this study had used more locations I believe the results could of been applied to most people who use online dating in the United States. Due to the small sample size and the small area of the US I feel that this information cannot be attributed to the rest of the online dating community.

Popular Culture and Cultural Capital free essay sample

One problem in analyzing a type of youth culture is measuring the extent to witch it is a response to a culture deliberately manufactured for marketing and consumption of cultural products. Would say to some extent all subcultures consume part of popular culture, but it does vary from which culture a person is apart of, E. G you can look at the Goth type of culture and think it not to be very commercialese at all. But I would argue differently, cause Goth is one of the most commercialese types of culture in the world. The Director Tim Burton makes huge blockbuster films that have been filmed in a gothic style. So why is Goth not popular culture? The Hip Hop culture was discovered in 1 asss America, It involved a very unique form of dancing called break dancing, and was based on the genre of music called Hip Hop.Most people would argue that Hip Hop became commercial when the Sugar Hill Gang released a single called Rappers Delight, but I would argue that the Hip Hop style of clothing consisted of high street clothing, which in a way made he subculture commercial even when it was deemed not to be. We will write a custom essay sample on Popular Culture and Cultural Capital or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page My argument is that all of the subcultures we have are commercial but within the subcultures there is a sense of resistance towards commercialisms. The types of subcultures in Britain today are vast in quantity. You can look around on a busy weekend shopping and see lots of different styles of clothing, and lots of different tastes of music and attitudes towards life in one city. Subculture can be dated back to the 1 asss, where people were first frightened of the Teddy boy look. The public then became swamped with what they thought were bizarre street styles. There came the Moods and Rockers in the sasss, then in the 1 sass came the skinheads and punks.These sub cultural groups were a product of a modern global zing world, In that the look of moods was based on an Italian look of suits and scooters. These subcultures were considered to be resistance of the norm, where youths would try to look different to be different. Within these subcultures there are differences between them. For example Moods and rockers were separated by their tastes in music, as a result of this there are sometimes ritual fights that have outraged Straight society like shopkeepers, the police, searchers and most importantly the media.Today though society is more accepting of these subcultures in and around where they live. It has in a way become part of culture. This maybe because the old school Deeds, Punks and Rockers have grown up, had children and they are now taking the same course but with a different subculture. But how have subcultures been labeled with distinct features, how have they generally been stereotyped by so many people as types of hooligan groups.Today we have a mix of the new breed of sub culture and the old school types of subculture. To name a few that I have noticed are Moshers, so called cause of there love of rock music and the way they moss to it, they also tend to wear baggy clothes and do sports like skateboarding. Indy boys, so called because of there love of Indy music. Indy boys tend to wear the type of clothes that Noel Gallagher wears and they tend to like the main types of popular sport, like football and rugby.Moshers and Indy boys fight mainly because of their differences in clothing and music, they prefer not to moss. And the chap, the chap is the most interesting of the nevus breed of subcultures and the most heavily commercialese, the clothes a chap wears and the music he chap listens to is extremely commercial, the clothing the chap is most commonly associated with is Barberry, which on the news recently has been linked with a clothing worn by football hooligans.People have picked up on these subcultures in fashion, TV and newspapers etc. And as such have tried to cater for their needs in order to make a profit. Fashion shows dedicated to a popular twist on these groups styles. E. G remember seeing a fashion show that Was showing a type Of fashion based on the types of clothes that punks wear. But the models on the cat walk were all good looking with rips in clothes that were fit to measure and the safety pin that went through one of the models eyebrows was made of gold.Through that example you can see the difference between the commercial punk and the punk. Subcultures also have a relationship to the overall dominant culture which, because of its pervasiveness, in particular its transmission through the mass media, is unavoidable. We can therefore distinguish a subculture, for example that of the hippies, which has connections with, but is distinct from due to its deviant lifestyle, the progressive middle class culture.The hippy subculture also has connections with the bohemian tradition of the artistic avian-garden, but