Scarlet Letter And Dimmesdale Essays - English-language Films

Scarlet Letter And Dimmesdale In the book The Scarlet Letter, the character Reverend Dimmesdale, a very religious man, committed adultery, which was a sin in the Puritan community. Of course, this sin could not be committed alone. His partner was Hester Prynne. Hester was caught with the sinning only because she had had a child named Pearl. Dimmesdale was broken down by Roger Chillinsworth, Hester Prynne's real husband, and by his own self-guilt. Dimmesdale would later confess his sin and die on the scaffold. Dimmesdale was well known by the community and was looked up to by many religious people. But underneath his religious mask he is actually the worst sinner of them all. His sin was one of the greatest sins in a Puritan community. The sin would eat him alive from the inside out causing him to become weaker and weaker, until he cannot stand it anymore. In a last show of strength he announces his sin to the world, but dies soon afterwards. In the beginning Dimmesdale is a weak, reserved man. Because of his sin his health regresses more and more as the book goes on, yet he tries to hide his sin beneath a religious mask. By the end of the book he comes forth and tells the truth, but because he had hidden the sin for so long he is unable to survive. Dimmesdale also adds suspense to the novel to keep the reader more interested in what Reverend Dimmesdale is hiding and his hidden secrets. Therefore Dimmesdale's sin is the key focus of the book to keep the reader interested. Dimmesdale tries to cover up his sin by preaching to the town and becoming more committed to his preachings, but this only makes him feel even guiltier. In the beginning of the story, Dimmesdale is described by these words; "His eloquence and religious fervor had already given earnest of high eminence in his profession."(Hawthorne,44). This proves that the people of the town looked up to him because of the fact that he acted very religious and he was the last person that anyone expected to sin. This is the reason that it was so hard for him to come out and tell the people the truth. Dimmesdale often tried to tell the people in a roundabout way when he said "...though he (Dimmesdale) were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, that to hide a guilty heart through life."(Hawthorne,65). Dimmesdale obviously is trying to tell her that he does not want to hide with this guilt and that he will feel it and have temptations later but also that he is going to go through life with the sin. Dimmesdale is obviously hiding behind his religious mask and is afraid to come out and tell his secret. This secret tears him apart and eventually is the cause of his death. Reverend Dimmesdale was torn apart by his sin. It would make him do and think evil things. The sin even made him resort to flagellation in order to make the pain of the guilt go away. This self-prescribed torture Dimmesdale eventually lead to his death on the scaffold where he did as he promised Pearl; holding her and her mothers hand in front of the entire community. His torture included him pushing himself to become a better minister to help keep the guiltiness pushed back inside his head. He began working extremely to ensure that where his work would make the community think of him as an even more holy man who had done no wrong. In turn making his guilt rise up even more and then making himself have to push on and try to hide his guilt. Dimmesdale even puts himself through self-beatings. Where once he was a attractive man was now considered a pale, weak, emaciated coward who could barely walk and would have great pains, in which he would grab his chest. His torture brought him to his death where he died upon the very scaffold that Hester, his fellow sinner, had stood to face her punishment. Dimmesdale, throughout the book, knows of where he is and what he is doing. He is seen in the book as a reverend and to the reader as a man who is quite well-known in the community, but is obviously hiding something. This keeps the reader interested in the book, Dimmesdale's regression and why he regresses to his deathly state. What he

An Introduction to Representational Art

An Introduction to Representational Art The word representational, when used to describe a work of art, means that the work depicts something easily recognized by most people. Throughout our history as art-creating humans,  most  art has been representational. Even when art was symbolic, or non-figurative, it was usually representative of something. Abstract (non-representational) art is a relatively recent  invention and didnt evolve until the early 20th-century. What Makes Art Representational? There are three basic types of art: representational, abstract, and non-objective. Representational is the oldest, best-known, and most popular of the three. Abstract art typically starts with a subject that exists in the real world but then presents those subjects in a new way. A well-known  example of abstract art is Picassos Three Musicians.  Anyone looking at the painting would understand that its subjects are three individuals with musical instruments–but neither the musicians nor their instruments are intended to replicate reality. Non-objective art does not, in any way, replicate or represent reality. Instead, it explores color, texture, and other visual elements without reference to natural or constructed world. Jackson Pollock, whose work involved complex splatters of paint, is a good example of a non-objective artist. Representational art strives to depict reality. Because representational artists are creative individuals, however, their work need  not look precisely like the object they are representing. For example, Impressionist artists such as Renoir and Monet used patches of color to create visually compelling, representative paintings of gardens, people, and locations. History of Representational Art Representational art got its start many millennia ago with Late Paleolithic figurines and carvings. Venus of Willendorf, while not too terribly realistic, is clearly meant to show the figure of a woman. She was created around 25,000 years ago and is an excellent example of the earliest representational art. Ancient examples of representational art are often in the form of sculptures, decorative friezes, bas-reliefs, and busts representing real people, idealized gods, and scenes from nature. During the middle ages, European artists focused largely on religious subjects. During the Renaissance, major artists such as Michaelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci created extraordinarily realistic paintings and sculptures. Artists were also commissioned to paint portraits of members of the nobility. Some artists created workshops in which they trained apprentices in their own style of painting. By the 19th century, representative artists were beginning to experiment with new ways of expressing themselves visually. They were also exploring new subjects: instead of focusing on portraits, landscapes, and religious subjects, artists experiments with socially relevant topics related to the Industrial Revolution. Present Status Representational art is thriving. Many people have a higher degree of comfort with representational art than with abstract or non-objective art. Digital tools are providing artists with a wider range of options for capturing and creating realistic images.   Additionally, the workshop (or atelier) system continues to exist, and many of these teach figurative painting exclusively. One example is the School of Representational Art in Chicago, Illinois. There are also whole societies dedicated to representational art. Here in the United States, the Traditional Fine Arts Organization comes quickly to mind. A web search using the keywords of representational art (your geographical location) should turn up venues and/or artists in your area.

Street Gangs in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Street Gangs in America - Essay Example The social relationships of gangs provide teenagers a sense of belonging, an especially important need for developing adolescents. In many neighborhoods, youths are actively recruited or intimidated into joining gangs and seemingly have little choice. â€Å"A few [teens] are virtually born into gangs as a result of neighborhood traditions and their parents’ earlier and perhaps continuing gang participation or involvement in criminal activity† (Moore, 1978). The gang offers disenfranchised youths experiencing feelings of isolation that are also wavering between their native and adopted cultures and connected to neither, a family-like affiliation. These are many reasons that young people join gangs, all of which are relatively easy to understand. Therefore, this discussion will focus on the gangs themselves, their motivations, characteristics, general make-up and current trends concerning street gang activity in America. The typical age range of gang members is 12 to 24 years old with an average age of about 17 to 18 years, but this average is generally older in cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles where gangs have been in existence longer (Curry & Decker, 1998). While the numbers of younger gang members are growing, the average age of members is also increasing. Gangs are progressively becoming proportionately older as they increase in total size throughout the country. Not surprisingly, male gang members well outnumber women by a large percentage, a disparity that widens as the members become older. Gangs differ in size depending on the types of criminal activity associated with the gang. â€Å"Traditional (large, enduring, territorial) gangs average about 180 members, whereas specialty (e.g., drug trafficking) gangs average only about 25 members. In large cities, some gangs number in the thousands and even tens of thousands† (Block & Block,