“The pleasure which we derive from the representation of the present is due not only to the beauty with which it can be invested, but also to its essential quality of being present” (Baudelaire 793). Baudelaire’s theory of the flaneur written in The Painter of Modern Life is relevant today, most notably in the works of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Man of the Crowd and Charles Dickens Our Mutual Friend. The reading of the flanerie occurring within these narratives is the representation of urban experiences through the depiction of the landscape of London and an exploration of city street life. Our Mutual Friend captures the panoramic urban city with its people, incidents and the flaneur who observes and records reality objectively. "An 'I' with an insatiable appetite for the 'non-I' at every instant rendering and explaining it in pictures more living than life itself, …show more content…
Baudelaire likens the flaneur “to a mirror as vast as the crowd itself; or to a kaleidoscope gifted with consciousness”. Dickens novel reflects life in London’s urban environment and its vast, diverse and rich space of complex interactions and interconnected relationships. The sketches of marginal London are the reader’s compass to hidden localities and it’s mass of inhabitants, such as the “tract of suburban Sahara” (Our Mutual Friend 1: 4, 42) where Boffin’s mounds are heaped between Holloway and Battle Bridge. Dickens penetrates into the myriad nooks of sprawling London to fulfill the forensic desire of his middle-class readership, and he achieves this objective through the perspective of the flaneur in the city.
In the fullest sense of a city, Our Mutual Friend is the harvester of souls and characters are poured into its narrative. The story delves extensively
On September 11, 2001 tragedy struck in the United States. Terrorists attacked the twin towers in New York City as well as the pentagon located in Washington D.C. With a total of four aircraft hijacked, terrorists managed to fly two of these planes into the World Trade Center. Working in a normal atmosphere, New York became a city of chaos and fear after the first building was hit by the plane. Throughout the short story, “The Ashen Guy: Lower Broadway, September 11, 2001”
Nick speaks of the busy crowd racing around, never letting his eyes rest. The image of the busy crowd hustling about portrays one of Nick’s feelings of the city. He enjoys scanning the crowd and imagining that he is in certain people’s lives as they move from one place to the next. While walking in the city, Nick hears laughing and singing. These sounds of enjoyment make him want to join in with them and experience the same sensation.
This change is illustrated through a series of stories that depict the connection between the urban market and first nature. Journeys from city to country are often used to show the city’s place in its natural surroundings. The author tells the story of the city and its hinterland simultaneously and presents a history of their
Throughout Chapter 21, in A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens utilizes literary techniques in order to efficiently portray the characters emotions in response to the current happenings in London and France. During this time, Lucie Manette gives birth to a baby girl named Lucie and a son who died at only a few years old. Outside of Lucie’s life, France is on the edge of a major Revolution and has a vast effect on the daily lives of the individuals living there. Dickens conveys people’s emotions and daily occurrences through, motifs, metaphors and juxtaposition, to allow the reader to fully comprehend the lasting impact that these current events had on several characters, specifically, Lucie. At the very beginning of this chapter, Dickens opens with the sentence, “A wonderful corner for echoes.”
Not only does the “terrible burden of destiny” (32) present as a standalone phrase with linguistic manipulation, but the phrase also contributes to Sandburg’s theme in which the worst and best of situations peacefully coexist. Surrounding the “terrible burden of destiny” is a “young man… Bragging and laughing” (32-36), a city with a “pulse” (36), and “the heart of the people” (37). Intertwining the vivid language of life with a dark “burden” exemplifies that the darkness of the city exists within the lightness of the city. Illustrating an animated city despite the “painted women” (7) and “gunm[e]n” (10) Sandburg shows the city “building, breaking, [and] rebuilding” (29) displaying action coinciding with destruction by necessity. Sandburg shows that growth comes as a result of death through the “rebuilding” of Chicago shortly after “breaking.”