its use of illegal drugs, and its value of instant hedonism means it has connections with other urban, more delinquent subcultures. In this quote Brake argues that the hippie culture has connections with the progressive middle class culture, but it is distinct from due to its connections with a deviant life style of taking illegal drugs and the pursuit of pleasure.Firth (1978) also argues that the middle class children are interested in the alternative values expressed in the lyrics of rock music. Think that people ho are borne in to a middle class environment have more options of culture available to them and they can afford to experiment with different cultures. As such they will buy the music of that culture and buy the clothes of that culture. This is a very shallow way Of experimenting with culture because one of the main elements I feel of a sub culture is that it is not standardized.You buy the single of a rock group because you belong to the culture that follows rock music, you would be funding the label that produces that music. And the music industry has been totally standardized; it is hard to find ba nds on the helves of record stores that are produced by a small corporation. So you would still be funding the same company that has boy bands and general popular music. Also the example that I gave earlier on the difference between the commercial punk and the punk comes in to play.Because the middle class buys the clothes that they see people on TV wearing who are part of their culture they are apart of, they will only see the commercialese version of that type of clothing, as a result they will tend to go for the easier option and buy the same pair from the high street. It is hard these days to blend in tit a culture without looking the part and the music and fashion industries have noticed this and catered to it, as a result people feel they are out of the norm and are resisting popular culture, when in fact they are apart of it.This can be seen when looking at the music industry today. Only only a few big corporate production companies own the music industry. This has put them in a great position to make as much money as possible when targeting these sub cultures. The audiences tastes are carefully monitored over time by measuring what is selling. By doing this they can measure how much reduction is needed for each genre of music by having reserve musicians on stand by to cater for the needs and tastes of the audience.It is said that subcultures arise from a common ground of experiences that youths share. The sharing of these experiences makes it easier for youths to communicate with each other and thus a collection of people all in the same boat is understandable. This could be the very reason why subcultures can be founded by popular media culture. Liberalizing of media companies on the government I feel plays a big part in why so many different subcultures have been produced over time.If different aspects of the county we live in can be changed by the media then it is bound to affect the way we live. As such, a common ground is formed among people affected by this. Since a characteristic of why subcultures are formed, is that they form because of a shared common ground then a subculture is formed to confront this. So you can see that if the subculture is seen as a rebellion of thing that have happened it is actually happened because of the media industry and has consumed what the media company changed.As for the style of the subculture, it is thought that the subculture is a billion towards the dominant style of clothing off the high street. Elements are drawn from the synthetic manufactured culture of popular music and artifacts, but these are relocated and transformed (fibrillate) (Brake 1980) Brake states that although clothing that is popular and sold on the high street, it does not necessarily mean that it belongs to a popular for Of subculture. Clothing is bought and made to fit the critiques of the subculture to form the desired statement.This can be seen with Levi Straus s jeans. The new subculture of the Mosher that introduced to the beginning of the essay ill buy the jeans and turn them in to a type that is suitable for that subculture by buying jeans that are a size too big for the person and will make tares where the knees are, this changes the perspective of what the jeans represent. So even though the person is apart of a subculture, that does not necessarily mean that they do not buy non-popular products.It has been argued that what ultimately defines cultural capital as capital is its Convertibility in to cultural capital (Graham and Williams 1 986) There are three main Popes of capital, cultural, economic and social. What I want to look t is the relationship between economic capital and cultural capital in subcultures. Cultural capital of subcultures refers to someones knowledge of the subculture, normally accumulated through upbringing and education. Sub cultural capital is defined by what Sarah Thornton (1995) refers to as hip news which slang voc abulary is above all a sign of aristocratic distinctiveness.Thornton also refers to what objectifies subculture capital by using examples like fashionable haircuts and record collections which would be apart of the