In the book How I Got Cultured, Phyllis Barber tells the story of her childhood in a western Mormon household. Through stories and episodes of her early life she descriptively explains the difficulties she faces between her Mormon values and her desire to become a successful star. She wants to be noticed, and be the center of everything, and the Mormon Faith allows very little tolerance for this behavior in that they are a very conservative group. She uses her talents and abilities to assist her in her search of her “culture”
I can definitely relate to Phyllis Barber in this dilemma, though she comes from a totally different faith and also era. Growing up in a strict Christian household gives me a sense of what Barber is trying to tell us in her memoir. When I was younger I played football and was crushed when the season in my seventh grade year came to an end when my mother wouldn’t let me play because it interrupted my Christian life, in that I wasn’t attending youth group during the week anymore.
In contrast to Barber, my childhood environment was extremely rich with culture and the battle between right and wrong was a very difficult one in that perception of right and wrong differentiated between faith and the real world. Barber struggled to find her “culture.” She frequently speaks of the Hoover Dam, I think she refers to the Hoover Dam as a symbol that represents the separation that I talked about. She is stuck between two worlds: Mormonism and a place where talent could forge it’s own path.
She describes that the Dam separates Arizona and Nevada. In my opinion, this is a direct reflection of her life.
Not only is Barber constricted by her Mormon faith to live the life she dreams of, but she is faced with the moral value of a woman perceived in the fifties. She isn’t “supposed” to want the things that she does, or dream the dreams she dreams at night. She is “supposed” to be quiet and stand to the side and not “shine.”
She continues to tell not only of her love for attention through music, but also through dance. She is introduced to ballet, which, to say the least, begins to satisfy her quench for culture. Throughout the book she is exposed t many amazing people, and learns much from them.
The Middle Ages and the Renaissance were different in their own unique ways. The Middle Ages, time was simpler. They relied more on the churches and their religious means. The Renaissance was during the year 1350 and didn’t last until 1700. The Renaissance means “rebirth” or “revival” (Background Essay). This was a time when art and science were popular and important. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the change of man’s point of view from the Middle Ages due to the Renaissance.
There are many contrasts in the beliefs and values of the Renaissance and the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages was a time of great suffering, including famine and widespread disease. The Renaissance, however, was a revival of art, learning, and literature. Their views of the purpose of life in the present world and man's place in the world was, perhaps, the greatest contrast. However, their views on politics, religion, and education were very different as well.
To begin with, Martha’s desperate effort was one of her strong strengths. When Martha began dance, many people murmured that Martha would fail because she was “quite a few years above the average age of all the other girls in the school” (28), “dumpy, [and] unprepossessing” (28). However, she astonished her dance teachers and others “with her determination to learn and her quick mastery of difficult exercises, gestures, and steps” (30). Martha usually spent her time on the studio alone all day and night, seeking for unique, exotic, and alluring movements of her own. Ted Shawn, Mar...
... life in the early modern period. “Thus, from the beginning, the double conception of medieval darkness and subsequent cultural rebirth was colored by the acceptance of classical standards…” (Doc.1) Writers and thinkers were inspired by the classical culture of the Greeks and Romans. They found their society much more “fascinating” than feudal and religious literature. They re-identified architecture, astronomy, medicine, and math. They corrected the order of the Church and began to believe again in karma, reincarnation and moksha. Renaissance men advanced the knowledge of human body, scientific calculations, and changed building attributes. As the change of these amenities came a change in the social structure. More men and women became literate, resulting in the increase and need for universities. Education. The Renaissance has a long and complex historiography.
The Middle Ages was a time in history where everyone was faithful to religion as well as others. Also, in the Middle Ages, people were encouraged to always try their best; they were encouraged to strive for the highest achievement possible and to never give up. The Renaissance, however, was more focused on becoming matured and finding a way to be successful at everything one does. During this era, people strived to become all-sided men, also known as; renaissance men. This means they are not only successful in one type of art but in all types of art, as well as math, science, and literature. The Renaissance was a distinct period in time that was separated from the Middle Ages and began a new era.
Her realization that she is not alone in her oppression brings her a sense of freedom. It validates her emerging thoughts of wanting to rise up and shine a light on injustice. Her worries about not wanting to grow up because of the harsh life that awaits her is a common thought among others besides the people in her community. As she makes friends with other Indians in other communities she realizes the common bonds they share, even down to the most basic such as what they eat, which comforts her and allows her to empathize with them.
