Susan Sontag's Beauty

What is the definition of beauty? Webster’s dictionary says “the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses”, but to some people true beauty comes in fire. Such is it with the society seen in Fahrenheit 451. As Shown during the course of the novel the differences of character, acts, and opinions between Montag and Captain Beatty burn brighter that the kerosene drenched houses at night.

A Streetcar Named Desire “Stell, it’s gonna be all right after she goes and after you’ve had the baby. It’s gonna be all right again between you and me, the way that it was. You remember that way that it was? Them nights we had together?” (133) -Stanley Stanley believes and tries to convince Stella that the tensions between them and all the problems that it caused will die down as soon as Blanche leaves them.

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Being born in America in 1933 has shown to impact Susan Sontag, a liberal author and human rights advocate, when she stated, “I do not think white America is committed to granting equality to the American Negro... this is a passionately racist country; it will continue to be so in the foreseeable future,” on Quotestoknow.com. Susan Sontag, born in the great depression, has set the scene for To Kill A Mockingbird in an extremely powerful way. The citizens in To Kill A Mockingbird experience prejudice in many different ways. A very impactful and influential woman in this novel is an African American woman named Calpurnia.

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Beauty is cherished in a place that is ugly. Anything that is perfect is looked at to be hailed. ANything that is

Marissa Miranda Professor Bronstein English 1A 9:15 am -11:20 am Beauty In “Beauty,” Alice Walker discusses the differences and perceptions of beauty and how beauty is valued. Walker uses her article -her life journey as an example of how beauty changes based on how it is perceived. She talks about her child image, the accident, her and her family’s reactions, the desert she was able to see, and how her daughter freed her. She uses the metaphor of the world in her eye in order to redefine what society sees as beautiful in her article.

Thus, beauty, a concept that is assumed to be subjective, now morphs into something objective. Valenti notes that in popular culture, for instance, the most desirable woman is depicted as one

Natural Beauty is Perfection Itself In the short stories “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the value of science over human life is established. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the characterization of beauty, emotion over love, versus intellect over science, and an exploration of creator over creation. He presents an idea about scientific research, especially regarding feminine beauty. These tales are told with a motive to give the audience a sympathetic understanding of women’s beauty; which is something precious and already the model of nature’s perfection.

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In 1.6 of Enneads, On Beauty, by Plotinus discusses the common questions surrounding beauty. Such as, what is it? Why are we, as humans drawn to it? Why are some things thought to be beautiful while some are not? And, how do we know when we see beauty, or something ugly?

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In the essay, “ Why We Take Pictures,” the author Susan Sontag states that photography is not only a simple tool for seeking pleasure but can also be used against anxiety and as tool of power. Sontag emphasises the importance of photography during traveling by stating the anxieties that people can face if they are not taking pictures. First, Sontag points out that people feel disorientation in a new place the uncertainty of what the new place will be like can cause people to panic. However, taking picture enables people to have certain control over the new environments the fact that one knows where he or she is at and where he or she has been, helps individuals cure their anxieties. Second, Sontag indicates that anxieties during traveling can also be caused by the guilt of not being at work.

Claudia recognizes that if we conform to the Western standard of beauty, we may gain beauty but only at the expense of others. However, Claudia learns to love Shirley Temple; Claudia “learned much later to worship her” (Morrison, page 16) This suggests that the idea of beauty is something that is learned and not natural or

However, what one may see as beautiful may not be so through another’s gaze, which leads me onto my next point about beauty and desire. Beauty & Desire Firstly, if something is considered good, it does not mean that it is beautiful or that there is a desire for it. As Umberto Eco states, we can enjoy something for what it is and not desire it. Therefore, beauty and the good are subjective, clarifying that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, a term coined by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford in her text Molly Bawn from 1878.