subculture. Sub cultural capital is embodied in the form of being in the know y using slang and looking the part of the subculture. But this can not be over used as it look like your trying too hard. The media play a role in governing the circulation of the subculture because it acts as a network of cultural knowledge that distributes and in ways defines the subculture.So to be apart of the subculture people with economic capital would get the haircut, buy the records and buy the relevant news updates to be Din the know about the subculture. Thus weather you are apart of Cultural capital or economic capital you would still be buying in to a common form of popular products. This can be seen when you look in to how you can make a living from having a strong cultural capital of Din the know information on subcultures. Dads, club organizers, clothes designers, music and style journalists and record industry professionals all make a living from sub cultural capital. They do this by defining the subculture and creating. Economic capital rewards sub cultural capital. Music is a strong defining aspect of what sort of culture or subculture you belong to. Weather it be popular Goth, Punk, dance or any of the others they all have their own types of music. Gender plays a big part in what music gets played. Girls on average spend more of their time working at school, boys on average spend more time and money on leisure time activities like going out, listening to records and reading music magazines.Girls generally have a greater taste in pop music than boys and will often defend their tastes in pop music and acknowledge their low sub cultural status. Thus people are apart Of a subculture, they dress the part and generally look the part, but they do consume in to the popular culture, weather it be directly (buying pop music) r indirectly (buying a rock magazine that is owned by the same company that distributes a pop magazine) you are still consuming in to popular culture.

spec ed paper Essays - Psychiatry, Human Behavior, Free Essays

spec ed paper Essays - Psychiatry, Human Behavior, Free Essays February 27 th , 2018 Module 2 Redacted Glen Payne Special Education Part1 For this paper I have chosen to analyse the Case of Suzette, found on page 125 of the course text . The case outlines the struggle of a parent and their child, Suzette, in finding appropriate placement in a school. Suzette is identified as sixteen years old, recently expelled from her high school due to a series of violent outbursts and is seeking a new school. Suzette is a high functioning, high achieving student who, up until her teenage years when her behaviour took a violent and more consequential turn. The following analysis will explore the behavioural issues that Suzette is dealing with, a detail the most appropriate action plan, and a look at the likely outcome of her educational career. What Are the Beha vioural I ssues ? Due to Suzette's high achievement and agreeability up until her adolescent years, it is unlikely that she is experiencing negative manifestations of disorders that appear early on in a child's development . It is noted in the text that a child with this disorder may display a pattern of disruptive and violent behavior and have problems following rules. Due to Suzette's violent outbursts and accelerated ag gression, it is possible that she is suffering from Oppositional Defiant Disorder . It is not uncommon for children and teens to have behavior-related problems at some time during their development. ODD has eight characteristics for identification, and they are as follows: often loses temper; often argues with adults; often actively defies or refuses to comply with adults' requests or rules; often deliberately annoys people; often blames others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior; is often touchy or easily annoyed by ot hers; is often angry and resentful; is often spiteful and vindictive (Behavioural Issues Workshop, 2016) . Considering the fact that Suzette is only recently exhibiting dangerous symptoms that include violence, defiance, and struggles with authority, it is my best estimation to assign Oppositional Defiant Disorder to her case as the primary struggle. ODD combined with the "teenage - crazy" behaviour that her mother expressed could result in the aggressive behaviour described in her ca se. Fortunately , when treated with care and attention, individuals with ODD can experience rehabilitation and re-entry into appropriate school programming. What Support is Needed? Instructional In my experience with students who are dealing with ODD, it is most beneficial and helpful to change the language of my instruction to suit the needs of the child. Instead of using "must" driven language such as "you must complete this assignment", or "I need you to", it is better received to use inclusive language such as "when can we get this completed" or "what do you need from me to be successful?". This rhetorical shift attempts to diffuse the anger and "fight or flight" instincts associated with ODD aggression, and makes the student feel in control, while still functioning under an authority. Environmental and Assessment Any anger-fueled situation that has the potential to escalate is even more sensitive and