Gods of the Modern World by José Clemente Orozco is a mural that exhibits a varied amount of lines and line types. These lines further emphasize the message behind the images. The message is for the education system a warning, showing a place where it cannot find itself going. It must stay about teaching young people instead of occupying their time. Elements in this picture are magnified by the vertical and actual lines that help make up this work. Vertical lines can be found in the scholars standing behind the skeleton, watching, as she gives birth to small scholar skeletons. These vertical lines give the scholars a distant feel, successfully making them aloof and untouchable, as well as creating the feeling of them being without emotion.
This image also includes actual lines; these lines include the woman skeleton’s ribs and limbs. These lines are flowing and actually painted, with no gaps and breaks found in them. This creates the feeling of substance and tangibility to the figure as it is sprawled out on stacks of books. These lines and more help to not only deliver further to the message of the picture, but also, to bring it vividly to life. Warning of the all too clear possibility that we will all just drone on in life learning nothing applicable to real life. Successfully getting us nowhere and wasting our time. These lines further clarify the meaning and make the overall affect more pleasing to the eye.
The Kingdom of Matthias by Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz is a story of the rise and fall of a religious cult established by Robert Matthews (Matthias). Within his kingdom, Matthias and his followers, abided by Matthias, believes of the subjugation of women by men. Even though at the time the cult was in existence the United States was experiencing two great movements that urged the forward progression of women, the Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening. Two women in particular are mentioned in Johnson and Wilentz’ book that were really suppressed by Matthias and his subjects. One was Isabella van Wagenen, the slave that worked in Mount Zion and even Matthias’ own daughter Isabella Matthews Laisdell. The Kingdom of Matthias reveals the 19th century experienced the presence of an oppressive “prophet” known as Matthias who tyrannically degraded women through cruel treatment, sexual advances, and belittling them in a society that was starting to notice the inclination of women’s rights, all of these violent and atrocious acts eventually lead to the downfall of Matthias’ kingdom.
"You're a human being, not an animal. You have the right to be loved" (262). "Son of the Revolution" by Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro was a book that showed how inhumane many of the aspects of Chinese life were during the Cultural Revolution. The book followed Liang Heng through many of his childhood memories to his departure from China in his twenties. The book applied a real face to the important movements during the Cultural Revolution, the effects that "the cult of Mao" had on society and Heng, and the way the period affected Heng's personal family life.
In the book, Apostles of Disunion, author Charles B. Dew opens the first chapter with a question the Immigration and Naturalization service has on an exam they administer to prospective new American citizens: “The Civil War was fought over what important issue”(4). Dew respond by noting that “according to the INS, you are correct if you offer either of the following answers: ‘slavery or states’ rights’” (4). Although this book provides more evidence and documentation that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, there are a few places where states’ rights are specifically noted. In presenting the findings of his extensive research, Dew provides compelling documentation that would allow the reader to conclude that slavery was indeed the cause for both secession and the Civil War.
The author of Mexican Lives, Judith Adler Hellman, grapples with the United States’ economic relationship with their neighbors to the south, Mexico. It also considers, through many interviews, the affairs of one nation. It is a work held to high esteem by many critics, who view this work as an essential part in truly understanding and capturing Mexico’s history. In Mexican Lives, Hellman presents us with a cast from all walks of life. This enables a reader to get more than one perspective, which tends to be bias. It also gives a more inclusive view of the nation of Mexico as a whole. Dealing with rebel activity, free trade, assassinations and their transition into the modern age, it justly captures a Mexico in its true light.
The Shadow of the Galilean by Gerd Theissen is a fictional narrative about a Jewish merchant, Andreas, searching for information about a group of people known as Essenes, John the Baptist, and Jesus of Nazareth. While traveling through Jerusalem Andreas was imprisoned by the Romans thinking he was a part of a demonstration against Polite when his mission was to find Jesus. Andreas writes, “I never met Jesus on my travels through Galilee. I just found traces of him everywhere: anecdotes and stories, traditions and rumors. But everything that I heard of him fits together.
Under what circumstances would you go through to better and provide for your family? Would you embark on these six deadly sins above to just get a simple loaf of bread on the table? There is no solid blame or black and white definite answer throughout this novel, The Devil’s Highway. The author Luis Alberto Urrea takes his readers to different perspectives and offers different points of view whether you appear to be a walker, coyote, or the border control on the topic of illegal immigration. Being that Urrea puts the reader in each person shoe’s and truly sees what immense, harsh, conditions for example these immigrants had to go through. Again there is no solid blame or black and white answers, both sides are at fault and in need of a solution to the problem.
