Against Interpretation Essays

  • Sontagian Interpretation of Graduation

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sontagian Interpretation of Graduation Interpreting and analyzing the artwork created by other people has always been a challenge for me. Who am I to say what the artist or author symbolically represents with their work? Previous English teachers would always try to explain what an author "really" meant in their work. Such claims frustrated me because I believe that no person has the right to critically analyze his work except himself. Susan Sontag's view of interpretation is very similar

  • Two Different Interpretations Of The New Deal

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    Interpretations of the New Deal The two statements show two very different interpretations of the New Deal. Interpretation I is very much in favour of the New Deal, where as interpretation II is not. I will use source based information and my background knowledge to back up both of these statements and then make a conclusion based on the evidence. Interpretation I gives much of the credit from the recovery to the New Deal, saying that "It gave them the confidence to

  • The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

    1389 Words  | 3 Pages

    variety of ways since it’s creation in 1797. Some, such as Gavin McGann, argue that ballad is a story of our salvation of Christ, whereas others dispute this, believing it to be a metaphor for Original Sin in the Garden of Eden. Whilst these interpretations may differ, the view that The Rime may be read as a religious text does not. Religion lies at the heart of the poem, focusing on the trials and tribulations of man, depicting a moving spiritual journey of sin, punishment, repentance and eventual

  • Interpretation Alternatives of Shakespeare's The Tempest

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    Interpretation Alternatives of The Tempest A production of The Tempest should emphasize the idealized methods in which Prospero uses magic to solve the problem of revenge which is so prevalent throughout his tragedies, perhaps the production might be a direct allegory for the magic of the theatre itself.   In this conception of the play, the scattering and bringing together of the characters in the script is significant in that theatre also could be said to bring people together and allow them

  • The Expretation Of Religion In The Gay Debate By Matthew Vines

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    When looking at religion from an educational perspective, conflicts may arise due to the various interpretations when analyzing religious text. When differing interpretations appear about various topics, this can then lend itself to starting conflict among people with varying opinions. Using the “The Gay Debate” by Matthew Vines as an example, we are able to look at an individual’s interpretation of the Bible regarding the topic of homosexuality and Christianity. When looking at the argument the

  • Coppola's Interpretation of Dracula as a Love Story

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    Coppola's Interpretation of Dracula as a Love Story The protagonist and story of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula have been widely interpreted and adapted in films throughout many years. Despite almost a century of time since the initial publication, Dracula has maintained its ability to frighten and mesmerize readers. Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula; however, utilizes the erotic romance of the original novel in order to depict a tragic love story. The film accurately follows the general

  • The Awakening Of Adonis Analysis

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    goddess though. And by falling in love with Adonis she has stirred up the waters on Mount Olympus. This forbidden love caused some anger to brew from the gods so they sent a wild animal Susan Sontag talks of this in her composition of essays Against Interpretation. She says “It does not matter whether an artist intends or does not intend for their work of art to be interpreted” (Sontag 6). But patience is key when one is interpreting and analyzing a painting, there must be no aspect looked over for

  • Close but not Deep: The Use of Richness in Love’s Literary Ethics and the Descriptive Turn

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    depth, fullness” (“richness”). She acknowledges that texts, which exhibit depth and fundamental principles, have intrinsic value. The texts that are associated with richness usually have multiple meanings and are open to a number of different interpretations, yet the texts should also exhibit human experience. There is a whole science around the richness of a text, called hermeneutics, which means “The study or analysis of how texts, utterances, or actions are interpreted” (“hermeneutics”). Different

  • Piercing the Veil of the Trickster Angel

    2137 Words  | 5 Pages

    overzealous pursuit of taxonomic perfection. In A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, Gabriel García Márquez defies literary interpretation in a parody of the interpretations that literary critics force on his work by writing in an absentee plot and shallow characters, instead using symbolism to hint at the parodist theme he intends. The first tool that Márquez uses against interpretation is the plot – by writing in a plot purposely devoid of any of the elements that make it rich or deep, he essentially

  • Contrary Interpretations of The Yellow Wallpaper

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    Contrary Interpretations of The Yellow Wallpaper “The Yellow Wallpaper” was first published in New England Magazine in 1892.  Charlotte Perkins Gilman, an advocate for the advancement of women, authored the short story.  She intended the piece to bring to light the inherent ineptitude of the Weir Mitchell “rest cure.”  Though this subject is addressed, many other pertinent topics are broached, ever so subtly.  Other themes in the book include the role of women in a society dominated by men,

