A place for critical reading, compelling writing, and analytical thinking.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Art in Literary Analysis
What role can art play in the analysis of literature? This is a painting that reveals a lot about the boys of Lord of the Flies. A critical reader and viewer can make a lot of meaning from combining art and text.
Hi! I believe art (which is much like writing but with colors and shapes instead of words)is another form of recalling a moment in time when something profound (or something nominal) happened. Or, a thought occured, and words were not enough. For some, words and numbers are easier. For others, shapes and colors are easier. I believe art is an exceptional way for those more prone to shapes and colors to understand symbols and characters (as well as other attributes of writing).
Being one with a proclivity to shapes and colors but with a strong appreciation for words, may i ask the question... What role can literature play in the analysis of art? :)
i think its awesome when they put art in stories. it's easy on the eyes, it helps you understand if you can't imagine it yourself, because sometimes when i've been reading i have a totally different view of what the story is saying and when they put something in their to give you guidelines it can change your whole perspective.
When literature is represented through the use of art it can have something of a forfilling effect on people. Everything from the colors and shading, to the background and motion, contribute the the emotions felt by the viewer. Also one of the most interesting things is how one person could see a piece of literary art and deem it to be conveying a dark evil mood, while another viewer could portray the mood as joyous and light.
I love Sarah's comments: "Being one with a proclivity to shapes and colors but with a strong appreciation for words, may i ask the question... What role can literature play in the analysis of art? :)" Hooray for artists everywhere! They add another dimension that most people are unable to consider or see on their own. So much more meaning is created through artistic expression. Simply put, visual representations add immeasurably to our lives.
I agree with what Mr. C said when he said, "So much more meaning is created through artistic experessing." I remember going to some art museums and looking at art and coming up with my own meaning of the painting or drawing, making it more relatable to my life and experiences even though the artist may have been thinking about something totally different. Art in a way is greatly relate to music. Music I believe is an art just a different way of expressing it through verbal words, because with music you can also turn the lyrics into something that relates to you and your life. So, all in all, i believe that literature, art, and music are all related. Their an expression of emotions, and can help people get through mile stones in their lives.
WOW!...I am now re-doing my blog entry because there was an error...:(...anyways..
After reading the previous posts by everyone, I agree in someway with all of them. I believe that art work can help a reader understand a novel in multiple ways. Art work itself can tell the story to some people, while others rely on words to do so. It can also help a reader in making predictions on what is to happen in later events throughout the book. Another thing art work does for a book is draw attention. As being a book reader and buyer myself, I tend to look at books that have more art work or designs on them versus ones that are plain and have very little detail. If the picture or whatever is on the cover of the book is interesting or different I usually will examine the book more in depth. Examining the art work before reading the book helps me base my predictions on the book before starting to read. To me, this makes reading more enjoyable and interesting.
I think that sometimes art can change how you view the book. For example when we read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest there was a drawing on the cover of a person... but you couldn't really tell what it was. This gave me the idea that this book could be about anyone, including me. So it helped me to connect to the book a lot more than I would have w/out the picture. And the picture of the bust on the front of Pygmalion helped the reader to infer that a change was going to happen w/in the book but none of us were sure who it was going to be, so it got us curious and ready to read. So overall I think that art can help give the reader a reason to read the book. But sometimes it can hinder the imagination.
When reading a peice of liturature you might be able to see the setting and get a picture in your head of the story. Looking at a peice of art can help you recall images that fit into the story. Art helps you visualize the story so you can better understand it or better visualize the setting. I am a person who likes something to look at when reading a story, pictures or funky text helps me feel the mood in the book alot better.
I think that if we read stuff and then see a picture or make the picture ourself then we might understand it better because then we can try to cannect to it more
Art can play a very vital roll in the analysis of literature because you are able to see the surroundings instead of just reading about them and it helps you to be able to put a face with the characters so it helps you to relate with them a whole lot easier.
I think art can help out a story and ruin it for you. It can help out a story because there are times when ive been reading and i have a totally defferent picture in my head of whats going on, until i see the art and it helps me picture the story so i can get into it more. But at the same time it can ruin a story for me because ill already have a picture of what the characters look like in my head and the art in the book wont be the same. So it ruins it for me.
