The Washington Family by Edward Savage, painted from 1789-1796, features American’s original “First Family.” (Fig. 1) George Washington sits around a table in his Mount Vernon home with his wife, Martha and her two grandchildren, whom the Washingtons adopted following the death of their parents. Behind them, a household slave stands ready to serve and a vast landscape sprawls outside the window. Though the painting appears to be a simple, family portrait, it actually contains deeper, political messages.
Savage depicts George Washington in a domestic setting to showcase his personal life outside of the presidency; he is depicted with his family and in his private home. However, he is also shown in uniform, alluding to his role as general. He does not grasp his sword, but instead rests his hand on a stack of papers, representing his role as statesman. It was well known that Washington intended to step out of the public sphere following the war before being elected, and that he continued to long for a quiet life at home throughout his presidency. In this work, Savage depicts Washington filling roles of general, statesman and patriarch, making the statement that he can fulfil all three roles. Further, by depicting Washington as a father figure in his domestic setting, Savage invites his viewers to connect him with the founding of the nations and thus visually establish him as the “Father” of our country. Considering the popular print version of the work distributed around the
Everyone knows George Washington as the first president, but most people do not know his other roles in the creation of the United States of America. In Joseph J. Ellis’s book, His Excellency George Washington, Ellis tells about Washington’s life. He includes his time as a general in the Revolutionary War, his life in retirement after the war, and also his time as the president. Ellis’s main focus in the book is to paint a picture for the reader so it almost feels like they are right next to Washington as his life is explained. The information in his book allows for readers to have a better understanding of what Washington went through in his life and also ,at times, gives educated guesses on what Washington might have been thinking. Through this book, it is easy to see why George Washington is referred to as one of the greatest Americans to ever live.
Painted from 1770-1773 The Peale Family consisted of nine of the Peale family members and their “faithful nurse” (Strickland 72). Willson himself is in the back left holding a palette and painting on an easel that says “Concordia Animae,” which means, harmony of souls. The unique composition of The Peale Family shows “the essential unity of the group” (Strickland 72). Connected by the hand and shoulder contact, the people in this painting seem to overlap, showing the concept of E Pluribus Unum. Popular in the 1800’s to the early 1900’s the style of conversation was used in this painting (Strickland 72). The clearness, crispness and realism represented in The Peale Family, demonstrated the classical nature of Peale’s work. Although some of his other works contain a more heroic and classical theme, they still convey the same styles. Being the first to paint a portrait of George Washington, and also painting portraits of 40 different officers from Valley Forge, Peale was known to have painted very “outstanding American leaders” (Encyclopedia of World Biography). As he painted in his classical style, Willson Peale established a name for himself that would be remembered for centuries.
Alfred Hitchcock once said “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” This idea proves to be true in Richard Connell’s short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” as Rainsford is constantly in fear from the anticipation of being caught by Zaroff. At the beginning Rainsford shows that he is a great hunter and shows no fear. When he is forced to play his game he is fearful and is scared for his life. The setting relates to the story by building suspense.
Joseph Ellis sets out to make George Washington, the person we think of as an icon, into a real person. He wants to show us what makes him tick. He wants to turn the marble into the man. So many students today see George Washington as a memorial, a monument, a face on a dollar bill, and the man who could not lie when he cut down the cherry tree. He wants to show us the man George Washington was in his day. Ellis’s method was to divide George Washington’s life into three main parts:
Leutze’s painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware, conveys that the people of America can overlook their differences and hardship when being unified by hope. He uses pathos in the color contrast in his painting to inspire feelings of hope in the unity of America. Dark color seems to loom, almost pushing upon the ships in the painting. Nevertheless, light surrounds the ships, seeming to flow from the American flag on the first ship. The American flag is a symbol of hope for the men on these ships, each of them being drastically different. The men gathered on these ships are all drastically different . George Washington himself is there, a highly respected general among common folk and even an African American man. Each of these men different in race, rank, and opinion are unified under a flag that represents each different person as a single people for the hope that they can earn their freedom. Despite the pressing darkness the flag shines a light of hope as a symbol of unity for the people of America. The pathos used in
Phillips goes on to say “Were I here to tell you the story of Washington, I should take it from your hearts--you, who think no marble white enough on which to carve the name of the Father of his Country,” and “I am about to tell you the story of a
High Noon and The Most Dangerous Game are both stories involving a main character who is being hunted. The main characters, Will Kane and Sanger Rainsford, both face similar challenges within the stories. Both intense stories take place around the time of World War II. High Noon and The Most Dangerous Game share similar characters, but they include different themes and take place in a different setting.
