The Leader Speaks Praising the Folly

The Leader Speaks Praising the Folly There will never be a consensus about fables – people either hate them or love them. While it is hard to deny the fact that fables have teeth-grindingly obvious moral that is shoved in the reader’s face at the end of the story (Fogarty and Stoehr), most fables still find an original and entertaining way to convey these morals (Barbauld and Hale 25) – especially the fables by James Thurber.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Leader Speaks: Praising the Folly specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Known mostly for his short story titled â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,† Thurber wrote a number of unique fables, one of which, â€Å"The Owl Who Was God,† is the subject of the given paper. There is nothing ordinary about The Owl Who Was God – even the title of the fable is surreal enough to make the reader puzzled. Opening in a standard once-upon-a-time manner, the story tells abo ut an owl that was mistaken for God, since it could see in the darkness, unlike the rest of the animals. Furthermore, everything that the owl said or did was considered genial. Hence, all forest inhabitants started seeking its wisdom: â€Å"‘Can you give me another expression for ‘that is to say’ or ‘namely’?’ asked the secretary bird. ‘To wit,’ said the owl. ‘Why does the lover call on his love?’ ‘To woo,’ said the owl† (Thurber). When the owl appeared in front of the animals in the broad daylight, however, it was blinded by the sun. Leading the animals and birds to a concrete highway, it could not see the approaching car and was killed by it along with most of the animals. Though the plot is seemingly simple, it still has a number of underlying ideas and implications for the readers to explore. Like in many other short stories, the size does not allow to develop the characters, the plot and the se tting equally; therefore, some of the elements of The Owl Who Was God stand out even with such ridiculous idea as a plot for the story. However, choosing the element that has been taken to the highest degree seems rather hard, since each of these elements serves its purpose in the story perfectly; once at least one of them is taken out, the story evidently loses a great chunk of fun. For example, the story is narrated in a very concise manner, yet Thurber somehow manages to tell the audience a lot of details; for example, the reader learns instantly a lot about the forest and the way it looks (â€Å"They could not believe it was possible for anyone to see them in that thick darkness,† Thurber).Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, there is just as much about the character development – Thurber shows in a very graphic way how fast the forest crea tures start believing that the owl is a godsend and tells in graphic details about their final revelation (â€Å"He’s God!,† Thurber) and the tragic aftermath. Finally, the story is also developed very well. Therefore, the choice between the three is rather complicated. However, there are two elements that stand out the most, i.e., the irony and the satire. It is clear from the very start that Thurber offers a parody on human society; however, there is not a single direct reference to people’s culture except for the concept of God. Thus, the satire works in the context of the given story. Irony is also there; every single line that one of the characters say can be interpreted as an ironic comment on people’s tendency to follow a certain trend blindly: â€Å"’Aren’t you afraid?’ he asked. ‘Who?’ said the owl calmly, for he could not see the truck. ‘He’s God!’ cried all the creatures again† (Thurb er). As a matter of fact there is a line in the story that offers a very unique comment on the human race: â€Å"So they followed him wherever he went and when he bumped into things they began to bump into things, too† (Thurber). Thurber expressed his idea about fads that people follow blindly without even questioning the purpose of these fads in the given line. In addition, Thurber makes an important statement about the people who are attracted to a certain person or concept – as a rule, when being completely in love with their new fad, people lose the ability to critically evaluate things (Magstadt 116). Thus, when their leader starts bumping into things and face the obstacles that could have been easily avoided, the followers repeat the leader’s mistakes instead of choosing their own life track. Like any other writer, Thurber wrote in his own manner, which means that the style of â€Å"The Owl Who Was God† has a lot to do with Thurber’s another famous novel, â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.† First, both novels revolve around people or a person seeing something that is not true. Secondly, neither of the novels shows that the character has undergone a transformation – as well as the animals who worshipped Owl until the very end, Walter Mitty does not show any sign of changing his ways in the end. Finally, both novels tell the story of small people (or animals, for that matters) who try to become something grandeur, like the pilot of a Navy hydroplane or even God.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Leader Speaks: Praising the Folly specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Barbauld, Anna L. and Sarah J. B. Hale. Things by Their Right Names, and other Stories, Fables and Moral Pieces. Boston, MA: Marsh, Capen, Lyon and Webb, 1840. Print. Fogarty, Robin and Judy Stoehr. Integrating Curricula with Multiple Intelligences. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 200 7. Print. Magstadt, Thomas M. Understanding Politics. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2012. Thurber, James. The Owl Who Was God. n. d. Web. Thurber, James. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, n. d. Web.

