Art and the Bronco summary
O. Henry’s "Art and the Bronco" tells the story of Lonny Briscoe, a cowboy who is also an aspiring artist. It follows his quest to sell his first painting to the state legislature; to have it hung in the capital building. Lonny sees the sale of the painting as validation of his talent and worth as a painter. What he ends up learning is that the actual value of the painting turns out to be secondary to what other feel they can gain from it.
The story takes place in San Saba, a place trying to shed its image of "…barbarism, lawbreaking, and bloodshed." It presents itself as a much more refined place now, one which is now safe for tourism and business. The Legislature was lending subsidy to the arts to enhance this image. Lonny’s painting is hanging in the capital building. It is a large painting "…one might even say panorama," depicting a cowboy and steer, hung in a gilt frame.
At the capital, we are introduced to senators Kinney and Mullens, who only care about getting what they want from each other and getting re-elected. They see Lonny’s painting as a means to both ends. In the beginning, Kinney sees nothing of value in Lonny’s picture. In fact, he implies that it is awful, saying that he "…wouldn’t give six bits for the picture without the frame." Mullens agrees with Kinney’s assessment of the painting. He says that the painting is secondary to the artist—the grandson of Lucien Briscoe, a legendary local hero who is said to have "…carved the state out of the wilderness." The painting quickly fades to the background as both the senators see that pushing the state to give this hero’s grandson money is a quick way to gain public favor.
Lonny’s cowboy friends ride into town to push the paintings merits as well, adding their admiration for the gilt frame, so big and beautiful. They are very simple and undereducated, as evidenced by Skinny Rogers’ act of leaping away from the painting yelling "…Jeeming Cristopher! Thought that rattler was a gin-u-ine one," and are not as concerned about the merits of the painting as they are with the idea of one of their own getting money for it. They always speak loudly when they think there might be someone around to whom their comments might be "…profitably addressed."
She identifies that Caitlin saw it as an opportunity to show the audience the entertaining Wild West but also to assure people of the vanishing Indian threat. Some of the main work in the gallery (Portraits of Black Hawk and Osceola) were of leaders that lived east of the Mississippi, not in fact western like the Mandan’s. They were also imprisoned and not the free and wild men that Catlin was expressing. As Hight identifies the portrait of Osceola had a large impact in how his Indian paintings and gallery influenced the Indian Policy. Osceola died shortly after the portrait was drawn and was very sick while it was done. The portrait of him was depicted as a strong and healthy man when in fact he was the opposite. This supported that idea of the Vanishing Race Theory Through this observation Hight identifies that this was seen as entertainment and could make a large
In the opening sentence of this paragraph, two workers at the newspaper office are described. They are not, however, described as people though, they are instead said to be solely “two pairs of legs” (Porter 271). By describing solely this part of the people, Porter is drawing attention to a part of the body seemingly unrelated to newspaper writing. This gives the reader the impression that these two writers are either unskilled in the area or writing, or unimportant to the speaker. Interestingly, the legs are also described as, “dangling,” which paints the picture of a lifeless body. This could be perhaps indicating that these people are dead to her; both unimportant and unwanted. Porter then goes on to describe the legs as being “stuffed thickly into funnels of dark expensive-looking material.” The way in which this is described seems to imply that the fabric itself is strangling these legs that have now become representative of the speaker’s time at the newspaper. By describing the material as “dark” and “expensive looking,” Porter makes the writers at the newspaper appear to be both evil and fake. As Porter continues her description of the two writers, she notes how one of then was “oldish” and the other “youngish.” The vagueness in this description goes along with the feeling of universality in the writers that Porter has achieved by having them represented by a mere body part. Also, by having one writer be old, and the other young, the writers are closer to representing every man.
They decided to invite some of his college friends to watch over him. The Queen offered many thanks for their decision to watch him. “For the supply and profit of our hope, / Your visitation shall receive such thanks / As fits a king’s remembrance.” (2.2.24-26). Claudius asked Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to get answers out of him, making them seem more like spies than helpful friends. When Hamlet shows up to Ophelia’s house, seemingly mentally disturbed, Ophelia tells her father. Polonius decides to tell the King of Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship that he thinks that may be the source of his problems. The King and Polonius set up a meeting between the two. Seeming to know he is being watched, Hamlet acts very wildly, leading them to believe Ophelia was not the cause of his insanity. The King is not impressed at Polonius. “Love! His affections do not that way tend, / Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, / Was not like madness. There’s something in his soul” (3.1.170-72). At this point, Hamlet has started his drastic decline in his mental stability. When he is called by the Queen for a talk, he over hears something behind the draped curtains and stabs through it, killing Polonius. His reaction is not what one would expect, as he does not feel any remorse. Hamlet simply states it was for the best and his bad luck. “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. / I took thee for thy
In 1857, Bierstadt joined an expedition to the West, where he made a name for himself after painting an image of The Rocky Mountains (Pohl 162). His painting included the images of the mountains, trees, clouds, and tents where Native Americans had once stayed (Pohl 163). His large panoramic views of his landscape painting, “The Rockies” led to public interest and a strong desire to travel far to see national territory and for Westward expansion (Pohl 163). His works of the Rocky Mountains toured the US and Europe and eventually was purchased by James McHenry who was invested in the railroads which furthered Westward expansion settlement, and the development of commercial interest (Pohl 163).