I agree and disagree with you brett. I agree because sometimes the pictures or the story gets better, but then again sometimes it does make it worse. I disagree when you say that the picture that they have given you makes the story worse, because no one is saying that that is the right picture to go by, you can and shoudl go by whatever picture comes to your mind. there is no right or wrong way to imagine.
I think art helps us visualive what is going on in the story and what the charactors look like. I agree with Brett that a picture can ruin a book because then you can't make your own picture of the story.
Writing is art with words. So it makes sense that artwork goes along with writing. Words can stimulate the imagination and create links to other ideas. Art can also do this, and when you put the two together, the overall effect is amplified so that the messege or hidden meaning in a novel is conveyed in many mediums. This ensures that on some level that the meaning that the author wants you to realize is understood.
Without art, a student is left with nothing but black and white from the pages of the book. Being given some type of artwork, students are able to expand on their imagination and it helps spark interest in what they are reading. Some books are boring and I think that by seeing artwork that portrays the meaning of the book, it helps students stay focuses and want to read more. Some parts of stories are hard to visualize alone and artwork definitely helps fill in blank spaces. It helps give us more of a connection to the book. I agree with everybody who said that it helps them visualize what the characters look like because that is sometimes hard to do. Overall art is a good time.
I dont think art can mean much about a piece of literature unless the the work of art was made to reflect the literature...if you just take some random art piece and try to say it describes a story then your just making stuff up cause it wasnt actually made to represent the story...now if the art was actually made to reflect the story then it can help you to see what is going in the story and u might also pick up things that you might have missed while reading
I think its good to have art to visualize what is happening in the book that you are reading. Visualizing is one of the six reading stratagies, and i think it helps you get a better understanding of the novel. Art can just give you a really good visual of what is happening and what things look like.
Art can set the mood for literature. A lot of times I choose what books I read by the cover (title and picture). If there is any illistrations in a book it gives me a better understanding of what the setting and characters look like so I can connect more with the book. Although a lof of books i read now do not have illistrations.
I think its good to display art since it shows alot of meaning and symbolism of what somthing represents. Art can also show different moods of how some people feel and how they relate to every day life
Art can help a person think deeper into the word on the page. Art creates a visual picture, that the author is trying to get across. Everyone may not see the same thing but from the art a person can figure out some details of the story. Plus art that goes with a story can create a bonus for people that cannot picture what is going on.
ok i have already read the book so if you hate spoilers on how the kids act just look at the next post, or click the red X in the corner and back away slowly. I beleive that this is a very good picture to represent the savageness of the hunters in the story. The black and white symbolize right and wrong and the charicters are all black so they are drifting. Also the red is what draws your eyes to the picture. The blood of their "kill" consumes them and you feel almost like the only safe place on this night is in the dense and unknown jungle.
Having art in a book or about a book takes the book to a new level. It gets the reader to think more about whats going on in the story. Give the book a new area of interest.
I'm impressed, Jenn. Intelligently, you've really noticed and stated a lot. And I cannot wait to start Lord of the Flies with you. (I've moved up Golding's book to Tuesday, February 5.) Have you had a chance to read my essay about the novel? I wrote it in a really tough graduate class at USD, ENGL 786: Seminar in Literary Criticism and Theory, with Dr. Skip Willman, a brilliant man. I was not as smart as many of my classmates, but I was willing to try and do all the reading and all the work involved. The experience was memorable, to say the least. The experience was amazingly enlightening and totally stimulating, to say the most.
"Brett's right--the wrong visual can ruin your imagined pictures." I have also noticed that when reading a book and then seeing a movie. I have already formed images about what all of the characters look like from the description in the book, and it ruins it when they don't look anything close to what I pictured in my mind. Illistrations on book covers tell a lot about the book, they are meant to, that is what they are made for. Like the cover of 'Pygmalion' for example. The statue of a more elegant woman is casting a shadow on the common/poor woman. Just like Eliza's new found elegance has overshadowed her previously common self. I like to see pictures before i've conjured up something of my own, then they don't contradict each other. It makes it easier for me.
