Symbolism In The Happy Lovers By Jean-Honor� Fragonard

   The role of symbolism in Bernard Malamud's The Natural is important in helping the reader understand the theme and meaning of the novel as well as the time period in which it took place.  Malamud¡¦s use of symbolism defines the character of Roy Hobbs and shows how the events occurring around him affected his decisions and, eventually, his career.

"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor is a short story that depicts a family's vacation to Florida that turned into an abysmal tragedy when they met with the Misfit, a convict who escaped from prison. This story is meant to be interpreted as a parable, whereby O'Connor made skilful use of symbolism to bring about messages such as the class-consciousness and the lack of spiritual faith that exist amongst human.

William Saroyan uses numerous literary devices such as symbolism and characterization throughout his short story, “Gaston”. He uses them to convey that parents have an influence on their children, who look up to them. He includes several details in each instance of the literary devices, to expand on the theme he is trying to convey.

“Fine then! But I am better than you in EVERY WAY!” You shout at your former friend, the anger welling up inside of you. “ Don’t even try to act like you could ever be better than me. You never could. So you can stop trying.” As soon as you spit those words out, you finally realize what you’re getting into. “You ARROGANT beast!” Your opponent shouts at you, not hesitantly at all, like the insult was a bitter taste he had to get out of his mouth. Before you know it, your actions are fueled by the burning passion of rage. About five minutes later, you are still punching the air as you are pulled of him, still trying to swing at his head, trying to hit him just once, or maybe even as many times as he hit you. You think about the fight. You don’t want to admit it, but you WERE an arrogant beast, like he said. And look where it got you. Bruised, bloody, and beaten up. Arrogance can lead to violence, and the story, “The Fight”, by Adam Bagdasarian, can very clearly reflect this theme. In the beginning of the story, Adam was cocky and arrogant. All he thought about was how great and tough he was. In the middle of the story, another middle schooler, Mike, challenged him to a fight, and Adam was petrified. At the end of the story, Adam lost the fight and was not as cocky and pride-filled.

This portrait was created in 1701 by the famous Rococo artist Hyacinthe Rigaud who was known in his time for being one of the leading portraitists of the European court. The subject of this portrait is Louis XIV whom ruled from 1643 to 1715 and was known to the people as the Sun King. Moving on, we are now viewing L'Indifférent which was created by Jean-Antoine Watteau in 1716. On its right is Jean-Antoine Watteau’s Pilgrimage to Cythera which is set on Cythera,the birthplace of the goddess of Love (Venus), a fantasy island of love and romance. The painting features beautiful pastel colors and a dreamy distant landscape. On the right of Pilgrimage to Cythera is Rosalba Carriera’s Young lady With a parrot. Young Lady with a Parrot was created in 1730 and it features a young woman with a porcelain-like face, cascaded by golden curls, and a full bosom that as y'all can see was revealed by her mischievous parrot. Next is Francois Boucher ’s Are They Thinking about the Grape? from the year 1747. As you can see it features a scene with a love-struck couple surrounded by delicate trees. The contrast between the couple’s rustic origins and their luxurious versions of country dress demonstrates Boucher’s ability to create a world suspended between fantasy and reality. Moving on, this is Francois Boucher’s Venus and Mars Surprised by Vulcan from the year 1754. This painting depicts

Everyone needs hope in their lives for the good times and the bad. Hope is an essential part of human life, which is sometimes symbolized into objects. Legend by Marie Lu is a dystopian story about Day, a slum sector teen criminal, and June, a wealthy military prodigy. Marie Lu uses Day’s pendant to symbolize the hope and freedom Day and June yearn for.

1. Pleasantville most closing parallels the story of Adam and Eve. We can most closely see this in symbols and themes. Adam and Eve are both naive to all knowledge in the world caring only about their own activities. The same goes for Pleasantville, that civilians only know/care about themselves. Both stories have individuals that have closed minds to everyone else and the rest of the world. A theme included in both stories is temptations. In Adam and Eve the apple and all the knowledge it represents, tempts the couple into eating the apple. After eating the apple they become aware of their surroundings and that their is more than the the garden they live in. In Pleasantville, after Mary Sue tempts skip, people begin to change color

in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" Flannery O' Connor uses symbolism to give more meaning to her short story. O'Connor writes a story of a Grandmother versus a Misfit, or good versus evil. This short story is about a family going to Florida, who takes a turn down a dirt road, which only causes them to get in an accident, and be found by the Misfit. This encounter prevented them from ever arriving Florida, because the Misfit ends their lives. Using symbolism, O'Connor creates a story with much meaning to the Grandmother, nature, sky, woods, their surroundings, roads, and cars to portray the constant battle between good and evil.

