Art & the Artist Organization Chart

Art & The Artist Prewriting

What Dreams May Come
     For Chris Nielson, art is comfort.  When he say Heaven for the first time, he viewed it as he saw paradise in his wife's paintings.  Only when he became comfortable with his death and his new-found abilities in the afterlife, did he see Heaven as a real place.  For Annie Collins-Nielson, art was a way to cope with her depression.  Her husband encouraged her to paint to help herself see past the death of their children.  She continued to use it as a form of expressing her emotions when Chris died, as seen through her painting of the dark tree on her last canvas.  For both characters, art is whatever they believe it to be.  The artist's role in society was to create a paradise, like how Chris was able to live through his wife's works when he arrived to Heaven.  It can also be effectively utilized in our lives as a form of connection.  Chris and Annie were able to speak to each other through Annie's paintings before she committed suicide.

Curiosita
     As a child, I always liked to play dress up and use my stuffed animals in fashion shows.  My Christmas lists would be filled with dress up clothes and accessories.  One year, I even asked for colored wigs for my birthday so I could pretend to be a pop star.  I remember when my sister got a trunk of Disney princess heels for her birthday, and I was jealous.  They didn't even fit me. A couple of years ago, my family and I went to New York for vacation, and I loved it!  The people there are so diverse and I saw a lot of interesting styles.  I hope to visit again, maybe during fashion week, just to watch people and their unique styles.  In my future, I think my artistic vision will be to travel.  I loved, and still love, to go to new places and learn about their culture.  I think that clothing is a large part of culture, and I hope to learn more about this while I visit other places.  

TED Talk
     For Thelma Golden, art is a form of connection, expression, power, and curiosity.  It retells a story and has the ability to change people's perceptions.  The artist's role in society is to nurture imagination and the spirit of creativity that come from art.  Artists should be catalysts for change through their work, because all art is powerful.  According to Golden, we can effectively use art in our lives to change how we view the world and use it as a platform for innovation.  For example Harlem is a city embodied by art, but Golden mentions that the people living there are always thinking about the past and the future, but never the present.  They look towards what the city could become.

Art Topic Selection
     I have chosen dress for my surface culture topic.  Some shallow concepts of culture to which it relates are: concepts of beauty and notions of modesty.  The way people define modesty determines the way that they dress.  For example, modesty is an important value for Amish families, so the females usually dress in long skirts or dress that cover their skin.  Similarly, the way people dress often influences how others see them as beautiful.  Some deeper concepts of culture to which it relates are: concepts of cleanliness, concept of "self", and roles in relation to sex.  They type of clothes that people dress in usually make a statement about their lifestyle.  Dirty, torn, or frayed clothing can be an indicator of how that person values their cleanliness and their individual identity.  Certain clothing items are labeled by society as "masculine" or "feminine", which also makes a statement about a person's identity when they are seen in clothes that do not match their biological gender.

Final Research Paper

Research Proposal, Research Questions & Annotated Bibliography

Research Paper Final Topic Selection & Final Graphic Organizers

Fences Socratic Seminar

Home & Family Socratic Discussion

Part 1:

Troy lives safely (Ordinary World, Limited Awareness)

Troy finds Alberta (Big Change, Consequences, Experimenting)

Troy steals second (Self Actualization, Mastery)

Part 2:

1.      The description of Troy as “a large man with thick, heavy hands” promotes a powerful character.  The audience sees Troy as a force to be reckoned with, because words like “thick”, “heavy” and “large” are normally associated with things that are strong.  The second part of the stage directions—“it is this largeness that he strives to fill out and make an accommodation with”-- almost foreshadows his goal throughout the play, by stating that Troy wants a large life.  He wants to live a life that pleases him more than his ordinary rituals.

2.      I think that the character of Troy Maxson is believable and realistic.  Many people would categorize him a bad father, but I think that he is the best dad that he knows how to be.  His affair with Alberta is because he feels like he has played it safe his entire life, which is a concept that leads many people to cheat on their significant others today.  Troy also hard on his children, especially when it comes to Cory and his decision to play football, because he wants their success, like any other parent.