Art plays a huge role in writing. It helps guide the perception the author is conveying. Which is one reason why I believe most childrens books have illistrations, to billed thier imaginations. So I agree with Taylor, that it is good to have illistrations which are easy one the eyes. Also the picture you have chosen Mr. C, looks as if the boys have returned to thier primal stage and have learned to work together. I look foreward to reading further and enjoyin' this book.
Art can say many things without any words. It also can be interpretted differently. This picture describes the boys on the island. The picture is of nighttime, which is the scariest times for the boys, especially the little boys. This picture is of hunters, holding their spears, ready to go find food in order to survive. Hopefully their hunting skills will get better so they can survive because they can't live off of fruit. I think the white part of the forest represents the forest, which is extremely thick.
The descriptive words Golding uses to describe the scene are amazing. He describes some of the scenes and it is like your there. Like the beginning of the book where he describes the scene of the Choir boys marching up and Jack shouting at them. His description of the flies buzzing and Simons dream are also pretty cool. I would get lost just thinking about all the different things going on, so somtimes it would be hard to concentrate with so much going on. I would agree however with the comments made that movies do ruin books. Like with Pygmalion, I'd seen the movie so it was hard for me to concentrate on the book. The movie was somewhat different than the book, so I would end up confusing myself...
Sarah Z said it all. I would have never looked at this picture the same as I do now having read the book. This picute says so much and has so many meanings. Whoever said a picture is worth a millions words was right. It is so interesting how an artist can incorporate so much meaning into a pictureor any piece of art and someone might look right through it not knowing the background. I think this picture is awesome!
Art is a very powerful thing when it comes to proving a point. "A picture is worth a thousand words" this can be very true. People tend to respond in a more proactive way when visually stimulated as apposed to verbally because they can’t see what’s going on. This picture from LOTF is very powerful because it shows the true identity of the boys and how they have reverted back to their animal like state. They have become savage and are living by the laws of the jungle, in a sense. I think this picture is great because it is fairly simple and yet makes a huge statement and there is a lot you can interpret.
35 comments:
Hi!
I believe art (which is much like writing but with colors and shapes instead of words)is another form of recalling a moment in time when something profound (or something nominal) happened. Or, a thought occured, and words were not enough. For some, words and numbers are easier. For others, shapes and colors are easier. I believe art is an exceptional way for those more prone to shapes and colors to understand symbols and characters (as well as other attributes of writing).
Being one with a proclivity to shapes and colors but with a strong appreciation for words,
may i ask the question...
What role can literature play in the analysis of art? :)
-sarah z
I think art can help people who don't understand a story to understand it better.
i think its awesome when they put art in stories. it's easy on the eyes, it helps you understand if you can't imagine it yourself, because sometimes when i've been reading i have a totally different view of what the story is saying and when they put something in their to give you guidelines it can change your whole perspective.
When literature is represented through the use of art it can have something of a forfilling effect on people. Everything from the colors and shading, to the background and motion, contribute the the emotions felt by the viewer. Also one of the most interesting things is how one person could see a piece of literary art and deem it to be conveying a dark evil mood, while another viewer could portray the mood as joyous and light.
I love Sarah's comments: "Being one with a proclivity to shapes and colors but with a strong appreciation for words,
may i ask the question...
What role can literature play in the analysis of art? :)" Hooray for artists everywhere! They add another dimension that most people are unable to consider or see on their own. So much more meaning is created through artistic expression. Simply put, visual representations add immeasurably to our lives.
I agree with what Mr. C said when he said, "So much more meaning is created through artistic experessing." I remember going to some art museums and looking at art and coming up with my own meaning of the painting or drawing, making it more relatable to my life and experiences even though the artist may have been thinking about something totally different. Art in a way is greatly relate to music. Music I believe is an art just a different way of expressing it through verbal words, because with music you can also turn the lyrics into something that relates to you and your life. So, all in all, i believe that literature, art, and music are all related. Their an expression of emotions, and can help people get through mile stones in their lives.
WOW!...I am now re-doing my blog entry because there was an error...:(...anyways..