As the dead fill the grave in the sky, darkness spreads over the living and the black milk of night thickens, cutting off the light of a new day. Kinnell channels Walt Whitman’s words, “the living remain’d and suffer’d, the mother suffer’d, / and the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer’d,” (137-138). Though the dead are at peace, the living are left as ghosts, haunted by their own endless search for closure. Even the “City of the world!” is only full of fragile, passionate humans (130). Inside the soaring skyscrapers, the forgotten towers that symbolize the pride and passions of the world, sit humans with families and loved ones.
In Guillermo Vargas art “You are what you read” you see a very thin, unhealthy and scared looking dog, that is tied up in a room. This room is otherwise empty except for the words “Eres lo que less” (you are what you read) written in dog food on the wall. The reaction to this art was not good because a whole lot of people said it was animal cruelty. That people should boycott his art and that charged should be filed against him. People did not like the idea to be looking at something so mean
And furthermore, recognize the symbolism documented in the painting for iconographic analysis. In doing so, this will highlight and comment on important characteristics of Omnibus Life in London as it yields new information regarding the emerging shift in social inequality. Through formal analysis, the visual characteristics of the work present an interesting insight into the painting. The first emotion that I experienced with this work was claustrophobia and crowdedness. Part of the feeling spawned from the three-dimensionality of the painting.
Art was and still is a big thing in Italy. During the Italian Renaissance (14th to 16th century), art was considered to be an important role in society and paintings from the Italian Renaissance still exists today. Some artworks are Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci and The Peasants Wedding by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. These 2 artworks shows that they are from the Italian Renaissance through art characteristics such as S shapes/curves, Chiaroscuro, and how it is Realistic. With these art characteristics, it shows how they are inspired by humanism, individualism, and secularism (HIS).
An Italian artist, architect, poet, and philosopher, Leon Battista Alberti was the epitome of the Renaissance man. His expertise in these fields, as well as many other professions, led him to become one of the most significant figures in the fifteenth century. In 1435, Alberti authored On Painting, a didactic book where he laid down the rudiments of this practice for fellow and aspiring artists. Judging from the principles expounded in it, Leon Battista Alberti would have admired several features of Neroccio de’ Landi’s Annunciation (1475), but also disliked an element of that painting. He would have commended Neroccio’s spatial construction, variety in composition, and representation of emotions since they all accorded with the methods that
A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, surrounds the cities of Paris and London during the late 1700’s. The novel takes place during the French Revolution, a period of social and political upheaval in France and England. While peasants died in the streets from hunger, aristocrats had more money and power than they knew what to do with. A Tale of Two Cities describes, in detail, the poverty of the time period, as well as the struggle of a people able to overcome oppression. The novel is largely based off of occurrences Dickens experienced during his childhood.
Leaving a visible brush stroke in a painting was rarely heard of in 17th century Dutch art. However, this painterly style was mastered by Fran Hals. Hals used this style in his portrait painting to give them a sense of naturalism, and make the viewer feel like they could really connect with the subject of the painting1. This style set Hals apart from other Dutch painters of the time, making him unique and popular.
In this passage from, "The Street", by Ann Petry, Lutie Johnson's relationship with her urban setting is expressed thoroughly. The author creates a vision of the surroundings and expresses Lutie's relationship with her urban setting through the use of selection of detail, personification,imagery and figurative language. Petry begins the passage utilizing the selection of detail. She stated, "It rattled the tops of garbage cans, sucked windows shades out through the top of the opened windows and set them flapping back against the windows"(Paragraph 1). She uses details to describe how forceful the wind that was blowing was and the strength of it.
Conclusion In conclusion, the “Parable of the Sower” portrays cities as places to avoid rather than being sanctuaries due to the lack of safety and the adverse influences of corporations. However, the novel does provide some hope by proving that if we start realizing problems and planning ahead, then, cities could change and become more livable in the future. As more people move to urban areas, the way we plan, manage and develop our cities will be fundamental in creating a fair, safe, healthy and sustainable
In his essay “Here,” Philip Larkin uses many literary devices to convey the speaker’s attitude toward the places he describes. Larkin utilizes imagery and strong diction to depict these feelings of both a large city and the isolated beach surrounding it. In the beginning of the passage, the speaker describes a large town that he passes through while on a train. The people in the town intrigue him, but he is not impressed by the inner-city life.