Zora Hurston was an African American proto-feminist author who lived during a time when both African Americans and women were not treated equally. Hurston channeled her thirst for women’s dependence from men into her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. One of the many underlying themes in her book is feminism. Zora Hurston, the author of the book, uses Janie to represent aspects of feminism in her book as well as each relationship Janie had to represent her moving closer towards her independence.
Every individual has two lives, the life we live, and the life we live after that. Nobody is perfect, but if one works hard enough, he or she can stay away from failure. The Natural is a novel written by Bernard Malamud. It is Malamud’s first novel that initially received mixed reactions but afterwards, it was regarded as an outstanding piece of literature. It is a story about Roy Hobbs who after making mistakes in his life, he returns the bribery money and is left with self-hatred for mistakes he has done. Hobbs was a baseball player who aspired to be famous, but because of his carnal and materialistic desire, his quest for heroism failed, as he was left with nothing. In the modern world, the quest for heroism is a difficult struggle, and this can be seen through the protagonist in The Natural.
Author Mariano Azuela's novel of the Mexican revolution, The Underdogs, conveys a fictional representation of the revolution and the effects it had on the Mexican men and women who lived during that time. The revolutionary rebels were composed of different men grouped together to form small militias against the Federalists, in turn sending them on journeys to various towns, for long periods of time. Intense fighting claimed the lives of many, leaving women and children behind to fend for themselves. Towns were devastated forcing their entire populations to seek refuge elsewhere. The revolution destroyed families across Mexico, leaving mothers grieving for their abducted daughters, wives for their absent husbands, and soldiers for their murdered friends. The novel's accurate depiction also establishes some of the reasons why many joined the revolution, revealing that often, those who joined were escaping their lives to fight for an unknown cause.
"God of the Oppressed" is a history of the African American Struggle through the complex account of its author, James H. Cone. Written in 1975, "God of the Oppressed" is the continuation of Cone’s theological position, which was introduced in his earlier writings of, "Black Theology and Black Power," (1969) and "A Black Theology of Liberation" (1975). This final account was put together and published as a response to the continuous dismissal of Black Theology. This response shows Cone’s use of personal experiences, knowledge, and faith to explain the actual God of the oppressed found in Black Theology. The importance of the chosen title is maintained through all ten of Cone’s chapters because every detail leads the reader to a further understanding of the God of the oppressed. The 1975 publication date also proves of importance because it assisted in shaping Cone’s extreme religious position. This extremist position came from a time period when there was a universal dismissal of Black Theology and at the peak of Black Power movement.
The Old Gringo is a fiction novel written by one of Latin America's most renowned and eloquent authors, Carlos Fuentes. Filled with war, adventure, love and more, this novel takes you back to the Mexican revolution fought in 1912. This contemporary fiction is based on many themes found and experienced by the main characters in this novel. The relationship between Mexico and the United States, the drive to find one's true self and the different ways two men need a woman are only a few themes contained in this story. The question: Is he Ambrose Bierce or just an old gringo, is one that I had to answer while reading this book. We all have different opinions, but it is a question that all ask themselves while reading The Old Gringo.
Savannah is the city of Southeast Georgia near the mouth of the Savannah River. James Ogelthorpe founded it in 1733, it is the oldest city in Georgia and has been a major port since the early 19th century (Soukhanov, p.1606). Savannah has been called that gently mannered city by the sea and indeed it is, with Spanish moss hanging from the huge oak trees and the shine of the moon reflecting off the pillars of Savannah’s grand mansions. Ones imagination can conjure up a simple setting where the clop of hooves on the cobblestone streets echo in the mind and sweat from the glass of a delicious madiera leaves a ring on the tabletop.
her whole life. Hurston, in the beginning of the book, said that women “forget all those things
Utopia as a text is a clear reflection and representation of More’s passion for ideas and art. Through the character of Raphael, More projects and presents his ideas, concepts and beliefs of politics and society. More’s Utopia aims to create a statement on the operations and effectiveness of the society of England. This text is a general reflection of More’s idea of a perfectly balanced and harmonious society. His ideas and concepts of society somewhat contrast to the rest of 16th century England and indicate a mind that was far ahead of its time. A number of issues and themes are raised throughout the text to which More provides varying views and opinions. These are transmitted and projected through the perspectives of the fictional Raphael, More and Giles.
the way that they do. We are able to see why Lakunle is an outsider,