likely for an ODD student. As such, it is important to monitor temperament and recognize the signs of escalation. Teaching the student to recognize their anger or irritability and implement coping skills is the best case scenario, but often times this is difficult, especially if you are strangers. My recommendation in these cases is to allow students to remove themselves from irritating situations using inclusive language and questions, such as: Do you feel like you need a break? Where would you like to go? How can we help you right now? Would you like me to give you space? In my experience, allowing students to choose where they would like to move to (Student Success, going for a walk, the office) has the best potential at diffusing a tense situation. In the same vein, accommodating assessment for ODD students involves compromise. In high school, students are required to complete regular assignments in order to earn their credit, but giving ODD students the tools to succeed often looks like compromised deadlines, extra help, or assignments broken up into smaller, more manageable pieces. Looking Forward With the proper support and education to

Langston Hughes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Langston Hughes - Essay Example Through various literary devices for emphasis, themes dwelling on African-American heritage and in a simple language that many people can read, Hughes effectively presents the cultural diversity of an African-American not just to other races, but also most especially to his fellow African-Americans. Hughes’ style of poetry shows his strong background in rhythm and a hint of jazz, evident in his use of imagery, simile, metaphor, caesura, and repetition of words or lines for emphasis. His poem â€Å"Danse Africaine† exemplifies the use of these elements to effectively portray a moving performance of a female dancer illuminated only by a camp fire. The steep buildup of excitement and anticipation was illustrated through the use of various adjectives pertaining to the slow beat and low tones of the drums before the dance, as exemplified by the first five lines: Just like most presentations that have a beginning, a climax, and an ending Hughes repeated the theme he used for the first five lines such as the use of metaphor and the repetition of words, effectively establishing the poem’s rhythm and giving it its closure. Hughes’ other poem, â€Å"Lenox Avenue: Midnight† also uses similar literary devices, as well as adding rhymes and allusion to give the poem a hint of drama. Effective choice of words in â€Å"DanseAfricaine† makes it appear to be building anticipation or excitement ahead, and Hughes used this same strategy to establish the sad and lonely theme of â€Å"Lenox Avenue: Midnight†, as evident in lines 5-10 of the poem: The allusion in the poems that rain brings pain and implies feelings of loneliness or sorrow, and this line of thought establishes the poem’s sad and gloomy mood, similar to rhythm and blues. As with â€Å"DanseAfricaine†, Hughes also repeated the theme as well as the fourth line into the 14th line of the poem: â€Å"†¦ the gods are laughing at us†

Singapore Airlines Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Singapore Airlines Case - Essay Example The management came up with a policy of recruiting young people between the ages of 20 – 25 who had completed high school level and had â€Å"O levels in English†. Young crew policy had some advantages. Young crew who were recruited was most likely to depict some sense of enthusiasm and keenness in their work. In addition, they were fit physically to manage the demanding job and to meet the thorough schedule. Furthermore, it was believed that most of the passengers enjoyed being served and attended by young and attractive men and women. Another implication of using young crew policy was that it reduced the substantial size of the applicant pool. This was because young people had the opportunity of studying in the university or getting other kinds of education thus reducing the number of desirable school leavers. The policy also provided opportunities for ensuring that the crew remained young by offering the five-year renewable contract to the crew. This policy also offered a career path and a possibility of a lifetime employment contract to the stewards. Those who were recruited were given six-week training before being considered as qualified operational crew. The training covered such areas as personal grooming, poise, uniform care and also personal conduct. Practical lessons commenced by learning the names and purposes of all the available amenities available on the airline board. Other lessons dealt with various types of service ware, glasses, dishes and other food serving items that might be used by the crew. Recruits were also taught of names and procedures for various drinks and dozens of food items served by the SIA. The training also covered some classes on how to handle emergencies and incidents on board. The performance of the crew was formally evaluated through staff interviews and also based on comments from the passengers. The performance report was based on three evaluations.  First, flight stewards were appraised by senior flight stewards and stewardesses working on the same flight.