After reading the previous posts by everyone, I agree in someway with all of them. I believe that art work can help a reader understand a novel in multiple ways. Art work itself can tell the story to some people, while others rely on words to do so. It can also help a reader in making predictions on what is to happen in later events throughout the book. Another thing art work does for a book is draw attention. As being a book reader and buyer myself, I tend to look at books that have more art work or designs on them versus ones that are plain and have very little detail. If the picture or whatever is on the cover of the book is interesting or different I usually will examine the book more in depth. Examining the art work before reading the book helps me base my predictions on the book before starting to read. To me, this makes reading more enjoyable and interesting.
I think that sometimes art can change how you view the book. For example when we read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest there was a drawing on the cover of a person... but you couldn't really tell what it was. This gave me the idea that this book could be about anyone, including me. So it helped me to connect to the book a lot more than I would have w/out the picture. And the picture of the bust on the front of Pygmalion helped the reader to infer that a change was going to happen w/in the book but none of us were sure who it was going to be, so it got us curious and ready to read. So overall I think that art can help give the reader a reason to read the book. But sometimes it can hinder the imagination.
When reading a peice of liturature you might be able to see the setting and get a picture in your head of the story. Looking at a peice of art can help you recall images that fit into the story. Art helps you visualize the story so you can better understand it or better visualize the setting. I am a person who likes something to look at when reading a story, pictures or funky text helps me feel the mood in the book alot better.
I think that if we read stuff and then see a picture or make the picture ourself then we might understand it better because then we can try to cannect to it more
Great ideas, Aichele and Larsen! Bravo! Cuckoo's Nest about anyone. Great. Feeling the mood. Exactly.
Chris--you get it, too. Connections are mental "schema," which help us to think on more significant levels. Well done.
I think it is a great idea to put art in stories. It helps us understand what is going on, plus it provides some culture along with it.
Art can play a very vital roll in the analysis of literature because you are able to see the surroundings instead of just reading about them and it helps you to be able to put a face with the characters so it helps you to relate with them a whole lot easier.
I think art can help out a story and ruin it for you. It can help out a story because there are times when ive been reading and i have a totally defferent picture in my head of whats going on, until i see the art and it helps me picture the story so i can get into it more. But at the same time it can ruin a story for me because ill already have a picture of what the characters look like in my head and the art in the book wont be the same. So it ruins it for me.
I agree and disagree with you brett. I agree because sometimes the pictures or the story gets better, but then again sometimes it does make it worse. I disagree when you say that the picture that they have given you makes the story worse, because no one is saying that that is the right picture to go by, you can and shoudl go by whatever picture comes to your mind. there is no right or wrong way to imagine.
I think art helps us visualive what is going on in the story and what the charactors look like. I agree with Brett that a picture can ruin a book because then you can't make your own picture of the story.
Writing is art with words. So it makes sense that artwork goes along with writing. Words can stimulate the imagination and create links to other ideas. Art can also do this, and when you put the two together, the overall effect is amplified so that the messege or hidden meaning in a novel is conveyed in many mediums. This ensures that on some level that the meaning that the author wants you to realize is understood.
Without art, a student is left with nothing but black and white from the pages of the book. Being given some type of artwork, students are able to expand on their imagination and it helps spark interest in what they are reading. Some books are boring and I think that by seeing artwork that portrays the meaning of the book, it helps students stay focuses and want to read more. Some parts of stories are hard to visualize alone and artwork definitely helps fill in blank spaces. It helps give us more of a connection to the book. I agree with everybody who said that it helps them visualize what the characters look like because that is sometimes hard to do. Overall art is a good time.
I dont think art can mean much about a piece of literature unless the the work of art was made to reflect the literature...if you just take some random art piece and try to say it describes a story then your just making stuff up cause it wasnt actually made to represent the story...now if the art was actually made to reflect the story then it can help you to see what is going in the story and u might also pick up things that you might have missed while reading
I think its good to have art to visualize what is happening in the book that you are reading. Visualizing is one of the six reading stratagies, and i think it helps you get a better understanding of the novel. Art can just give you a really good visual of what is happening and what things look like.
Art can set the mood for literature. A lot of times I choose what books I read by the cover (title and picture). If there is any illistrations in a book it gives me a better understanding of what the setting and characters look like so I can connect more with the book. Although a lof of books i read now do not have illistrations.
