What I learned This Semester

At the beginning of the semester I knew I was not into the subject I was just taking it for credits for my degree. But as we went along I actually started to enjoy what we were learning and it was one of the only classes this semester I could actually get through without zoning out. My favorite parts were going into detail about certain paintings and looking at the very small details of what made them great and what made those household artist names as big as they are today. A date idea me and my girlfriend had a long time ago was to go to the art museum just for fun, but now I am even more into the idea. I can even go in there and look sophisticated knowing a little bit about what I am talking about. But most of all it will make the experience more fun for me cause I can actually go walk up to a painting and know some of its qualities and draw from things we discussed in class and have a new appreciation for this part of our culture. Just to add a small part about music, I can more appreciate how music has evolved and it is nice to see the roots of where music started from and how it has blossomed into what it is today.

Who is the Rich Man?

Who Is The Rich Man?

One day a wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country so that the son could see how the poor lived. They spent a day and a night at the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "Very good, Dad!" "Did you see how poor people can be?" "Yeah!" "And what did you learn?" The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the house; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have the whole horizon." When the little boy was finished, the father was speechless. His son then added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are!"


This parable was interesting to me because it plays on the multiple perspectives of happiness and fulfillment. While the father takes his son to see the poor in a low economical area, the boy was able to see good in everything.  This is because the boy was not fixated upon material things and what money could buy but rather the natural joys of life that can be enjoyed by all. But to add another dynamic to the parable, it could be discussing the bliss of childhood innocence and how that can be stripped from you as you age and have to conform to the social norms of everyday life. The kid, being young, is brought joy by less because the world is newer to him and is able to enjoy things like that worry free without bills and responsibilities. While on the other hand a seasoned father has been there and done that for those things and to add insult to injury has the weight of supporting a family lessening the joy as well.


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Francisco Goya Paintings

Francisco Goya is known as a master painter, but what makes his work truly interesting is his willingness to address the darker aspects of human culture. From his Caprichos, Nadie se conoce a painting from 1796 was the one that I thought embellished this dark culture feeling. To me the painting seems to show the pig like nature of men. There is a girl walking through the middle and is the focus of the painting, but in the background you see men depicted in a creepy, monster like fashion. They seem to be staring at her which to me could symbolize the objectification of women. One more small detail is you can see another female leaning in to her looking as if she is giving her support trying to lift her spirits.



Now from the Black Paintings, the Duel With Cudgels painting had the strongest message for me. These two young men are shown ready to strike each other. But if you look deeper you can see a lot of emotion on either face. They both look like they do not want to do what they are doing. I see fear and uncertainty in both of them and it as if something is forcing them to fight to the death. To me this shows that fear can manifest in anyone and may cause you to act in ways you never thought you'd let yourself. The landscape adds a little perspective as well, seeing that they are in the middle of nowhere this could have been some kind of survival situation for both of them and being lost may have brought them to madness.

The Scourged Back

The Scourged Back photograph was and is extremely powerful even today as it brings to life how different things are from the civil war to now and those who tried to bring that change about. The African American in the photo was named Gordon and this picture takes place in Baton Rouge in 1863. The story of Gordon however starts with Gordon escaping his master cleverly by rubbing himself with onions to deter dogs pursuing him. This lead to him running into the Union after some time and joining the army. This is where I think the significance of the picture comes into play because you can see how poorly he had been treated by his master. This makes it interesting that he will now be fighting for the cause of ending the very thing he had endured for so long and that will give him a stronger motive. Also in multiple articles it stated that most African Americans were just content with being in the army because they were then seen as men and not property for once in their lives. That was the most powerful part for me is that just being acknowledged as a human being was as good as it would get for some former slaves. As for the reason that a photo is more effective than a painting in this case is that it hits you harder when you see it for how it truly was. It sticks with you more when you see a photograph because you know for sure that was a real person and that it was a real horrible situation with no exaggeration by an artist, you truly see the horror with your own eyes.

Candide Book Analysis

My interest in literature lies with Candide by Voltaire on this book analysis because of it's heavy emphasis in satire and my desire to find out every angle of it throughout the reading. This meaning I have not read it yet but am looking forward to seeing all the short stories tied together in full descriptive manors. This means scenes that were discussed in class such as Candide falling for Cunegonde in the first place, Candide's involvement in the army, and even simple things like his relationship with Pangloss. I find this very intriguing and as the story goes on it gets more and more complex and more and more satire is added on in the form of short stories regarding Candide and his quest to see Cunegonde. If I was to compare this to something I would say Candide has resemblance to the Forrest Gump movie. This is because the plot changes so extremely fast and to such a dramatic extent throughout the whole story. For example in Forrest Gump, he was a football star, then became part of the army, then became a pingpong star, and even went on to be a shrimp boat captain. This showed great irony that a person who is considered stupid, going off and being more successful than "average" people. This isn't how I think Candide's satire will be played but, it is uncanny that the ever switching story line is close in this case. As for what I expect, I think that once I read the actual literature, the satire will be a lot clearer than with a brief summary. This is because humor, irony, or exaggeration are hard to distinguish in summary, I feel like more in depth and captivating parts of the story will not only make the message clear but also make it stick in my head.  

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

When given the task of choosing an 18th century classical music composer, I came to select Mozart the iconic Austrian musician because of curiosity, I've heard the name countless times throughout my life but never investigated his actual works. So naturally, when looking his work up online I chose one of his most popular pieces to give myself the best chance of actually liking it. This piece was Andante and it did not disappoint. It automatically took my mind into a different place, not necessarily happy but just extremely peaceful and I was just free to think as it made my mind wander in a way it never normally does. If i had to describe it it was almost a nostalgic type of feeling. This piece was a concerto and the piano was undoubtedly the dominant instrument however the violins and flutes came in to add great feeling to certain portions further amplifying the zen type effect.  The tempo of the song was slow and the melody was rather static and this is what created the relaxing attributes the song possessed and what helped create the reminiscent or nostalgic mental stories I created in my head while listening. If I had to choose between a bright or somber feel I would have to go somewhere in between because it was in no means extremely happy with its slow tempo and non overwhelming instrument work, but it also wasn't sad. I think this matches well with how there is a bitter sweetness to nostalgia on looking back at moments from the past, enjoying it for the moment, but then realizing you can't relive it and things have changed. While just laying in bed and listening through the speakers on my laptop I could still definitely recommend this composer and specifically the song, and I couldn't imaging how it'd feel to listen to this audible art in a live scenario.



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Locke vs Hobbes

The choice between Locke and Hobbe's premises is difficult because both bring important ideals to the table. For me Hobbes has the right idea when it comes to the true nature and morality of men. With no rule and no one to decree what is moral and what is not, there is much doubt and no control. This would lead to men doing only what benefits them at that point. A major part of this point is that God has been a huge part of the molding of men's morality in history, the right and wrongs in the bible have been obeyed and created the foundation long ago. While that part is true I do not believe one man should be in control of everyone's moralities because those ideas are not set in stone like the works of the bible, this leader whoever he might be could change his mind at any point. This could lead to extreme scenarios such as Hitler. This is where I think Locke becomes the front runner of the two theories because he would want to see the power to the, most of the time, good intent minded people. That leaves a lot less room for error by one man if a group of people can come to a consensus on moralities. For that reason and the fact that history has shown some horrible cases of absolute rule by dictators/kings I would have to side with Locke's ideals. Even in today's society we the people still have power even thought we have a president, there are also separation of powers, state, senate etc.


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