Cultural Relevance of Artwork Essay Example for Free

Cultural Relevance of Artwork Essay The very spirit of an artwork remains in the time it was created. There is no better way to appreciate art than to understand its situational context, that is, the space and time of its creation. Works of art are like photographs taken in a particular time and place. In this paper we explore the situational context of three works of art: (1) Produced in the late seventeenth century, Wedding of Mary and Joseph is Peruvian painting; (2) Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando (1879) shows two young Parisian girls; and (3) Figure of a Mother Holding a Child, created in the nineteenth century by an unknown Lulua artist (See Appendix). All three pieces of art tell interesting, unique tales about their makers and the conditions of their times. What’s more, layers upon layers of human thought through different times and places of human history may be unearthed through this process of art appreciation. Our present understanding of historical societies and cultures must also influence the process of interpreting a work of art. After all, one scholar may consider a painting with the eyes of a sociologist in our time, while another may be a trained psychologist. Such designations did not exist before now. Regardless of how an artwork is interpreted and with what lens and in which frame it is looked through; works of art stay alive as we glean historical information through them. As the following section on Wedding of Mary and Joseph shows, it is possible to develop various interpretations about the time and place of an artist even if researched historical information is there to assist us in our interpretation. Wedding of Mary and Joseph Produced by an unknown artist, Wedding of Mary and Joseph is an oil painting on canvas, depicting the couple getting married before the high priest who is clothed in a â€Å"richly flower-patterned hooded mantle (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). † There are clergymen assisting the high priest. Joseph is carrying his staff which has flowers at the top. Moreover, both the bride and bridegroom have golden halos. Ann, the mother of Mary stands right behind the bride. By Ann’s side is a suitor of Mary who has been rejected by God’s command. The suitor is shown breaking his staff, which has not flowered like the staff of Joseph (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). The painting is enriched by â€Å"gold stamping,† which â€Å"unifies the composition (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). † There are Peruvian flowers scattered on the ground where Mary and Joseph stand. This transfers the scene of the Bible from the Holy Land to Peru (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). Furthermore, it describes an important movement in Peruvian art history by the name of Cusco School (Bennett). Indeed, this painting accompanies a very important period in Peruvian history. Spanish colonization had not only managed to transfer the Spanish Inquisition to the Spanish territories around the globe, but also brought European art into Peru (Bennett). The Spanish Inquisition had claimed many lives in Europe. In Peru, the Inquisition had centered on the discovery of people who were Jews by birth, but had claimed to have converted to Christianity. These people were suspected to have gone back from Catholicism to Judaism. Thus, the Peruvian Inquisition was about punishing the Jews or converted Catholics for apostasy (Lea). The Peruvian Inquisition had taken place in the seventeenth century. Seeing that the sociopolitical environment of Peru revolved around religious affairs at the time, it is not surprising that the Christian, Peruvian artists started a new art movement – the Cusco School – to create religious art in particular (Bennett). As a matter of fact, the Wedding of Mary and Joseph is a perfect example of Cusco art. The Cusco School happens to be the largest movement of art in the Peruvian art history. The movement was represented by â€Å"mestizo painters and sculptors who produced countless depictions of religious figures adorned in gold (Bennett). † The Spanish colonizers had used religious art to teach Christianity to the New World. Subsequently, the native artists of Peru had begun to meld European art with their local style and tradition (Bennett). So, while the figures of Mary and Joseph in the Peruvian painting reveal European, Christian influence on the Peruvian artist; the flowers and long tailed birds of Peru scattered on the ground show that the artist continues to love his land despite colonization. The golden halos of the bride and the bridegroom are, of course, the signature of the Cusco School. Hence, the painting, Wedding of Mary and Joseph, reveals itself as an excellent tool to understand the culture of Peru with respect to Spanish colonization. By discovering more about the conditions of the artist’s time, history of the Americas may also be studied in great depth. Moreover, this painting helps viewers to appreciate how artists are influenced by their environments and the times. Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando Produced in another place and time altogether, renowned Parisian painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando (1879) shows two real girls, most probably between twelve and fifteen years of age, taking turns to perform their act at the circus (Mancoff). The facial and bodily expressions of the girls and their onlookers are open to any number of interpretations. One of the young girls is carrying balls around her chest while the other is communicating with the audience as part of her act. The girl who is communicating with the audience has a questioning, innocent expression on her face. The one who is carrying balls is possibly waiting for her turn to perform. She, too, is innocent and fresh in appearance as the other. However, she seems to be dwelling on her new experiences of semi-adulthood. Perhaps she is musing on the boys in her life – the young men who admire her very much. The audience depicted in the painting, behind the bodies of the two young girls, appears to consist of men alone after all. The men appear like judges, in their black coats, giving them the semblance of uniformed officers. Only one of the men has his face visible through the painting, and the face is hard enough for the girls to display their innocence in all its glory with the assumption that the counterpart of a harsh and doubtful attitude must be softness. Although the girl carrying the balls has her back turned toward the hard faced man, she knows that she too would have to perform. The expressions of the male and the females in Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando are rather similar to the expressions of the two sexes depicted in many of the artist’s works of the time. The woman is seen as the adored and innocent object that performs, even though the man is hard faced, perhaps weary of the work that he performs to fend for his family day after day. The woman is the amuser, the muse, and the object of entertainment to fend for. After all, she is beautiful (Norfleet). The only beautiful facet of the man is that he is strong – in Renoir’s paintings, at least. What is more, the man is always staring at the woman in Renoir’s works. He fondles her whenever he has the chance. The woman remains faithful to him – this is depicted through the innocence on her face. If she becomes unfaithful she knows that the hard faced man would discontinue supporting her. The French word for ‘thank you’ is merci, which, if used in English, perfectly describes the attitude of the woman in late nineteenth century Paris. Although Paris was one of the first places in the west where women were generally believed to have been liberated, Renoir’s painting reveals that the women were definitely not liberated through promiscuity or debauchery. Rather, the urban Parisian women in the late nineteenth century seem to have been given permission by their men to be out and about, entertaining them, while remaining faithful to their innocence as well as their marital vows (Norfleet). As the facial expression of the young girl carrying the balls in Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando reveals – women understood their position in Parisian society even as they were aware that men and women are equally dependent on each other. Then again, the painting remains open to numberless sociological interpretations. Figure of a Mother Holding a Child As our analysis of Renoir’s painting shows, it is possible to understand the situational context of a painting in any number of ways. Sociologists and historians may be more interested in discovering the history of society in a block of time. If psychoanalysts were to join in, there would be various intricacies of the human mind revealed through artworks. On that note, Figure of a Mother Holding a Child is a very interesting sculpture because there are multiple ways of understanding its import. On one hand, the sculpture is a perfect depiction of the pain of starvation that the African people have been experiencing for a long time, and that nobody outside of Africa has done anything consequential about – despite the fact that the entire world discusses it. On the other hand, it represents a ritual that the Lulua tribe of the Democratic Republic of Congo had practiced for its own survival (â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). The sculpture is that of a skinny, African female with an infant in her arms. The woman’s head is larger than her body. The bone lines on her neck are particularly telling. Even so, the bone lines on her neck and the wrinkles on her face had actually been created by the artist to show that the Lulua peoples had used scarification to adorn their bodies (â€Å"Lulua