He stood as a symbol for national unity before a nation was even created. The author was effective on his final points, that Washington feared the possibility of dying while in office. Ellis sees motivation more than just pride. Also, he highlights three main factors of the statement that he believes many historians overlook because these factors were considered common knowledge during the 1700s. However, The Farewell did not fit with the main themes of the book because Ellis only concentrated on the key points of Washington’s presidency. Ellis failed to contribute more facts about the confrontations the leaders had when Washington’s retirement was announced. However, he did note how Washington and Jefferson were exact
The Family Crucible is a story about the Brice family who is recommended by Claudia’s psychiatrist to go to family therapy due to the fact that she has not been making any progress in individual psychotherapy. The Brice family comes in to meet with Dr. Carl Whitaker and Dr. Augustus Napier, who co-facilitate family therapy throughout the entirety of the book.
While reading The Family Crucible, the authors made it feel like I was watching a life-time television series. There were several high points and low points during the family therapy session that left me unsure of how the show would end. This book takes you on a journey using family counseling to help a family heal and communicate better with one another. I thought it was interesting how this systematic therapy took place in a time where therapy was looked at as taboo. Many times in that era family therapy was not an option. The main focus was on the family member with the issue and not on the parents or other family members. In the book the authors used different theories and approaches during the counseling sessions which were quite interesting. This process after time enabled the family to look at the journey they were on in order to understand how the family, as a whole, should function.
This paper will discuss the differences between families from the 1960’s and the families of today. There are many differences between the different times. I have focused on the parentage portion of the families. I explained what the ideal family is and how it is different today. I’ve also included ways that will help these families of today become stronger as a family.
After a thorough review of the textbook and the course material, the specific family system approach that I choose to explore is the Bowenian Approach for this literature review. This specific family system approach is also known as the Bowen Family System Theory as well (D.V. Papero, 2006). The Bowen Family System Theory was established by Murray Bowen, a theorist and psychiatrist who specialized in treating children who were deranged and had schizophrenia (Rockwell, 2010). In the 1950s, Bowen wanted to explore a new venture so he decided that he wanted all of the family members of each child to be involved in an therapeutic process at the same time (Rockwell, 2010).
n the upcoming page’s I will answer the following questions. Why is family the most important agent of socialization? What caused the dramatic changes to the American family? What are the changes? I will discuss the differences in marriage and family, I will discuss how they are linked to class, race, gender, and personal choices. The purpose of this study is to explore the many different family functions and the paths that people are now choosing. I will give my opinion on whether these changes have had a positive or negative affect. I will finally discuss the trend of the modern family, back to pre-World War II family structure, how would that effect the strides that have been made in the progression of women rights.
The families in America are steadily changing. While they remain our most valued and consistent source of strength and comfort, some families are becoming increasingly unstructured. In the past, the typical family consists of a working father, a stay at home mother and, of course, well-rounded children. Today, less than 20 percent of American families fit nicely into this cookie cutter image. American households have never been more diverse. Natalie Angier takes stock of the changing definition of family in an article for the New York Times.
The film, Precious, is a powerfully charged story that delves into the family dynamics of a 16-year-old girl and her struggles to survive an onslaught of treacherous experiences. Throughout the film, the viewer is enveloped in a dramatic web of extreme situations, experienced by the main character, and those to whom she is close. The themes of domestic violence, rape, incest, drug addiction, gambling, poverty, social justice, social services, housing and education are laced together throughout the story. Particularly poignant attention is paid to various systems that help shape the experiences of the characters. The social services industry, and its associated workers, educators and administrators, set the foundation for the social themes that are highlighted by this film.