I think its good to display art since it shows alot of meaning and symbolism of what somthing represents. Art can also show different moods of how some people feel and how they relate to every day life
Art can help a person think deeper into the word on the page. Art creates a visual picture, that the author is trying to get across. Everyone may not see the same thing but from the art a person can figure out some details of the story. Plus art that goes with a story can create a bonus for people that cannot picture what is going on.
ok i have already read the book so if you hate spoilers on how the kids act just look at the next post, or click the red X in the corner and back away slowly. I beleive that this is a very good picture to represent the savageness of the hunters in the story. The black and white symbolize right and wrong and the charicters are all black so they are drifting. Also the red is what draws your eyes to the picture. The blood of their "kill" consumes them and you feel almost like the only safe place on this night is in the dense and unknown jungle.
Having art in a book or about a book takes the book to a new level. It gets the reader to think more about whats going on in the story. Give the book a new area of interest.
Brett's right--the wrong visual can ruin your imagined pictures.
Holle's right--some "culture" is the way she put it. The Arts and the Humanities are essential parts of our society.
I'm impressed, Jenn. Intelligently, you've really noticed and stated a lot. And I cannot wait to start Lord of the Flies with you. (I've moved up Golding's book to Tuesday, February 5.) Have you had a chance to read my essay about the novel? I wrote it in a really tough graduate class at USD, ENGL 786: Seminar in Literary Criticism and Theory, with Dr. Skip Willman, a brilliant man. I was not as smart as many of my classmates, but I was willing to try and do all the reading and all the work involved. The experience was memorable, to say the least. The experience was amazingly enlightening and totally stimulating, to say the most.
"Brett's right--the wrong visual can ruin your imagined pictures." I have also noticed that when reading a book and then seeing a movie. I have already formed images about what all of the characters look like from the description in the book, and it ruins it when they don't look anything close to what I pictured in my mind. Illistrations on book covers tell a lot about the book, they are meant to, that is what they are made for. Like the cover of 'Pygmalion' for example. The statue of a more elegant woman is casting a shadow on the common/poor woman. Just like Eliza's new found elegance has overshadowed her previously common self. I like to see pictures before i've conjured up something of my own, then they don't contradict each other. It makes it easier for me.
Art plays a huge role in writing. It helps guide the perception the author is conveying. Which is one reason why I believe most childrens books have illistrations, to billed thier imaginations. So I agree with Taylor, that it is good to have illistrations which are easy one the eyes. Also the picture you have chosen Mr. C, looks as if the boys have returned to thier primal stage and have learned to work together. I look foreward to reading further and enjoyin' this book.
Art can say many things without any words. It also can be interpretted differently. This picture describes the boys on the island. The picture is of nighttime, which is the scariest times for the boys, especially the little boys. This picture is of hunters, holding their spears, ready to go find food in order to survive. Hopefully their hunting skills will get better so they can survive because they can't live off of fruit. I think the white part of the forest represents the forest, which is extremely thick.
Art interprets in different/better ways. Powerfully succinct.
The descriptive words Golding uses to describe the scene are amazing. He describes some of the scenes and it is like your there. Like the beginning of the book where he describes the scene of the Choir boys marching up and Jack shouting at them. His description of the flies buzzing and Simons dream are also pretty cool. I would get lost just thinking about all the different things going on, so somtimes it would be hard to concentrate with so much going on. I would agree however with the comments made that movies do ruin books. Like with Pygmalion, I'd seen the movie so it was hard for me to concentrate on the book. The movie was somewhat different than the book, so I would end up confusing myself...
Sarah Z said it all.
I would have never looked at this picture the same as I do now having read the book. This picute says so much and has so many meanings. Whoever said a picture is worth a millions words was right. It is so interesting how an artist can incorporate so much meaning into a pictureor any piece of art and someone might look right through it not knowing the background. I think this picture is awesome!
Art is a very powerful thing when it comes to proving a point. "A picture is worth a thousand words" this can be very true. People tend to respond in a more proactive way when visually stimulated as apposed to verbally because they can’t see what’s going on. This picture from LOTF is very powerful because it shows the true identity of the boys and how they have reverted back to their animal like state. They have become savage and are living by the laws of the jungle, in a sense. I think this picture is great because it is fairly simple and yet makes a huge statement and there is a lot you can interpret.
Post a Comment