3.      Bono holds the role of Troy’s conscience throughout the play.  He is a loyal follower and a close friend of Troy, but his relationship with the main character is much deeper than that.  Bono helps Troy make decisions and tries to show him right from wrong, because he truly cares about his friend; he even tells Troy that he loves him.  This role as a conscience is clearly shown in Act 2, scene 1, when Bono advises Troy not to mess things up with Rose, “a good woman” because of his affair with Alberta.

4.      Troy is not a hypocrite when it comes to his assertions regarding family responsibilities.  He stays with Alberta, because she makes his feel free, but also because they have a child together.  When Alberta dies, he feels that he has a responsibility to take care of his innocent child.  This is not much different that his relationship with Rose and their children.  He tells Cory, “It’s [his] job. It’s [his] responsibility! You [Cory] understand that? A man got to take care of his family” (1.4.181-182).  Troy recognizes that he has a responsibility to provide for the family that he has made, but he does not believe that he has to have an emotional connection to them. 

5.      Cory is convinced to go to Troy’s funeral during his conversation with Rose.  She tells him that, “[Troy] wanted [Cory] to be everything he wasn’t… and at the same time he tried to make [him] into everything he was” (2.5.133-134).  After this, Cory finally realized that everything Troy did to hurt Cory was to keep him from hurting himself.  His acts weren’t selfish, but protective.  To grow up, Cory must forgive, not hate and become stuck in the ways of Troy.  Attending the funeral might suggest that Cory will grow up to be better than his father.  He has said “no” to Troy by refusing to hold grudges like those that shaped Troy’s life and thoughts.

6.      The climax of Fences was when Alberta dies during childbirth and Troy vows to face death head-on.  Before this event, Troy is happy with his life, despite his falling-out with Rose and his multiple confrontations with Cory.  In his mind, he has come a long way from living a safe life with Rose to stealing second.  Alberta’s death is his breaking point, that’s eventually leads to his own death.

7.      Blues is a style of music that relates troubling experiences faced by African Americans.  Fences is an account of a broken family, which is fitting for the blues style.  This influence is also seen in Troy’s song about his old dog Blue.  The diction of the play fits with the casual slang-like wording of many blues songs.

8.      Gabriel is a very interesting character in the play.  As Troy’s brother he provides another example of Troy’s assertions about family.  Troy looks out for his brother and credits Gabe for his ability to own “a pot to [pee] in”, yet there is still no emotional connection between the two characters.  Gabe is also a very pure character, because of his disability; he sees the good in everyone.  This is essential to the play, because it gives the audience a different view of Troy.  In the last scene of the play, he calls out and asks his dead brother if he is ready to ascend to heaven, characterizing Troy as someone worthy of the afterlife (a very different view as seen throughout the play).

9.      Gabe’s biblical references to the hellhounds, St. Peter, his role as an angel, and the gates of heaven provide a greater degree of consequence for all actions taken during the play.  Troy’s name is also a mythical allusion to the Battle of Troy, which began after infidelity between the king and queen of Sparta.  This reference is clearly seen in the internal battles that take place after Troy’s infidelity to Rose.  Troy references many cultural allusions to the history of race in baseball, which shapes his beliefs and ultimately his relationship with his son, Cory.

Part 3:

1.      A house is an establishment in which people, usually family or friends live.  A home is the permanent dwelling in which family members come together.  For Cory, the place that he lived was most likely just a house.  In it he felt to sense of permanence or belonging, and the love he received from Rose was probably overshadowed by what he felt from Troy.  This was especially apparent when he asked Troy, “How come you ain’t never liked me” (1.3.156)?  A house becomes a home when there is warmth associated it—when someone can walk into the house and be surrounded with a sense of security, tradition, and acceptance.  In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, this familiarity lies in the tradition of dancing around the kitchen with her father until she fell asleep.  She says, “The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death” (1-3).  The girl in the poem has made a connection between her father’s scent and the joy of dancing with him, which makes this small gesture seem like home.

2.      Suffering or success of one family member can greatly impact the others.  A success can bring a prosperous time to other family members and create a shared joy.  As seen in “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath, suffering can negatively affect other family members.  Plath was tormented by the vision of her father.  He passed away when she was eight, leaving her to attempt to find ways to recollect his memory.  Her marriage to Ted Hughes, a man similar to her father, showed her that he wasn’t worth her time.  She says, “Daddy, daddy, you [hated person], I’m through” (80).  The suffering that Plath’s father caused her led her to commit suicide and to leave her two children motherless.   

