The Four Perspectives of Art

How do different people perceive art?  This question has troubled me for a long time and I finally put some effort into finding the answer.  When I say art I don’t just mean paintings and sculptures though.  I am talking about movies, books, music and video games as well.  After putting some thought into this topic I came to the conclusion of there being four different stages someone can be in.  With everyone starting in stage one and ending somewhere before five.

The first category is where everyone starts off.  People in this category will feel “as one” with the character depicted in the artwork and will feel a strong emotional tie to whatever happens.  Lets make an example out of Dora. In the beginning of just about every Dora episode some sort of conflict occurs.  Nothing major though because if there was then the 5 year old watcher would get depressed.  How about we have her lose her scarf.  Then Mr. Map tells her where the scarf went, which gives the viewer a sense of relief.  After that she conquers all the obstacles, which gives the viewer a sense of accomplishment and finally she gets her scarf back; giving the viewer a sense of reward.  That pattern is typical in all child shows and books because they are in stage one and can’t handle loss, but also get strong positive emotions from happy moments.

Stage two of the perception of art is typically found in people that are teenagers or maybe a little bit older.  People in this category “take a step back” from the main character and those strong emotional ties that limit, and enhance stage one.  People in stage two can handle sharp emotional turns and catastrophic events that would make category one people hide under their bed and cry.  People in the second stage are also thrill seekers.  They look for something that can give them the strong emotional feelings that they use to have in stage one. Either through suspense, horror, or action.  Sadly stage two plots vary so greatly that I can’t give even a general example.

Stage three is more of a transition stage than anything.  Most people don’t ever make it to  this stage and sort of hover between stage two and three.  People in this stage typically play the role of an onlooker.  Not really attaching themselves the character at all but simply observing because they think that maybe they will come across a movie that can give them the thrills from stage two or the joy from stage one.  People that do get to this stage almost always graduate from this depressing stage into stage four before too much time passes.

Stage four is the final stage that a person can possibly be in.  People in stage four are masters of the piece of art they are looking at.  For example, a movie director would be in stage four for movies because he/she would be able to say “I liked the way they that scene was backlit, I should do that.” or “That character really drew me in.  I should try that.”  Instead of actually putting themselves in the movie or book, stage fourers look at the art as a critic would.

In a nutshell all this piece says is that people fall into categories when they look at art, but I found this topic interesting and meaningful.  Hopefully when you walk away from this piece you will not immediately forget all of this information but rather digest it and think about these concepts next time you are bored.

Mr. Chipmunk

Authors Note: This is a story that I wrote for my narrative piece.  Enjoy!

So then.  You want a story and I will tell you one.  Our story begins on a cool breezy day in the middle of a random prairie located somewhere on earth.  In that prairie there was a chipmunk.  This chipmunk wasn’t just any ordinary chipmunk though.  It was a special chipmunk.  Instead of the normal 10,000 hairs a chipmunk has, this one had 10,001.  Why this matters you might ask?  It doesn’t at all.  At least not to me.  But it did to him.  To Mr.Chipmunk that one hair was the most important thing in the world.  That hair allowed him to pretend that he was a prophet and get all of the other chipmunks to serve him.  Well one day he lost that precious hair…

On said cool breezy day Mr.Chipmunk got out of his bed and began to groom his precious hair -

because everyone knows chipmunks have to look nice.  Once he finished his grooming and other morningly tasks like brushing his two teeth Mr. Chipmunk decided that because it was such a nice day he would go to the thistle monument and enjoy the morning sun.  Upon his arrival at the monument two nice little chipmunks came and asked him for his pawprint.  Mr. Chipmunk of course agreed because, why wouldn’t he help out these two little admirers.  Sticking his hand in some pinesap Mr. Chipmunk carefully put his hand on two leaves and, after ensuring that both prints were identical he handed the leaves back to the kids.  Continuing on his way Mr.Chipmunk finally arrived at the monument.  While he was looking at the monument one of his very precious hairs got stuck on the monument.  “No,  not my hair!” exclaimed Mr. Chipmunk loudly.  No-one was around to hear him though and he had to figure out his problem by himself.

After spending a couple of hours shouting and trying to get any random passerbies attention Mr.Chipmunk deciding to just yank his hair out of the thorns and hope for the best.  After several countdowns and many failed attempts he managed to free his hair from its prickly prison.  What he didn’t realize was that one of his hairs was missing.  At least, not until later.

*      *      *

Years passed and Mr. Chipmunk grew plump and old, feeding off of others work while doing none of his own.  He still pretended to be a prophet and even prevented Chip War III.  Other than that nothing happened in his life until he was almost dead.

On his deathbed King Chip the II declared that he wanted Mr. Chipmunks hairs counted so that he could document his status as a prophet.  Acting on this order three chipmunks came forward and counted his hairs but all three of them came up one hair short of the 10,001 and declared him as a non-prophet.  Seconds after they declared that Mr. Chipmunk died a disgraced death.