In today's society, we generally view upon everyone as equal beings who deserve equal rights. At the turn of the 20th century, this particular view didn?t exist. Men clearly dominated almost every aspect of life and women were often left with little importance. The Wright?s embody this view of roles in Susan Glaspell?s play Trifles. Mrs. Wright was a typical woman who suffered the mental abuse from her husband and was caged from life. In Trifles, a mixture of symbolism of oppression illustrates Mrs. Minnie Wright?s motives to kill her husband and to escape from imprisonment.

Daniel Ridgway Knight was an odd American artist who loved to paint relaxed French peasants in luscious landscapes. Ironically, he lived during a stressful time when the Industrial Revolution displaced numerous farmers and polluted the environment. He seemed to ignore the harsh truth and shut himself in his imaginary serene world. For instance, In the Premier Chagrin, translated as The First Grief, Knight paints two healthy girls conversing on a stone wall in front of gorgeous fields. At first, it appears as merely a pretty painting that is nicely contrasted to show depth and realism. Yet, with a closer look, this contrast in the colors and lines of the landscape and the figures creates tension to suggest the painter’s conflict between longing for serene freedom and feeling trapped within the stiff society.

The main focus of the painting intended by Titian is a nude woman, Venus, looking straightforwardly at the audience. The young woman’s nipples are erect; with her left hand covers her pubic area, the sexuality of this painting is unquestionable. She is completely naked except for the ring on her little finger and the bracelet around her wrist. It is clear that the intention of this painting is to evoke sensual feelings in its audience.

The caramel rebozo is referred to a “Mexican shawl.” () Throughout the story, the one item that Soledad and Celaya admire so much is this Carmelo rebozo. This rebozo is one that Soledad’s mother was working on before she died. Her mother never got a chance to finish the shawl, but it was given to Soledad. Celaya always wanted the rebozo for herself, and when her father tries to buy her a silk shawl, the evil grandmother says that there is no way a girl like Celaya will ever appreciate such a beautiful shawl. But, when the grandmother passes away, the rebozo is passed down to Celaya, and she treasures this item just as her grandmother did. In the novel Caramelo, by Sandra Cisneros, Cisneros utilizes the symbols of the caramelo rebozo in order to signify destiny, truth and lies, and fights to show the family and its members’ relationships and traditions. Cisneros uses each of these significances in order to show multiple people and events describe a theme. The caramelo rebozo is one of the most important symbols of the novel. It not only ties itself to the theme of security, safety, and leadership, but also to the other symbols presented.

I have chosen a famous oil on canvas painting: Venus and Cupid by Lorenzo Lotto made around the fifteenth and sixteenth century during the Italian Renaissance period. Overall, this piece is extremely intriguing to me, I cannot imagine how the artist created it with such detail and precision. Overall, this painting has this happy and positive mood, but it is also makes me curious as to what this painting is about. It also gives me this feeling to smile for Cupid and Venus in the painting, rather than with them, as there faces are conveyed as being happy together. Its colors similarly, just like the overall painting, has this beautiful bright and cheery color that seem to suit Venus and Cupid well.

The artists Jean-Honore Fragonard and Jaques-Louis David both successfully embody their respective stylistic differences. Fragonard’s style of painting is Rococo, which is characterized by its softness, asymmetry and curviness. Contrasting these ideals is David’s style of painting, Neo-Classicism. Neo-Classicism is synonymous with strong gestures, symmetry, and solidness. Two works that best exemplify the ideals of each style of painting are Fragonard’s The Swing, 1767 and David’s The Death of Socrates, 1787. Although at first glance, it is easier to focus on how each work is different to the other, one can argue that they are similar in theme. Both

Beauty in art is the essence of detail and Boucher mastered in his painting, “Lovers in a Park.” He was able to create a very colorful garden setting combined with a hint of tension by the figures that quickly goes away with the beauty of the scene. The idea of love being an innocent but beautiful game is being told here. The light textures, silky look, cheerful style contributed to Boucher’s material richness work. The Rocco style was a reactive approach to the Baroque style that embodied light colors, asymmetrical ideas, and playful themes. It was a more graceful approach to the other style. Boucher was a French painter, draughtsman, and etcher who was perhaps the most celebrated painter of the 18th century. His career was hugely successful with many honors received and membership to the Royal Academy. His inspiration from other artists, patrons, and important figures in his life contributed to this style of work. Boucher’s Lovers in a Park captures the true beauty of what a Rocco style painting should look like.