Analysis Of Jacque Lacan 's The Mirror Stage

Frida Kahlo is one of the most famous female painters to originate from the twentieth century, and for good reason. Her art is filled with beauty and creativity, but Frida’s main source of fame comes from the emotions that these paintings invoke, rather than the actual paintings. This is because Frida put herself into every painting she did, leaving traces of her presence all throughout this world and these traces remain long after her physical departure. Frida was a very peculiar and unique individual, hence, Frida’s definition of what a person is, or rather, what a self is, follows accordingly. The self is the reality that one conceives, and this self will live long after the physical body dies, continuing on as long as their

Self image – represents the consciousness of the person’s objectives and personal skills, as well as the good and bad of things of himself, (Piotrowski, 2005). Example: Mary is

     Sure, some of us have this great confidence within ourselves about looking great, but that does not hold true for everyone. I understand the pain or disgust, or even disappointment one feels when they look in the mirror and say, “I wish I could change this or that about myself”. Although this piece is written about the author’s life, it holds meaning and connects with for many people; one only has to dig deep enough to find one. For me, it was to realize what is important in life can change, adapt and that we must explore our inner selves and find our own path in life.

Takaki’s book, A Different Mirror, offers the multicultural history of the United States. This book provides the reader with the American experience of Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Irish Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Jewish Americans. During this time, America demonstrated manifest destiny and the Master Narrative. They were led by the belief of “white purity,” which these ethnic groups threatened. America exhibited supremacy over all of these ethnic groups. Takaki’s work allows me to become aware of the history and the outcomes of manifest destiny and the Master Narrative.

Ronald Takaki, in his book, “A Different Mirror,” tackles the traditional narrative of American History. His concern lies in the diversified structure and inclusion of parts of their world, and their relation with daily interaction between people. The problem lies, however, in that the structure of American History, is heavily dependent on a Eurocentric idea of conquering the weak. With Takaki’s narrative experience, from the beginning of Chapter 1, he reveals how through history education, ordinary Americans, generally, are subsequently narrow minded and are ill prepared to adjust to the change in demographics throughout next decades, and thereof.

Throughout history, dominant ideologies have often clashed with other ideologies, causing contradictions. In Chapter 7 of A Different Mirror, Ronald Takaki writes about the contradictions found in ideologies in US history, especially those concerning the Mexicans in Texas and California. In the 1800s, the market revolution ran the country. As new inventions, such as the cotton gin, were introduced, Americans sought to make raw goods faster and cheaper. As a result, they looked for cheap labor and more land. Believing in the Manifest Destiny, they looked westward, where there was an abundance of land. In moving west, the Americans encountered Mexicans that had recently become Americans due to the change in the Mexican-American border. This

“The look of you’s enough. You haven’t seen yourself in a mirror lately.” (pg.147) Mirrors

In the sixteenth chapter of A Different Mirror, Ronald Takaki reflects on the struggles that lead to the 'melting pot' that is America today. Beginning with Russian Jews, Takaki notes that a majority of these immigrants who fled from anti-Semitic hostilities were not Jewish by faith but rather by ethnicity after being prohibited from practicing their religion (406). Takaki further illustrates this by quoting Aleksandr A. Shlyen: "They started to beat the Jewishness out of Jews a long time ago, under the czars" (406). This is why America was presented as an opportunity to start fresh with religious freedom. Next, Takaki relates the desire of a fresh start to the Irish who were starving because of high unemployment during the Potato Famine.

Doesn’t everyone wish they could grow up faster when they are younger, but when they actually start to grow up, they just want it to slow down? Aging is a unique experience to everyone and each person deals with it differently. This theme of aging and how people see themselves can be seen both similarly and differently in “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. These similarities and differences can be seen through each author’s tone, each poem’s structure, and each poem’s overall message.

Each person reacts differently to a mirror. Some prefer to primp and tidy their face while others take a quick glance and carry on. However, there are others who continuously stare into the eyes of their alternate-self. These people wonder, “What do I see?” They are the kind of people who desperately seek answers for their existence, and will not rest until their questions are resolved. The alternate-self is the true being. Although it remains as a reflection of the physical body it is also who we see on the inside. What one sees in his or her reflection equals the truth of their nature. For some we see an innate good, but for others it is the innate evil and horror of humanity. Victor Frankenstein may claim to be such a

Self-Reflection is when someone looks at their reflection in the mirror and describe how they see themselves daily. For the past year, my self-observation has become a significant part of my image of myself, and I considered it necessary. It is important for me to be able to look at myself each morning to critique the flaws I have and wish away what I look like as a person. Self-confidence is something lacked in my world, and this experiment was extremely challenging at first. On average, I think about my appearance sixty to seventy percent of the day and wonder if how I look is acceptable for the public eye. It is not that I strive to look the best, it is that I am afraid someone may look at me and not see someone

Throughout Lyuba Encheva’s text one can understand the evolution of how humans capture the essence of a moment, feeling, occasion, etc… using visual representations. One can gather that the self portrait was considered an artistic form of visual representation that proceeded to represent what is perceived by the person who photographs or paints the portrait and the individual who is represented.

environment metaphorically, to deny the lost of paragenesis relations with motherhood. I’m not sure whether the concept here in her work reinforces the mirror stage theory or the opposite way. The infant realizes the self is the other, the self-identification constructs and reflects on the other. Woodman

Self-portraits have been used by artists for centuries to explore aspects of the self. They are the subjects they know best and artists have reflected this through their treatment of media, subject matter and techniques. Two artists who explore aspects of their personality and life experiences in their self-portraits are Frida Kahlo and Ben Quilty. Many of their artistic techniques can be derived from the same origins. Whilst there are similarities in self-portraits by any artist usually, you will find differences the norm. After all, this is what makes art and art form.

Speaking on the concepts of time, memory, and narrative, "Swann 's Way" by Marcel Proust creates a literary artwork bathed in the exploration of identity through achronological excerpts. Each recollection the narrator experiences are packed with a specific and intense contextual message, providing the audience with a unique reading experience. This paper will serve as an analysis of the construction of text observed in "Swann 's Way," followed by an explication of two passages of choice and an accompanying interpretation of each text.