Reading Reflection

Authors Note: I had absolutely no interest in righting this piece so it probably isn't very good.

When I was a kid life was boring.  It was dull and repetitive to me.  That is when I turned to fantasy books for entertainment.  They gave me something to think about during the day and dream about during the night.  Because of that I am still an avid fantasy/adventure reader today.  

In elementary school I started to develop book likes and dislikes.  This is the section of my life where I really turned toward fantasy and also read the occasional action/adventure book. Animorphs, Harry Potter, Alex Rider and Artemis Fowl all display that.

In 6th grade and Middle School I really defined my reading list with books that had almost exclusively fantasy and adventure in them.  Rangers Apprentice which is my all-time favorite series fits into this section of my life as well as brotherband and Inheritance.  I have also picked up a couple of dystopian books recently such as Enclave and Legend but for the most part I am still a fantasy lover.

As I looked at my reading history I realized that I really couldn’t conclude on what type of reader I am.  I still love fantasy and adventure but historical fiction has appealed to me as well as dystopian titles.  Basically, I love all books.

To Kill a Mockingbird (my last seventh grade piece

To Kill a Mockingbird is not a story about birds, or animal abuse. This novel is a book of knowledge and courage which both teaches and fixes people's view of life. Because even though the title is "To Kill a Mockingbird," it is just suitable to title it "To Kill Our Stubborn Misconceptions".

This novel is full of courage shown by Harper Lee. During her lifetime, there was a huge concept of racism going on in America. However, Harper Lee wrote To Kill a mockingbird, which is about racism in the society, to go against racism that is overwhelmingly real. To present her message her through her book to the society was a very dangerous action. However, this book touched people's deepest heart, and people's conscience and awakened them to the painful reality. Therefore, this novel is one of the finest classic American novels and is universally acclaimed, because of two reasons. (One)To Kill a Mockingbird educates the whole world about racism around the world, and the themes that teach knowledge about life.  (Two)It shows the need for love and compassion, and  helps bring a reality check to people who read it.
 
Harper Lee expresses the merciless global racism through her book. Not only are the colored people criticized from the whites but also the Radleys are part of the white society that was discriminated. The Radleys lived differently from the rest of the Maycomb people. However, just by living in a different style, the people believed that they were different human beings. Even Jeremy described Boo Radley as "[he] [is] about six-and-a- half feet tall, judging form his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that is why his hands were bloodstained."(P13) This is rather a description suitable for monsters than a human being. Just by a different life style, people create weird concepts about Radley.

Also, racism in Maycomb is very serious, they have different churches and different picnic areas. They consider "nigger-lover" as one of the abusive language, however, "nigger-lover" is used by "ignorant, trashy people"(p108) when they believe somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves."(P108) People who are jealous of people who love black people more than white people use this "ugly term to label somebody."(P108) Racism comes from different lifestyle, or different appearance. However, once this digs a gap between two societies, it builds up a great feeling of dislike between two societies. They just need to understand each other but by trying to keep their own egoistic minds, they create racism. If they can not understand each other, then everyone would have to live in jail alone. This is why racism is a foolish idea. Once whites believe that blacks are lower than they are, this is the same as approving themselves that they are equal to the blacks. This is because if people get insulted and respond back to the name "nigger-lover", "it just shows how poor that person is."(P108) This is just the same as when Jem and Scout fights, although Scout loses, she believes Jem and she is equal because "Jem is fighting Scout back."(P138) As Atticus agrees that he is a nigger-lover, and this is because "he want to do his best to love everybody"(p108); it is important to love everybody in order to understand each other.

There are two main universal themes in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Courage and maturity are the two main universal themes, which teaches people about life. There is courage in almost every single character in this novel. First of all Harper Lee has the courage to write this book, and publish it. The children in this book, Jem, Scout and Dill learn real courage in their childhood. They are almost forced to face the reality at young age and understand it. It must be very hard and painful for younger children, who are filled with innocence in their heart, to understand the reality of unfairness. However, they did see it through people living in Maycomb and watching the trial. Jem is able to conquer his fear of Mrs. Dubose when he was able to apologize to her. Scout has the courage to run to her father when people were trying to harm Atticus. Atticus has courage to stand for what he believes even though the whole community believes it was wrong. This idea not only provides courage to readers but also teaches them how to stand out in front of the society although the whole society hates it. This idea is what people really need in order to break the idea of racism. Also the second main theme, which is maturity shows great change and achievements in one's life. Scout in the beginning is a young innocent child. However, as she experiences different situations and faces the reality, she gains the knowledge about life. Her understanding allows her to grow. She knows the difference between reality and fantasy. She started to look at things differently and able to decide which one is right and which one is wrong. At the end of this novel, Scout believes that "Jem and [Scout] would get grown but there was not much else left for us to learn."(P279) This is because she has seen the reality of the world and she is enlightened that most people are really nice when one finally sees them."(P281) She finally found out that people are more the same than different.

Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird is enriched with knowledge about life such as racism and universal themes. This book emphasizes how human beings are all the same inside their heart. With her unique format of writing style, Harper Lee inserted many witty remarks in her novel. Her book is easy to follow and it grabs readers' attention through connecting short stories and create a whole piece. Although it is made up of short stories they are all connected and very clear. She added on universal themes which people know but do not take it by heart. She knows that in this universe there are connections in every aspect, and no matter what, human beings are human beings. There is no greater person or no lower person. They are all equal and they are actually all very kind deep inside their heart. Therefore, understanding is the most important wisdom in order to live. This knowledge is needed for teenagers, adults, and people all over the world. Therefore, To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the finest classic American novels and a story of universal need

Skiing descriptive essay

The morning air brought chills across the land. Trees shook and snow flurried about the ground creating the mountain smog. The cold metal of the chair lift endured the morning breeze comfortably, while the two on it sat silently tucking themselves away from the frigid air. Puffs of clouds rose from both of their mouths as they breathed in the rejuvenating gusts, only to disappear from sight within a few seconds. The quiet breath of the mountain and the groaning of the iron monoliths holding the two companions was all that was heard.

The lift dragged the onlookers forward, pushing through the morning breeze. Their suits could not have contrasted more. The sitter on the right wore pale blacks, blues and whites that matched the colors of the mountain. The mountain's own blood was put into the suit he wore. The sitter on the left wore a dark yellow jacket, whose tone jumped to the eye. The jacket emitted a radiance that drew the attention and opinion of all, but the lift sitter was content his choice of non-conformity. They both sat with their chins tucked into their jackets and their arms glued to their sides, just like a child might when things do not go his way. Their skis looked like modified rainbows and illuminated the white backdrop of snow that lay below them.

The main peak of the mountain lay ahead of them, and two other peaks stood out at both left and right. The mountain ridge hugged the chair lift and extended far back behind the skiers creating a winding valley. Beyond the ridge line to the right lay an open meadow high in the Sierras that was invisible to the lift sitters. A gap between two peaks to the left revealed the breathtaking view of Lake Tahoe.

And then they were at the end of the train.  The two skiers then got off the lift and got on to the trail,  Ending the long, beautiful journey up the mountain and beginning a new one on the way down.

Descrimination

Discrimination.  It's the basis of human nature.  It's what we do when deciding if something is right or wrong, or if someone is to young or old.  But is it fair though?

Of course not!  Every day I am told that I'm not old enough to do something.  Or not wise enough and sometimes that I just wouldn't understand.  But who are they to judge that?  Furthermore, how would they know that without first asking me?  It's those moments that make me feel under-respected and somewhat frustrated.

But even though being judged unfairly isn't the best part of life, discrimination is still good.  I do it all the time and so do the other 7 billion people that live on this planet.  For example, every morning when I wake up I choose a cereal to eat for breakfast.  That's discrimination.  So is choosing what type of milk I want for lunch and deciding who I want to sit with.  All of that was discrimination, which is why it's important.  Because without discrimination no-one would know right from wrong, dark chocolate from white chocolate (oh no!), or fun from boring.

As long as it's used properly and is not abused, discrimination can still be good.  Even though it's the basis of human nature we still need to use it properly -- fair or not...

The Chronicles of Nick Theme

In The Chronicles of Nick the main character endures more in the first book than Katniss of The Hunger Games does in her entire series.  This is because the main character Nick, is thrown into a chaotic world.  One that he doesn't understand and doesn't want.

     One of the main themes in The Chronicles of Nick is survival.  This is because Nick is a Malachi and almost every preternatural being is trying to kill or capture him.  Plus his dad is a super-powered psychopath, not the best of parents. . .

     Another theme in The Chronicles of Nick besides survival is the loss of innocence.  Nick is taken from his "normal" world and forced to mature into an adult.  He really doesn't have a choice in the matter either.  Either he takes on the burden of him being born of evil, or he gets consumed by it.

     A second series that has these themes is the Inheritance Cycle.  In the beginning of the Inheritance cycle the main character Eragon finds a stone that turns out to be a dragon egg.  The very same dragon egg that the empire has been looking for for a long time.  When the Empire finds out that Eragon has the egg they immediately try to kill him.  From that point on Eragon is attempting to survive the Empires wrath.

The Inheritance Cycle  also features the loss of innocence.  When the stone Eragon finds turns out to be a dragon egg and hatches Eragon must take care of it and hide it from everyone -- including those he loves.  Once the empire finds out that Eragon has a dragon he must run for his life.  And in the process lose all of his childhood comfort

Because Nick got thrown into a strange and chaotic world where everyone wants him dead I think that the themes of

The Chronicles of Nick are survival and loss of innocence.