Tribe: Democratic Republic of Congo;† â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). Indeed, it is scarification that adorns the woman carrying the infant. Just the same the viewer is made to feel sorry for the woman and her child because they appear extremely poor. Made with wood and copper alloy, the woman in the sculpture has bulging eyes and a â€Å"pointed base (â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). † According to the Brooklyn Museum, the base was most probably â€Å"thrust into a pot containing earth and various bishimba, or materials of mineral, plant, animal, or human origin endowed with protective powers (â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). † In actuality, the sculpture had been created for a Lulua woman who had experienced difficulties in childbirth. The Lulua people believed that it was the evil spirit which interrupted the process of childbirth for women. So that the woman would attract the ancestral spirit of the Lulua tribe and get rid of the evil spirit, the artist gave her the sculpture to care for until delivery. The bulging eyes of the sculpture reveal that the woman is aware of the influence of the evil spirit that is stopping her from becoming a mother (â€Å"Lulua Tribe†). The Lulua peoples had migrated from western Africa to the Democratic Republic of Congo during the eighteenth century. These people lived in â€Å"small regional chiefdoms,† and therefore formed closely knit communities (â€Å"Lulua Tribe†). Because they were immigrants, they were rather concerned about their continuity. Moreover, the Lulua people believed that their sculptures had to be created for religious reasons (â€Å"Lulua Tribe†). The Lulua artists who created sculptures such as the Figure of a Mother Holding a Child must have had faith that they were carrying out their moral duty toward their own people. Indeed, the religious values of the Lulua people were guarded by their art. Sculptures of females were quite popular among them, as these figures exemplified â€Å"the union of physical and moral beautify (â€Å"Figurative Sculpture†). † The Lulua people believed in equating proper behavior with physical beauty (â€Å"Figurative Sculpture†). It can be inferred that the Figure of a Mother Holding a Child and all other sculptures created for the same reason were reminders for the Lulua people that the human body cannot be separated from morality. This principle is clearly exemplified by the bond between mother and child. Conclusion We focused on the political conditions surrounding the artist of Wedding of Mary and Joseph. Societal context of Renoir’s painting, Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando, was explored with a brief overview of gender relations in 19th century Paris. This study may have been conducted with historical information gleaned through novels, too. Finally, the cultural context of Figure of a Mother Holding a Child was explored. Although this discussion was centered on political, societal and cultural contexts of three works of art, it was clarified as part of the discussion that an artwork may be appreciated in any number of ways. There are countless theories and innumerable stories about the history of mankind. What is more, every piece of artwork tells a tale about the space and time of its artist alone. The work lives on as students of art and historians delve into paintings over and again. Any number of assumptions could be made about the situational context of an artwork thus. Perhaps, therefore, it is reasonable to state that a work of art has as many minds as interpreters as the number of people that consider the artwork through the passage of time. Moreover, only assumptions can be made about the situational context of an artwork. History is best left to those that lived it. After all, we only make educated guesses about what people of the past lived through to gather useful information for our lives in the present. Works Cited Bennett, Caroline. â€Å"Art and Architecture. † Viva Travel Guides. 11 Nov 2008. http://www. vivatravelguides. com/south-america/peru/peru-overview/art-and-architecture/. â€Å"Figurative Sculpture. † Central African Art. 11 Nov 2008. http://africa. si. edu/exhibits/journey/figurative. html. â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child. † Brooklyn Museum Collections: African Art. 11 Nov 2008. http://www. brooklynmuseum. org/collections/african_art/50. 124. php. Lea, Henry C. â€Å"Inquisition in 17th Century Peru: Cases of Portuguese Judaizers. † Modern History Sourcebook. 11 Nov 2008. http://www. fordham. edu/halsall/mod/17c-lea-limainquis. html. â€Å"Lulua Tribe: Democratic Republic of Congo. † For African Art. 2006. 11 Nov 2008. http://www. forafricanart. com/Lulua_ep_56-1. html. Mancoff, Debra N. â€Å"Paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. † How Stuff Works. 2008. 11 Nov 2008. http://entertainment. howstuffworks. com/paintings-by-pierre-auguste-renoir7. htm.