Analysis Of ' Death On The Pale Horse '

Everyone has a different way to deal with overwhelming situations. It can be more difficult for people with mental illness to cope with the hardships of life. For instance, in “Horses of the Night,” the character of Chris has dissociative symptoms that can be linked to his depression. Margaret Laurence’s short story tells the story of Chris, a young teenager who moves to from a small farm to the town of Manawaka in order to go to high school. The story is told by his younger cousin, Vanessa. As she grows up, she learns that Chris is depressed. The author uses the theme of fantasy to show that he does not cope well with reality. The horses, Shallow Creek, and the children are symbols that show us the fantasy that Chris lives in.

In the story “Horseman,” by Richard Russo, a young English professor, Janet Moore, explores the complexities of her marriage, academic, and social life. The plot of the story, which jumps around the presence and the past memory, may seem diverse and confusing. However, in the end, Russo deliberately combines those layers, illustrates the interrelations of Janet’s experiences and relationships, and efficiently delivers Janet’s thoughts and her self-evaluation.

In his essay, “Horse and Gentlemen,” T.H. Breen describes the cultural significance of gambling, specifically in relation to the quarter-horse races, in late 17th century Virginia. Breen primarily argues that the three main aspects of gambling – competitiveness, materialism, and individualism – reflected and reinforced the socio-economic structure of Virginia in this period. The high stakes wagers of the affluent planters reinforced their dominant status in the social structure and the gentry’s right to rule over this colony. Breen’s argument to this effect is supported by letters, court transcripts, documentation of wagers, and other written first-hand accounts. Breen’s case for the cultural significance of gambling has persuasive arguments for its representation of competitiveness and materialism. However, his argument for individualism has contrary elements and his essay would have been improved with the inclusion of women’s role in the gambling culture.

This paper can analyze the context within which the work of art, "Death on the Pale Horse" was created. The discussion also will determine the medium that the creator selected still as highlight a number of the additional fascinating aspects of this Benjamin West painting.

Physically, the figures in the painting are quite exceptional. The bodies look very realistic, such as the bulging muscles of Aeneas and the life like expression of his weary father. This works kind of shows a wide spectrum of human figures, from the strong and beautiful Aeneas to his soft, gentle wife, and the sharp contrast of the old and defeated father of Aeneas, to Aeneas’s young, curious son on his grandfather’s back. The painting is evenly lit and has flawless brushstrokes throughout the painting which secures the life-like realness of the work. The shading of the muscles in the body are exceptionally life-like. The contrast between the skin colors between Aeneas and his father really give the viewer a sense of what is actually happening in the scene.

The texture of the canvas works very well with the subject matter portrayed in the painting. The grassy hill side and the leaves of the trees are especially complimented by the canvas. It makes the leaves feel like they are slightly moving, this combined with the lack of detail itself the leaves. This is contrasted nicely with the very detailed renderings of the trunks and branches of the trees, the

It is a famous example of Renaissance art showing portraiture, realism, and some perspective. In this painting there are four distinct characters. Each has a different expression that shows how they are feeling. There is also more detail in the faces then in any other parts of the painting. Another technique it demonstrates is heightened realism. Whereas before the Renaissance the figures may have been painted simply and in only enough detail to get the general idea across, these figures are shown more realistically. Lastly there is the technique of perspective as shown in the background of the painting. The sea stretches out into the sky and the land in the background is shown how it would look if the viewer was actually

“The Rocking Horse Winner” is a short story written by D.H Lawrence that follows the short and tragic life of a boy named Paul, who assumes he has amazing luck after realizing he can predict racehorse winners by furiously riding his rocking horse until he reaches a trance-like state. Unfortunately, as his family takes advantage of his gift and starts gaining more money, Paul’s luck begins to kill him. Literally. Throughout the story, there are several themes evident, such as wealth, life, conscious, existence; luck, family, and greed. The conflicts displayed are man vs man, man vs self, and man vs. society. The rocking horse has become an obsession for paul and the potential benefits it would have on his family, ultimately not knowing the actual harm it will cause.