York, Lamar. "Pat Conroy's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Southerner." The Southern Literary Journal 19 (1987): 34-46.
The most important binary operation in Faulkner's masterpiece is the projected idea of the rich versus the stark reality of the poor. Throughout the entire work, the scenes of the Snopes family are constantly described in detail and compared to the richness that appears abundant around them. For example, at the very beginning of the story, the young Colonel Sartoris Snopes is described as "small and wiry like his father" wearing "patched and faded jeans" which are later described as too small (Faulkner 1555). This poor child, with his tattered clothing, bare feet, and scared-to-the-bone look is juxtaposed against the wealth of the Justice of the Peace's borrowed courtroom--its "close-packed" shelves filled with cans of food, aromatic cheese, and "the silver curve of fish"--th...
College is one of the most fundamental institutions in our modern world. It is a place where most of our future politicians, doctors, scientists, and leaders are made. Though, it seems that the price tag that comes with a college education is something that is too hefty for some students. Countless debates go on about whether the price of college should be abolished or whether the cost still is on the students to pay for.
...ainting; Nighthawks and Two Women do not seem similar in the least, upon a second deeper look one begins to notice their similarities. Similarities which are found both in the actual paintings; as well as in the places in their lives which the respective artists found themselves. Both were going through a period of isolation, which was taking place in either their personal lives, society around them, or both. These feelings were passed on to their paintings, leaving us, the viewer to gaze at them, study them and hear the message which they speak.
The first bit of information shared at the beginning of the essay is a quote from Reynolds writings claiming that he wants to heighten the dignity of the art of painting. He considers it to be on the same dignified par as literature and poetry. Gill Perry claims that Joshua Reynolds dignifies painting in a variety of ways. The most prominent aspect of Joshua Reynolds female portraiture is the way that he disguises women as significant figures. This adds a lot of dignity and sophistication to his work because it adds layers of meaning to be interpreted by a viewer. He wanted to break the common interpretations of portraiture. Portraiture was considered to be much about likeness. This meaning that it simply looks like the person or makes a simple statement about the person. These concepts leave much to be
Most people think that smoking marijuana will not hurt you, but they are wrong. In the article “This is your brain on drugs” by Abigail Sullivan Moore, she tells us what marijuana actually does to your body. One of the ways marijuana affects the body is by messing with your brain. It cause you to lose I.Q. points and lose memory. Those who start smoking around the age of 18-25, by time they reach the age of 35 will lose on average 8 I.Q. points and have a hard time remembering things. Marijuana also affects the heart. It slows down the person’s heart rate, which could cause them to die from a heart attack. As you keep reading the article it tells us that the amount of people going to the hospital for drug related symptoms. For example, I was watching the news and a month or two after marijuana was legalized, 59 people had died from either overdose or a heart attack. Even though it can help heal a lot of people, if using it too much it can kill
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, college tuition and relevant fees have increased by 893 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). 893 percent is a very daunting percentage considering that it has surpassed the rise in the costs of Medicare, food, and housing. As America is trying to pull out of a recession, many students are looking for higher education so they can attain a gratified job. However, their vision is being stained by the dreadful rise in college costs. College tuition is rising beyond inflation. Such an immense rise in tuition has many serious implications for students; for example, fewer students are attending private colleges, fewer students are staying enrolled in college, and fewer students are working in the fields in which they majored in.
One day Cole set out to observe nature and it’s wilderness. He began painting pictures by first making oil sketches of American rocks, trees, sunsets, plants, animals, as well as distant Indians. From these sketches he formed several paintings. Most famous for his allegorical collection called the “The Course of Empire” and is well-known for his Landscape paintings, “The Oxbow,” “The Woodchopper,” and “The Clove, Catskills.”
Attending college has changed quite a lot throughout the years. When it first arose, it was only accessible to the wealthy, and it was unheard of for everyone else. Only a few decades ago a bachelor degree could almost guarantee a comfortable job, and it was another advantage to any resume. In our current times, many students struggle and are unable to go to college due to the rising price tag that is not showing any signs of slowing down. A college degree is what most employers look for now-a-days, making it more essential than ever before. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attain one. College tuition and fees should be lowered because 1) student loan debt is crippling for college graduates, 2) lower tuition will increase the accessibility of education, and 3) regulated tuition would lead to a
There are many good things in life that make life “good”. For instance, equality, is extremely important. Whether it be about race, sex, religion or age, all people have the right to be equal. If capable of doing the job correctly, they must receive the same wage as others doing what they are doing. As stated in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.”
As the couple waits between two destinations, Barcelona and Madrid, they are trapped in limbo "between two lines of rail in the sun"(142). The station, placed between the two lines of rails, suggest the two directions the couple may go - toward Madrid and the abortion or away from Madrid and to a family scenario. The landscape describes the conflict, both barren and fruitful. Alongside of one rail line long, white hills stretch across the horizon, the country before them "brown and dry" (143). In stark contrast to the desolate landscape of the hills, the other flank is lush and green, with "fields of grain and trees [running] along the banks of the Ebro" (145). This scenic dichotomy comes to embody the girl's sentiments regarding the abortion: the hills are barren, representing her life if she submits to her partners expressed desires and goes through with the abortion; while th...