3.      In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the speaker of the poem has a tradition of dancing around her kitchen with her father.  She quotes that, “You beat time on my head/ With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed/ Still clinging to your shirt” (13-16).  The familiarity of her father’s worn hands and whiskey breath creates a feeling of warmth and safety—so much so that the speaker falls asleep to these cues often.  Traditions like the one displayed in this short poem create a sense of security by establishing a norm for members of a family.

My Questions:

1.      Analyze the statement that genetics does not make a family

a.       Rose take cares of Troy and Alberta’s baby, because she realizes that the baby is innocent and needs love in order to grow up and live a decent life.  Even though she does not truly accept Troy’s reason for the affair, she still values her original dream of a family where no one has to clarify who they are talking about when they say “mom” or “dad”.  Although she is not Raynell’s biological mother, she will still raise her as if she were.  As in “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, tradition and love, not genetics makes a family

2.      Evaluate the role of “tough love” in parenting

a.       Troy is definitely a clear example of a parent who implements tough love.  He never shows an emotional connection to his children during the play.  His relationship with Cory is the most prominent.  Troy stops Cory from playing football, because he does not want his dreams to be crushed.  He kicks Cory out of his house to teach him that being a man in putting actions to your words.  Troy’s actions may seem harsh, but he truly wants the best for his son.  By pushing him, Cory turns out better for it.  This concept is also in “Slam, Dunk, & Hook” by Yusef Komunyakaa.  “When Sonny Boy’s mama died/ He played nonstop all day, so hard/ Our backboard splintered.  The speaker doesn’t mention any of the boys providing sympathy for their friend.  They let him play, to work it out on his own, because that’s what they knew he needed.

3.      Evaluate “letting go” as a theme of growing older

a.       In order to finally grow into his own person, Cory must finally say no to his father.  Rose makes Cory realize that holding a grudge against Troy won’t make him a man, because it would make him the same man that his father was.  In order to finally grow up, he must forgive all that Troy did to him.  Similarly, Sylvia Plath must let go of her father in her poem, “Daddy”, in order free herself of him.  She has devoted so much of her life to hating him and trying to find a piece of him that she lost when he dies, that she forgot to live her own life.  In order to stop the torment, she finally says, “Daddy, daddy, you [hated person], I’m through” (80).

Fences Fishbowl Blog Discussion: Education in the 1950s

Segragation in schools

·         Briggs v. Elliott

o   Unequal segregated schools

o   “For every dollar spent on a white child only 24 cents was allotted for a black student”. 

o   “Most rural black schools had neither electricity nor running water. ”

·         Davis v. School Board of Prince Edward County

·         Bulah v. Gebhart and Belton v. Gebhart

o   Longs walks to school

o   Not allowed to share busses with white children

·         Brown v. Board of Education

o   Separate is not equal

·         1957: Little Rock Nine

o   First integration of schools in Arkansas

o   President Eisenhower had to order troops to escort the children

Educational Progress

·         Average teacher Salary- $4,000

·         $215 spent per student, today $10,615 spent per student

·         At age 25, only 36.4% Caucasian people had a high school degree, only 13.7% African American people

·         Firs t ACT in 1959

Effects of the Cold War

·         Pushed more math, science, and foreign language education

·         Additional millions of dollars added for education reform

Sources

       America's Schools: 1950s vs. Today. Digital image. TakePart. Take Part, n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2015. <http://www.takepart.com/sites/default/files/Americas_Schools_Take_Part_Infographic.png>.

       "The Decision." Separate Is Not Equal. National Museum of American History, n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2015. <http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/5-decision/decision.html>.

       "Five Communities Change a Nation." Separate Is Not Equal. National Museum of American History, n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2015. <http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/index.html>.

       Sass, Edmund. "American Educational History: A Hypertext Timeline." Ed's Resources. N.p., 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Jan. 2015. <http://www.eds-resources.com/educationhistorytimeline.html#1900>.