In Zora Neale Hurtson’s ethnography, Tell My Horse (1938), she uses her research and field notes from her year in the Caribbean islands to study how the political atmosphere and culture tie into the religion of Vodoun. Being one of the first in her field to study this religion, Hurston hoped to expand research upon the subtle nuances within the African diaspora and increase the people of Caribbean’s acceptance of their African identity. In doing so, Hurtson found her research discouraged the idea of Pancaribbeanism and diminished stereotypes of Vodoun being a religion based upon only evil possession and pagan sacrifice.

The three most significant art principles I found in this painting are the contrast of the light and dark areas, the focal point being his aunt, and the sense of unity conveyed. The contrast of colors shows the natural cast of shadows within an

The use of line in this piece is also very interesting. The artist employs a high horizontal line to create a plunging effect giving the piece more depth. Another use of lines in the image is to create focal points to attract the viewer. Lines are also used to separate the different sections of the painting. Overall this painting uses lines in dynamic ways that vastly enhance the viewers’ pleasure and admiration of the piece.

The texture of the canvas works very well with the subject matter portrayed in the painting. The strong ocean current and the cloudy mountain side are complimented by the canvas. It makes the waves seem like they’re moving against the ship. The ship is nicely detailed as well as the people in the painting. The brushstrokes are very clean and precise on the waves in the foreground. The brushstrokes do create a sense of movement in the painting. The surface of the artwork looks rough where the ocean is painted and where the clouds are painted it appears smooth and soft. This artwork is linear rather than painterly.

Then there are also many psychological lines to be seen in the work. One such line is of the woman and the floor, where she is staring down towards it. Another is from the young child and the store clerk, showing a defiance between the two. Next, light and value are not very contrasting in this painting, with only the basic highlights and the shadows seen. It isn’t completely contrasting or contradicting since the colors blend well together with close to the same value ranges, dark colors seen throughout except for the people’s pale faces. There also seems to be a variety of light sources since the woman’s face along with the shop clerk and the young boy’s is lit up by what seems to be a light bulb since they’re much brighter and highlighted and then the men and women in the back aren’t really as bright, except for the ones who close to the open door, creating a blue tinge from the outside light. The shapes shown through the painting is shown to be either very round or very geometrical. There are organic shapes in things such as the umbrella or even the back of the chair, but mostly it is either straight lines and geometrical shapes. The volume shown in the painting is very much implied, correctly showing the

In the short story “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, by David Herbert Lawrence, there is this family, as the family wants to keep their economic status, the mom want’s to have money all the time. The Mom has a mental mindset of the family being rich, as she believes that she has money, but in reality, the family is not rich and they have no money as they are in debt. The mom is unhappy as the parent's marriage is unsatisfactory, the mom thought she was lucky before she got married to her husband, so she thinks that her husband gave her bad luck. Both parents have no luck. The mom does not like her own children. The mom tells his son Paul, that she and Dad have no luck. This short story has many secrets that various of the characters keep from one another. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, the theme is a Moral Obligation as Hester the mom does not like her kids and only her and the kids know, Paul keeps from his mom that him, uncle Oscar, and Bassett have been betting on horse races and that the “Rocking-Horse” gives Paul luck.

This painting is divided into three equal parts by the arches in the background and the characters correspond to each of these arches (TV12). The father is in the middle portion of the painting. The lines of perspective created by the tiled floor, draws our attention to the swords that the father is holding and the vanishing point lies just behind the handles of the sword. Our angle of vision is such that we are looking directly at the main figures groups, particularly the father. A single light source from the left of the picture illuminates the characters and also focuses our attention to the father holding the sword. This creates a ‘theatrical’ effect. The background is simple and stark so our attention is focussed on the figure groups in the painting. The painting has a wide tonal range that makes the composition logical and balanced. The colours used in this