Ray Bradbury's “The Smile” is a short story that proves that beauty can only be seen by those with not only open eyes but an open mind. In a town of poverty and radioactivity, the survivors/descendants of survivors find themselves living in the ruins of a once beautiful and lively setting. In a society where the citizens believe that the cause of their terrible living extent is because the mistakes and creations made past, the city council holds a festival where they are able to “appreciate” the past. A boy, Tom is determined to participate in the “event” where the townspeople release their anger and take revenge by destroying any form of pre-radioactivity inventions such as books, cars, etc.. However, when Tom sees that for this event they are to destroy a painting- The Mona Lisa- he refuses to disrespect the painting, but to savor a piece of it as a souvenir to keep and cherish Mona’s beautiful smile. -------- 2. SETTING “The Smile” takes place on …show more content…
In the story, Tom is faced with having a different view on things than the rest of society does. The people in the community only seek revenge because of everything that happened to them in the past, making them and the next generations follow along with what everyone else is doing. Each and every single person views the situation in the same way- they don’t see the beauty inside, they continue to stay with the same thinking that has been given to them. Like mentioned before, these people only have their eyes opened but not their hearts. Tom, on the other hand, has a different perception on the situation and not only uses his eyes, but as well as his heart. When he uses his heart, he sees the beauty in the painting, whether the portrait is real or not. He doesn’t just identify the painting of Mona Lisa has something from the past, but he also sees it as something that contains true beauty
The view of the painting brings to mind the all the senses. Smell is the first to come to mind as the smoke from the candle billows up, the burning smell reaches the noise as well as the burning cigar. The fruity smell overshadows that of the smell of chicken and peas. The noise of a dropped tray and the breaking of glass as it hits the floor makes everyone turn to the right. People talking over each other to be heard. All of the senses are realized as the painting is viewed.
...t would help bring into understandable light the mystery of the Church’s teachings. Finally, achievements in re-creating human emotion would ensure the painting’s, and therefore the Church’s teachings would leave an indelible mark on all of its viewers.
First, the size of the painting drew me in before all. It measures at 339.1 by 199.5 cm, surrounded by a large golden frame. The size alone is enough to bring in any person passing by. Once getting close, the really wonder happened. The story told by the painting
Though people can look into color and composition, others can still even look into the source of the art itself. Cole goes deeper, delving into the source of the art, looking in particular into the idea of cultural appropriation and the view a person can give others. Though it is good for people to be exposed to different opinions of a group or an object, sometimes people can find it difficult to tell the difference between the reality and the art itself. Sometimes art can be so powerful that its message stays and impacts its audience to the point where the viewer’s image of the subject of the art changes entirely. Cole brings up an important question about art, however. Art has become some kind of media for spreading awareness and even wisdom at times, but in reality, “there is also the question of what the photograph is for, what role it plays within the economic circulation of images” (973). Cole might even be implying that Nussbaum’s advertisement can sometimes be the point of some media, and that sometimes the different genres of art can just be to make someone with a particular interest happy. One more point that Cole makes is that “[a]rt is always difficult, but it is especially difficult when it comes to telling other people’s stories.” (974) Truthfully, awareness and other like-concepts are difficult to keep going when a person or a group is not directly involved.
In Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury illustrates the power of happiness to change one’s mental state and ultimately; life. He does so by creating troubled and aging characters who alter their self-fulfillment simply by smiling. He also includes scenarios where the only way to survive is by refusing to show weakness. The happiness in this novel prevails the evil and negativity surrounding the characters by filling their hearts with warmth and their mouths with smiles.
Some scholars try to discuss why different people have different feeling about this smile. These theories are from the actual figures and feeling of Mona Lisa as well as the scientific side. Some say, the Mona Lisa smile only can be seen when squinting. Some argue that the smile is so unpredictable because it takes advantage of the people in the visual disturbance. In addition to smile, what’s more important is, this painting expresses the emotion and social background of Da Vinci’s period. Initially, it is the mysterious smile that sometimes makes people feel gentle and happy, and sometimes serious, sometimes with slightly...
