Zhang Huan’s performance piece, Seeds of Hamburg, was performed in 2002 in Hamburg, Germany. In the performance, Huan entered the wooden-chicken wire cage after being covered in honey and birdseed. Inside the cage, Huan moved around in various motions and 28 birds were released into the cage. Then Huan proceeds to sit on this throne-like structure constructed out of crates. After sitting on the throne structure for a while and allowing the birds to nibble from the birdseed on his body, a bird finally pulled a red ribbon from his mouth. The performance ended with Huan releasing the bird. This symbolic performance represents hope and the fearlessness to challenge authority. First off, the geometric form of the cage contrasts against the more
By allowing the birds to nibble off his body, Huan illustrated his desire to be “reveal” again ---- to become human again. The honey/birdseed mask hides his identity, and it could also possibly be a symbol of sins and lies that people build up over time. The birds are his way toward relieving himself and becoming free. When Huan sat upon the throne structure, he becomes the authority of the small “universe” he was in. Huan did not end his performance until one bird pulled on the red ribbon in his mouth. This is the most important part of the performance piece. The red ribbon, which stands out among the neutral color background, represents the bloodline of hope and love. Out of all the 28 birds, only one had the bravery to pull upon it. This one bird symbolizes the fearlessness to challenge a higher authority in spite of fear. Because of this bird’s courage and actions, he was awarded with freedom. Huan is saying sometimes citizens in a society live in fear of acting out against their authority. It is necessary, if not crucial sometimes, to be outspoken despite
It is possibly he is relating to a time when most of Germany were blinded by Adolf Hitler’s words during World War II. Hitler fed German with lies that cause some to be totally blinded and lose their humanity. History shows us there are grave consequences when people are silent and submissive. Another aspect is the background music. The music, which blends Asian and classical Western traditions, signifies the unison of the two hemispheres of the world. Everyone, regardless of cultures and ethnics, are guilty of falling into the acts of being herded and
To briefly summarize this poem, I believe that the poem could be separated into three parts: The first part is composed in the first and second letters, which stress on the negative emotions towards the miserable pains, illnesses that the parents are baring, and also their hatred of the birds. The second part, I believe will be the third and fourth letters, which talks about the birds’ fights and the visiting lady from the church. And the last part, starts from the fifth letters to the rest of them, which mainly describe the harmonious life between the parents and those birds.
Paul Laurence Dunbar depicts this idea in his well-known poem “Sympathy” (one of my favorite poems!), describing a caged bird that longs for freedom. Dunbar establishes his knowledge of the bird’s feelings, his desire for freedom (his motive of rebellion). Dunbar draws empathy from the audience as he describes the bird’s integrity in the descriptive lines: “I know why the caged bird beats his wing Till its blood is red on the cruel bars.” The caged bird goes to a dangerous extent to be heard, as he bleeds on his prison bars, for he is willing to do anything for his freedom— this shows his integrity and confidence in his values. Dunbar finishes off the poem with powerful lines: “But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, But a plea that upward heaven he flings— I know why the caged bird sings!” The caged bird is depicted as battered, bruised, and beaten from his violent rebellion— praying as his last chance of freedom. The bird’s belief in its virtuous rebellion justifies the revolt, as we see the bird’s constant persistency, even as the mutiny is demoted to prayer.
The tile of the poem “Bird” is simple and leads the reader smoothly into the body of the poem, which is contained in a single stanza of twenty lines. Laux immediately begins to describe a red-breasted bird trying to break into her home. She writes, “She tests a low branch, violet blossoms/swaying beside her” and it is interesting to note that Laux refers to the bird as being female (Laux 212). This is the first clue that the bird is a symbol for someone, or a group of people (women). The use of a bird in poetry often signifies freedom, and Laux’s use of the female bird implies female freedom and independence. She follows with an interesting image of the bird’s “beak and breast/held back, claws raking at the pan” and this conjures a mental picture of a bird who is flying not head first into a window, but almost holding herself back even as she flies forward (Laux 212). This makes the bird seem stubborn, and follows with the theme of the independent female.
The imagery used in “The White Heron” is shown through the relationship that is formed with Sylvia and the pine tree. She realizes that she needs to connect with nature and not let human greed take over. “The pine tree seemed to grow taller, the higher that Sylvie climbed. The sky began to brighten in the east. Sylvie’s face was lik...
The visual representation of the “blue” kite is a very obvious contrast to the Chinese government’s red for communism. Blue is also seen as a representation of democracy in many countries. Especially in the United States, blue is seen as a symbol of democracy and the democratic party. The blue kite showing up at critical points in the movie or representing something important shows that it was a promotion of blue over red, or democracy over communism. Even though the kite is destroyed, it is a symbol for better days and that means it is promoting democracy as better days. The last scene with the blue kite being broken in the tree as well could be a representation of the Chinese government trying to suppress the promotion of democracy or crush those who are trying to change their country for the better. The blue kite is a sign for better days, it being crushed crushes the hope for better days, and the Red Guards representing the communistic ideals in China destroy any hope for democracy in China. The blue kite is meant to represent a future of democracy being good, but communism shuts it
In this particular play the rope symbolizes death and destruction. Death is one of the main points symbolizing the rope because there is death throughout the play. The death of the bird is the starting point. When Mr. Wright kills the bird, it kills Mrs. Wright on the inside. It is like she has just lost her best friend. Considering all the isolation she had, the bird probably was her best friend. “She like the bird. She was going to bury it in that pretty box” (Glaspell 261). This quote shows how much Mrs. Wright cared for the bird. If she did not care about it, she probably would have just tossed it away outside or in the trash. However, she cared for it so much that she was going to use her beautiful sewing box to bury the bird in. The next significant death is the one of Mr. Wright. When Mr. Wright died, Mrs. Wright gained her freedom back. Having to be kept from society, and never having any children or company other than Mr. Wright meant that Mrs. Wright had lost her freedom. Now thirty years later married to Mr. Wright, she knew she could only gain her freedom back if he were
In contrast to caged birds, Chopin uses wild birds and the idea of flight as symbols of freedom. This symbol is shown in a vision of a bird experienced by Edna while Mademoiselle Reisz is playing the piano.