  • Branagh's Interpretation of Much Ado About Nothing

    2319 Words  | 5 Pages

    Branagh's Interpretation of Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare's wonderful comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, is an entertaining tale of the trials and tribulations of two pairs of lovers, who must face and overcome both malicious schemes plotted against them and also their own flaws and shortcomings before finding happiness together. Although clearly a comedy, the play is not without its darker moments. Don John plots to ruin Claudio's marriage; he nearly succeeds because Claudio, and most of

  • Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus Throughout the years, there have been many interpretations of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus. However, one of the most interesting interpretations of the play would have to be one that uses the theories of Sigmund Freud to analyze the actions of the characters. The use of various aspects of Freudian theory such as the id, ego, superego, and the Oedipus Complex reveals Oedipus and his behaviors throughout the course of the play. In

  • Interpretations of William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    Interpretations of William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" has been interpreted in many different ways. Most of these rely solely on hints found within the story. I believe that his life can also help one analyze this story. By knowing that Faulkner's strongest influence was his independent mother, one can guess that Miss Emily Grierson's character was based partly on Maud Falkner. William Cuthbert Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi on September

  • Meaning, Interpretation, and Tension in Literature

    1900 Words  | 4 Pages

    consider that there may be many different meanings, or levels of meanings of the meaner. There could also be many witnesses to the event, each with her own interpretation. Each of these situations is like a different context, which could reveal a new sense. One area in which the possibility of the existence of more than one meaning or interpretation creates tension is literature. "Intention, text, context, reader – what determines meaning? Now the very fact that arguments are made for all four factors

  • Steven Spielberg’s Interpretation of Philip K. Dicks’s Minority Report

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    Steven Spielberg’s Interpretation of Philip K. Dicks’s Minority Report In the year 2054 crime has become a thing of the past. The relatively new Pre-Crime system allows the government to operate an elite police force, which with the help of three very talented and unique human beings can see into the future and prevent countless crimes, especially murders before they happen. In Philip K. Dicks’s short story, The Minority Report, the world we live in is nearly infallible. With the reduction of

  • Ethics of Psychoanalysis - Lacan’s Antigone and the Ethics of Interpretation

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ethics of Psychoanalysis - Lacan’s Antigone and the Ethics of Interpretation My paper examines Lacan’s reading of the Antigone as an allegory of our own textual and ethical obligations as readers and critics. This paper addresses both the ethics and the aesthetics of our encounter with the text. In 1959, Lacan presented Sophocles’ Antigone as a model of pure desire for his seminar on The Ethics of Psychoanalysis: Antigone presents herself as autonomos, the pure and simple relationship

  • A Psychoanalytic Interpretation of Rapunzel

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    A Psychoanalytic Interpretation of Rapunzel The familiar story of Rapunzel, as told by the brothers Jacob Ludwig Carl and Wilhelm Carl Grimm, takes on new meaning with a psychoanalytic interpretation. It is a complex tale about desire, achievement, and loss. The trio of husband, wife, and witch function as the ego, id, and superego respectively to govern behavior regarding a beautiful object of desire, especially when a prince discovers this object. The story begins in a rural house where

  • A Critical Interpretation of Hans Kung?s Historical Analysis of the Development of the Hierarchical Church

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    A Critical Interpretation of Hans Kung’s Historical Analysis of the Development of the Hierarchical Church The beginnings of the Christian church are shrouded in mystery. With the lack of evidence about that time in history, it is hard to draw conclusions of any type. However, the historical analyst, Hans Kung, has written a book to shed some light on the subject. In this book, Kung discusses his opinion on the development of the early church, and its hierarchical structure. In the following paper

  • Essay on Voltaire’s Candide: A Freudian Interpretation

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    A Freudian Interpretation of Candide Voltaire’s Candide is a humorous work depicting the misadventures of a German man who has fallen from pseudo-nobility and is forced to roam the world in search for his love and his identity. In his adventures, he encounters massive fits of violence, both inflicted by himself onto others, and by those around him. This huge amount of violent behavior brings about startling questions about morality and justice in Voltaire’s time. It becomes apparent that Candide

  • Heidegger's Interpretation of Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Gertrude Stein

    2611 Words  | 6 Pages

    Heidegger's interpretation of Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Gertrude Stein By several accounts, Gertrude Stein posed for Pablo Picasso more than 90 times during the winter of 1905-6. Each session was never quite correct, with many botched attempts and frustrations. Ultimately Picasso sent her away, stating "I can't see you any longer when I look," then created a new portrait of her nearly a year later without seeing her again. It was regarded as a curious mask-like visage, not really an accurate representation