The Bean Analytical Essay

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"The Bean" by Anish Kapoor invites contemplation on the themes of power and control and the ways in which they can lead to a distorted view of the world."The Bean" is a bean-shaped shiny sculpture made of stainless steel, located in Chicago's Millennium Park. It is designed to distort and change the reflections of its surroundings, creating a kaleidoscope-like effect that shifts and changes as viewers move around it. This garbled view of reality can be seen as a metaphor for how power and ambition can corrupt one's perception of reality. When viewing oneself or the cityscape on the surface of "The Bean," the reflections are twisted and warped, creating a surreal and dreamlike experience. This can cause the viewer to question their perception …show more content…

A quote that portrays this is: "Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee" (2.1). The question "Is this a dagger which I see before me?" shows that Macbeth is aware that what he is seeing may not be real. However, his desire for power has pushed him to such an extent that he is willing to embrace even the possibility of a supernatural weapon to aid him in his dark deeds. The phrase "come, let me clutch thee" shows how far he has fallen into madness and how deeply he is willing to embrace his twisted ambition. Furthermore, the imagery of the "bloody" dagger is symbolic of the bloodshed that Macbeth will soon cause. It foreshadows the murders that he is about to commit and reinforces the idea that his quest for power has warped his perception of reality. The dagger is also described as having its "handle toward my hand," which can be interpreted as a sign that Macbeth feels he is being led towards his gruesome fate by his own desires. This shows how Macbeth's thirst for power has blinded him to the consequences of his actions and how he is ultimately consumed by his own ambition. Another example of this is the quote: "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes” (4.1). This quote, spoken by one of the witches, is significant because it reflects the moment when Macbeth's ambition reaches its pinnacle, causing him to perceive a distorted reality. This quote suggests that Macbeth's obsessive ambition has clouded his judgment and he is no longer able to discern between what is real and what is not. The phrase "something wicked" represents the growing sense of danger that Macbeth feels as he becomes more and more paranoid. The quote highlights the fact that Macbeth's ambition has led him to perceive the world in a distorted way, causing him to become increasingly isolated and consumed by

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