Humanities Essay Samples

Characteristics of the surrealist movement-Surrealism, the cultural movement that developed in the early 1920’s was characterized by art, writing and politics that aimed to bring an end to the contradicting realms of dreams and reality. The surrealist movement was not solely about art and writing but was also about politics. Surrealism as a political force developed into Trotskyism, anarchism and communism. One important element of the surrealist movement was that the surrealists considered their work as a manifestation of their philosophies-the works were just artifacts. Another characteristic of the surrealist movement was that the artists were free to express their basic drives. It was heavily influenced by Freudian principle and they had the willingness to bring out explicit image of decay, violence, anger and sexuality. Perhaps the telltale characteristic of a surrealist painter or an author is their ability to tread the unconscious and make it valid reality. They laid emphasis on the mysterious and the mythological and that made their works both strange and ambiguous. A surrealist work is heavily layered and contains a lot of theme in a single work. They let go of their inhibition and the resulting work is a product that is not impeded by reason. Salvador Dali was a famous surrealist and although he was expelled by the movement for his political actions, he still remains one of the greatest surrealists. An obsession with decay, death and eroticism can be seen in Dali’s work. He maintained that his art was a result of his subconscious unhindered by reason. One of his works that is emblematic of his surrealist style is the image of the melting clocks titled ‘The persistence of Memory’ that deals with the meaninglessness of time. He uses realism in his art to shock people out of accepted reality and understand his works.
The Outside by Susan Glaspell-The outside is a play about two women who go into seclusion after the death of their husbands and three men who try to save a drowned man. It is set in an abandoned life saving station and details the reactions of the three men and the two women when they come into contact. Glaspell uses the reaction of the three men-their response and retort to the women’s behavior to analyze feminist themes. Tony the Portuguese life saver claims that the house lacks any feminine touch bringing out how men think of women, what is expected of them and reinstating the stereotypes about women. Mrs. Patrick also tells the men to leave the house as it is no longer a life saving station. This goes against the ideal of a woman who is nurturing and life giving. The men in the play are also stupefied by the behavior of the women. Rather than hang about and try to help, the women want them to leave the house and also leave them alone. They do not talk or try to be civil to the men. Glaspell also confronts the issue of ownership and professional ethics. In a clearly macho behavior the captain tells her that her ownership of the house does not matter when it comes to saving a life. Although he behaves professionally he also is a man who dominates and tells the woman what her place is. Glaspell breaks every stereotype of a woman in the play and uses the men to bring it about. The women talk less and it is through the observations of the men and the dialogue between them that Glaspell brings out her feminist views in the play.