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
... turning some who can be seen as a blank canvas into someone new. In both ways, Evelyn and Henry Higgins are the artists to their work. Though they might not treat the people they are working with as a human, in the grander idea they have made them better. Adam finally comes to terms with his true personality, while Evelyn exposes what society believes are the norms for a person’s appearance. While, with Eliza, she leaves the life of being a beggar and becoming a duchess, showing how through hard work a person can change, and it becomes hard to return to one’s prior self. Both instances show art playing a large role in shaping their lives. From learning about life through art, people then strive to be on the same level as the art the see, trying to live a grander lifestyle. Showing that to a certain extent art can influence life more than life can influence art.
Bradbury may inflict fear among the reader but he also forces the to think about what humanity could become. He brings forth the idea that humanity has not reached it’s full mental capacity. The idea of mental telepathy being possible is shown in this book. It makes the reader consider possibilities that would otherwise be easily dismissed (Grimsley). Advancing in human mental capacity does not only mean creating new technology though, it includes understanding when advancement needs to take a break. "Because I've seen that what these Martians had was just as good as anything we'll ever hope to have. They stopped where we should have stopped a hundred years ago." (Bradbury 212) The astronauts that had the privilege of going to Mars realized
The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.
Change is evident as an idea in the novel when Tom is reunited with his childhood preache...
The mysterious smile of the painting Mona Lisa and her tenderness directly carry my imagination to the Renaissance era. Before the Renaissance liberated the thought of the public, most artworks focused to eulogize the holiness of God. The Renaissance successfully freed people from the shackles of theology and affirmed the value of human beings. Mona Lisa represented the highest art level of the Renaissance and became an important legacy for later generations to feel the spirit of the Renaissance. In this paper, I argue that Mona Lisa was a representative artwork of the humanism spirit of the Renaissance. The artist Da Vinci who created Mona Lisa managed to express the charm of human beings with delicate brushwork, exquisite expressions and
...e ability to achieve anything in life. Hopefully, readers would learn from this novel that beauty is not the most important aspect in life. Society today emphasizes the beauty of one's outer facade. The external appearance of a person is the first thing that is noticed. People should look for a person's inner beauty and love the person for the beauty inside. Beauty, a powerful aspect of life, can draw attention but at the same time it can hide things that one does not want disclosed. Beauty can be used in a variety of ways to affect one's status in culture, politics, and society. Beauty most certainly should not be used to excuse punishment for bad deeds. Beauty is associated with goodness, but that it is not always the case. This story describes how the external attractiveness of a person can influence people's behavior and can corrupt their inner beauty.
To me the painting is a way of showing you what everyone else is seeing. That the painter had the men looking right at each other so they can see themselves running away. In turn I got to see myself doing the same thing and was able to change because of it. When other people look at the painting they probably see something else. That is why I choose to do the painting, it gives you the choice too interpret it any way you see fit. Or it can just be a beautiful painting to look at, but the painting was so much more to me. It painted a thousand words for me.
At an essential human level there is recognition of beauty and creation, as Plotinus believed. There is potential for subjectivity in art and personal preference, but the principles of universality and the ability to incite emotion set apart fine art. Beauty, in the traditional concept, is irrelevant to fine art. What is beautiful changes and is subjective, so the artist does not have to capture what is beautiful in the traditional sense, but rather an idea or concept that possesses merit. Art may not be beautiful but can still possess meaning, such as Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.” Though the subject itself may not be objectively pretty, capturing the expression and mystery makes the painting itself valuable and meaningful. Beauty in fine art is not a matter of the physical image as much as the expression, message, or emotion it incites. For that reason, beauty can be frightening or sad, as well as happy and peaceful. In fine art, the artist seeks not to capture the beauty of an object or item, but the feeling that viewing this brings. This is the concept of experiencing what the artist feels and thinks, beyond the physical work