John Updike’s poem “The Great Scarf of Birds” expresses the varying emotions the narrator experiences as he witnesses certain events from nature. His narration of the birds throughout the poem acts as numerous forms of imagery and symbolism concerning him and his life, and this becomes a recollection of the varying emotional stances he comes to terms with that he has experienced in his life. These changes are so gradually and powerfully expressed because of a fluent use of diction and figurative language, specifically symbolism and simile, and aided by organization.
Chopin mentions birds in a subtle way at many points in the plot and if looked at closely enough they are always linked back to Edna and her journey of her awakening. In the first pages of the novella, Chopin reveals Madame Lebrun's "green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage" (Chopin 1). The caged bird at the beginning of the novella points out Edna's subconscious feeling of being entrapped as a woman in the ideal of a mother-woman in Creole society. The parrot "could speak a little Spanish, and also a language which nobody understood" (1). The parrot's lack of a way to communicate because of the unknown language depicts Edna's inability to speak her true feelings and thoughts. It is for this reason that nobody understands her and what she is going through. A little further into the story, Madame Reisz plays a ballad on the piano. The name of which "was something else, but [Edna] called it Solitude.' When she heard it there came before her imagination the figure of a man standing on a desolate rock on the seashore His attitude was one of hopeless resignation as he looked toward a distant bird winging its flight away from him" (25). The bird in the distance symbolizes Edna's desire of freedom and the man in the vision shows the longing for the freedom that is so far out of reach. At the end of the story, Chopin shows "a bird with a broken wing beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water" while Edna is swimming in the ocean at the Grand Isle shortly before she drowns (115). The bird stands for the inability to stray from the norms of society and become independent without inevitably falling from being incapable of doing everything by herself. The different birds all have different meanings for Edna but they all show the progression of her awakening.
scorched paper, I grieved for my father as though he had just died.” Another symbol of trying to escape for freedom. However, this is all a contrast to what birds actually do. represent in real life. Birds are a part of a class of animals that have the ability to roam.
The birds show symbolism in more than one way throughout the text. As the soldiers are travelling from all over the world to fight for their countries in the war, the birds are similarly migrating for the change of seasons. The birds however, will all be returning, and many of the soldiers will never return home again. This is a very powerful message, which helps the reader to understand the loss and sorrow that is experienced through war.
The birdcage represents how Mrs. Wright was trapped in her marriage, and could not escape it. The birdcage door is broken which represents her broken marriage to Mr. Wright. It also represents Mrs. Wright escaping her marriage from Mr. Wright. When the door is open it allows Mrs. Wright to became a free woman. At one point in time the cage door use to have a lock that locked the bird inside the cage. This represents how Mr. Wright kept Mrs. Wright locked up from society. Mr. Wright knew that by keeping Mrs. Wright locked up, she would never be able to tell anyone how he really acted. Mr. Wright was very cruel to his wife.
Foster discusses that, “Symbols, though, generally don’t work so neatly. The thing referred to is likely not reducible to a single statement but will more probably involve a range of possible meanings and interpretations,” (Foster,105). This idea is shown through the different meanings the box of feathers, given by Abdullah to Pari, holds.This object which out of context would seem confusing and even bizarre, can be interpreted to represent Abdullah’s immense love for his sister. Abdullah first helped Pari collect the feathers when they were very young and then kept them for many years in hopes he would be able to give it to Pari and also to show he never forgot about her. This is shown when Pari receives the note attached to the feathers from Abdullah that reads, “They tell me I must wade into waters, where I will soon drown. Before I march in, I leave this on the shore for you. I pray you find it, sister, so you know what was in my heart as I went under,” (Hosseini, 418). This was written the same time Abdullah was diagnosed with Alzheimers and he is saying soon he will not be the same and able to remember her because his old, healthy self will “drown”. This note shows his love for his sister and that he was always thinking of her, especially since the letter was attached to the feathers which are a symbol of this love. This example also supports another possible meaning for the box of feathers, that it represents the end of their youth and relationship. Although Pari remembers Abdullah, she does not remember the feather’s importance and meaning. Also, Abdullah made the package for her when he was diagnosed with the disease that made him forget Pari and their relationship. Due to this disremember for both of them, the box of feathers could be interpreted in an almost opposite way as the other meaning. The box of feathers is an
The canary and the birdcage are symbolic to Mrs. Wright?s life in the way that the bird represents her, and the cage represents her life and the way she was made to live. Mrs. Hale compares the canary that she and Mrs. Peters discover to Mrs. Wright, when Mrs. Hale refers to Mrs. Wright as ?kind of like a bird herself?real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and?fluttery.? Minnie Foster was a distinctly different woman than Minnie Foster ...
With one of the most memorable transitions in the film (the Silent Scream performed by a Japanese Butoh dancer), Baraka makes clear the consequences of modern human life. When increasing production and profit takes priority over valuing human life, civilization eventually destroys itself; the film walks us through scenes of systemic poverty, exploitation, war, and genocide to illustrate this point. Paired with stirring, ominous music, this sequence is the most effective sequence of the film and can stand alone as an indictment of modern civilization. Finally, the story of modern civilization ends with images of the ruins of great ancient civilizations. The takeaway message is clear: just as those civilizations rose and fell, so too will the great civilizations of