... The interview with John reminded of how culture is defined as the norms, opinions, beliefs, values, and world views shared by a group of individuals and transmitted across generations. After the interview my perception about John change because I have always known him as passive, spoiled kid, and lazy. However, he proved me wrong by his honest response and the fact that he has a job and pays his own bills. He was very sick during the course of the interview and would not turn down or say no to my request; he deserves respect and honor for that. The one thing we culturally shared together is that we are both American immigrants thriving for the same dream from the greatest country on earth which most Americans take for granted. The background of John varies greatly and shares witness to the multiplicity of experiences that characterize the immigrants’ journey.
The four main components of the eye that are responsible for producing an image are the cornea, lens, ciliary muscles and retina. Incoming light rays first encounter the cornea. The bulging shape of the cornea causes it to refract light similar to a convex lens. Because of the great difference in optical density between the air and the corneal material and because of the shape of the cornea, most of the refraction to incoming light rays takes place here. Light rays then pass through the pupil, and then onto the lens. A small amount of additional refraction takes place here as the light rays are "fine tuned" so that they focus on the retina.
The Renaissance time period took place during the 14th and the 16th centuries it began in Europe. The Renaissance was a time of art, open ideas, and new beginnings. Before this time there was the Middle Ages. Then it was not a good time at all, it was full of sickness, disease, death, and the plague it killed almost half of Europe’s population. After the plague slowly decreased the population in Europe started to grow. Lots of new things started to happen. Like Bankers Merchants, and Tradespeople had a new market for their services. People became wealthier and had more money to spend. People began to build much bigger houses and buy more expensive clothes and people became more interested in the art and liturature. People began to learn foreign languages, they read more, played instruments, and finding more that interested them.
A Culture of My Own The smell of the ocean, palm trees, and the sound of the salsa beats in the distance, characteristics of a beautiful culture. But is that really what my culture is? As a Cuban in America, culture is much different than that of an island native. My culture, or should I say, the culture that my family has molded into our own, is a spectacular one.
In Philip Roth’s “The Conversion of the Jews”, the main character’s, Ozzie’s, inner conflict with spirituality does not interfere with his strong admiration regarding his culture, as seen when Ozzie’s eyes became “glassy” when he watched his mother light the Sabbath candles, a moment he found hallowed. Throughout the story, it becomes clear that a perplexing spirituality is developing, which Ozzie is looking to understand; as shown when he thought rushing through the readings would result in lack of understanding in something that needs to be understood properly.
The teenagers were mesmerized as they sat and watched the Harlem dancer move her body provocatively to the sound of the music. Her voice was like the sound of a blended harmony being played by flutes. They were captivated and speechless by her naked form shielded by a thin piece of cloth that hung so graciously from her body. The Harlem dancer moved her body in a way that told a story one’s mind could only imagine. She moved from side to side waving her hands as her bouncy glorious hair swayed with her body and the music. She was in a timeless zone and era that only she knew of. As she danced, the audience showed their approval by throwing money at her feet. They could tell that the Harlem dancer was in a place in her mind that took her away from the present to a different place.
The shift between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was characterized by great socio-economic, political, and religious changes. Politically, the feudal system of the Middle Ages was exchanged for a more stable centralized republic/monarchy system that gave the people more freedom and input. Religiously, secularism became more important as stability gave people a chance to concern themselves with the “here and now” rather than simply the “hereafter.” Socially, there was a shift from dogma and unshakeable belief to humanism and the ability to interpret things for oneself. The Middle Ages began around 400 CE and lasted until 1400 CE while the Renaissance began around 1200 and continued until 1600. The 200 years that overlap between these two periods contain many pieces of “transition” art in which it is obvious that the change is beginning to take place. These collective changes that took place in this period dictated change in art as well. There were changes in iconography, style, purpose, and patronage that facilitated the overall transformation of art from a sense of illustrating what you are told to believe is true to optical realism and conveying how you yourself interpret that “truth”.
The Renaissance (1300-1700) began in Italy and eventually spread to Germany, France, England, and Spain. The Renaissance is also known as the Middle Ages. To understand what the Renaissance exactly is would be to say that it was the cultural rebirth that occurred in Europe through a term called humanism. In other words, the people wanted a Christian worldview through a classical learning style. While many things helped the Renaissance become well known, the political and economic aspects of the Renaissance is what played a huge developing role in which helped it flourish into creating its environment. The economic aspects were just as important as the political aspects of the Renaissance, but it was the political aspects that had the most
To better understand the concept of "love", lets define the value of love. Love is the most valuable commodity in the world. We all need love just like a fish needs water. Without love, life would not be worth living. With love in our lives, we are empowered beyond belief.