Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
“Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” was written by James Agee and Walker Evans. The story is about three white families of tenant farmers in rural Alabama. The photographs in the beginning have no captions or quotations. They are just images of three tenant farming families, their houses, and possessions. “The photographs are not illustrative. They, and the text, are coequal, mutually independent, and fully collaborative.” (87) The story and the photographs contain relationships between them; in the essay I am going to inform you about the interpretations of the relationships between the readings of James Agee and some of the pictures by Walker Evans.
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This oil is not all oleaginous, but thin, brittle, rusty feeling, and sharp; taken and rubbed between forefinger and thumb it so cleanses their grain that it sharpens their mutual touch to a new coin edge.(102)
In the picture on page (31) you see a small, wooden room, in the middle of this room is a sturdy table with a peculiar tablecloth upon it; on this sturdy table is a small, glass, oil burning lamp. The lamp’s oil, interpreted to be their lives, hopes, and dreams. This oil is either half full or half empty; surely I believe it is half full. In the reading, the lamp’s oil signifies life, hope, security and safety. James Agee places these things at the center of the family’s existence. This shows that the author of “The Country Letter” places high respect towards these aspects in life. Their goals were to live life to the fullest, no one else, but themselves could make them happy.
Of such ultimate, such holiness of silence and peace that all on earth and within extremest remembrance seems suspended upon it in perfection as upon reflected water: and I feel that if I can by utter quietness succeed in not disturbing this silence, in not so much as touching this plain of water, I can tell you anything within the realm of God. (104)
This quotation signifies the belief that James Agee is cradling something so perfect and delicate that just by whispering its existence, he may just shatter the beauty. In the
Silence is an important factor in life and can be encountered in different ways, silence can be seen as peace, harmony and can also be viewed as a negative effect such as depression, sadness or even as evil. Silence also gives time to reflect on life and society and when silence there is time to reflect on faith and religion, this would allow to decide on or question religion. When silence is demonstrated it implicates the importance of peace and the chance for revival.
What if you did not count as a person anymore? You would be denied of many rights and freedoms we take for granted today. This was the situation women faced in the past. Before 1929, women didn’t count as “persons”. Although they weren’t denied of all their rights, women weren’t allowed to become senators. Five women in Alberta decided to take action and formed the Famous Five. The Famous Five fought for the rights of women by winning the Persons Case and they’re the reason why women are considered persons today.
Abina and the Important Men: a Graphical History was written by Trevor R. Getz and Liz Clarke. The story of Abina Mansah is somewhat an inspiring graphical history based on an 1876 court transcript. Abina, a woman of West Africa, was wrongfully enslaved and as a consequence, she took her former master, Quamina Eddoo, to court. The overall setting took place on the Gold Coast during the 19th century. The main scenes take place in the court room, which is filled with many “important men.” The men included a British judge, two Euro African attorneys, countrymen, and an entire jury of wealthy, high class local town leaders. This book is broken down into several parts; the graphical history, transcript, historical
A few good men starring Jack Nicholson Tom Cruise and Demi Moore is about ethic in the marines. Many characters in the movie are faced with moral dillemas Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholsons characters are faced with moral dillemas. The movie is about two marines who are accused of murdering there fellow officer, during the incestigation it is discovered that there is a practice called “code red” this is a unethical and unofficial disciplinary measure by the marine squad when a member goes against the unit. The offender is gagged, beaten, and then they are killed by their fellow officers. The accused put the blame on someone they said was higher up from them. They carried out the “code red” order because the officer was not living up to the
In “Ways of Seeing”, John Berger, an English art critic, argues that images are important for the present-day by saying, “No other kind of relic or text from the past can offer such direct testimony about the world which surrounded other people at other times. In this respect images are more precise and richer literature” (10). John Berger allowed others to see the true meaning behind certain art pieces in “Ways of Seeing”. Images and art show what people experienced in the past allowing others to see for themselves rather than be told how an event occurred. There are two images that represent the above claim, Arnold Eagle and David Robbins’ photo of a little boy in New York City, and Dorothea Lange’s image of a migratory family from Texas; both were taken during the Great Depression.
In Jennifer Baichwal’s The True Meaning of Picture, she focused on the subject of American photographer Shelby Lee Adams’ works. Adams’ pieces emphasize the culture people in poverty from the Appalachian Mountains. Baichwal also spends some time focusing on the controversy of the photographer’s images. The documentary shows direct quotes from Adams himself, the subjects of his pictures, the subjects’ family, and even art critiques. The film collides the views of all these people so that we may learn more about the Appalachian people. Throughout the course of the documentary, the
Silence is more important today than it has ever been due to the growing issue our society faces known as “the tyranny of noise”, a phrase coined by Benedictine
While many photos in You Have Seen Their Faces depict life in the south in negative light, there are a few photos that contradict this sentiment. While reading the book I found many photos that placed their subjects in a positive light and most of them happened to center around motherhood. These images portrayed the mothers as strong and determined in the face of adversity.
The first picture talks about “Good versus Bad” or “Cowboys versus Indians.” It displays a portrait of Native Americans being savage and dangerous. That is the first of four myths people tend to believe. The second picture displays a man with a gun, it is suppose to represent freedom and the outlaws of the wild west. The third picture shows a man on a horse with the sun behind him, and this is showing us how the light shines over the west and how they welcome everyone. The fourth and final picture talks about “Dazzling rewards” and the hard work men put into creating the
The illustration in #7.16, Trestle Work, Promontory Point, Salt Lake Valley by Andrew J.Russell is an image of a railroad track connecting two paths with men working on the site. Russell believed that the west was a great location to conduct his work because of the openness and freedom that was out there. Also to observe the natural scenery that it has to offer, which many have traveled to obtain such freedom and visual aspects of nature. As for #7.17, El Eaches or Three Brothers by Carleton E. Watkins is a description of a landscape winter forest by a lake, his purpose for this image was to capture the viewer's attention with the richness and the detail of the forest. For an individual to absorb the composition of the mountains in the picture
His appearance combined with the time and place he lived in made many things in his life difficult to accomplish but it also made him, Oscar Zeta Acosta, a strong and honorable man. Starting with the fact that there was a lot of racism, drugs and violence going on while he was growing up. Violence especially was a big issue. In those days, firearms were owned by anyone who either had the money or knew a way to get it and most of the times they fell into the wrong hands.
When looking at history and try to discover famous thinkers in our society, many men and women stand out. Famous thinkers are people who used critical thinking and perseverance to overcome adversity to succeed. The two that stand out in my mind are Bill Gates and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lets discuss their contributions to society as a whole, the problems or issues that they resolved, and how they were able to come up with their solutions.
Although, the media can be a reliable resource that can be utilized to recognize public heroes many individuals would reconsider, since, in many occasions the media should be focusing on the good and the positive impact that heroes have made, and because they do not, it has become more of ear tickling gossip that gives society a negative and a biased view of individuals and in many leadership roles.
All heroes are not fictional characters that have extraordinary or superhuman powers. A hero to me is a skillful or successful person who can motivate me and bring my confidence to the next level even through my down falls. A super hero in my eyes does not have any powers although you might think they do but it’s always their determination and focus that makes me believe heroes have super powers. Now that I have given you an idea of a hero to me, I can now move on to explain different types of heroes.
Spending spiritual time in silence can be difficult for many individuals because it gives them time to think and be present in the moment. Being silent also requires solitude