Biography of Willem de Kooning, Abstract Expressionist

Biography of Willem de Kooning, Abstract Expressionist Willem de Kooning (April 24, 1904 - March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American artist known as a leader of the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1950s. He was noted for combining the influences of Cubism, Expressionism, and Surrealism into an idiosyncratic style. Fast Facts: Willem de Kooning Born: April 24, 1904, in Rotterdam, NetherlandsDied: March 19, 1997, in East Hampton, New YorkSpouse: Elaine Fried (m. 1943)Artistic Movement: Abstract ExpressionismSelected Works: Woman III (1953), July 4th (1957), Clamdigger (1976)Key Accomplishment: Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964)Interesting Fact: He became a U.S. citizen in 1962Notable Quote: I dont paint to live. I live to paint. Early Life and Career Willem de Kooning was born and raised in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. His parents divorced when he was 3 years old. He left school at age 12 and became an apprentice to commercial artists. For the next eight years, he enrolled in evening classes at the Academy of Fine Arts and Applied Sciences of Rotterdam, which has since been renamed the Willem de Kooning Academie. Henry Bowden / Getty Images When he was 21 years old, de Kooning traveled to America as a stowaway on the British freighter Shelley. Its destination was Buenos Aires, Argentina, but de Kooning left the ship when it docked in Newport News, Virginia. He found his way north toward New York City and temporarily lived at the Dutch Seamens Home in Hoboken, New Jersey. A short time later, in 1927, Willem de Kooning opened his first studio in Manhattan and supported his art with outside employment in commercial art such as store window designs and advertising. In 1928, he joined an artists colony in Woodstock, New York, and met some of the top modernist painters of the era, including Arshile Gorky. Leader of Abstract Expressionism In the mid-1940s, Willem de Kooning began working on a series of black and white abstract paintings because he could not afford the expensive pigments needed for working in color. They were the majority of his first solo show at the Charles Egan Gallery in 1948. By the end of the decade, considered one of Manhattans top rising artists, de Kooning began adding color to his work. Willem De Koonings Untitled XXI (est $25-35m) from the collection of A. Alfred Taubman is displayed as part of the Frieze week exhibition at Sothebys on October 10, 2015 in London, England. Tristan Fewings / Getty Images The painting Woman I, which de Kooning began in 1950, completed in 1952, and exhibited at the Sidney Janis Gallery in 1953, became his breakthrough work. New Yorks Museum of Modern Art purchased the piece which confirmed his reputation. As de Kooning became considered a leader of the abstract expressionist movement, his style was distinctive through the fact that he never wholly abandoned representation by making women one of his most common subjects. A member of staff poses next to paintings by Dutch American artist Willem de Kooning entitled Woman (L), Woman II (C) and Woman as Landscape (R) at the Royal Academy of Arts on September 20, 2016 in London, England. Carl Court / Getty Images Woman III (1953) is celebrated for its depiction of a woman as aggressive and highly erotic. Willem de Kooning painted her as a response to idealized portraits of women in the past. Later observers complained that de Koonings paintings sometimes crossed the border into misogyny. De Kooning had a close personal and professional relationship with Franz Kline. The influence of Klines bold strokes can be seen in much of Willem de Koonings work. Late in the 1950s, de Kooning began work on a series of landscapes executed in his idiosyncratic style. Noted pieces like July 4th (1957) clearly show Klines impact. The influence was not a one-way transaction. During the late 1950s, Kline began adding color to his work perhaps as part of his relationship with de Kooning. Employees pose with Untitled XIX 1982 by Willem De Kooning (estimate $6M - 8M) during a photocall for the Peggy and David Rockefeller art collection at Christies auction house on February 20, 2018 in London, England. Jack Taylor / Getty Images Marriage and Personal Life Willem de Kooning met the young artist Elaine Fried in 1938 and soon took her on as an apprentice. They married in 1943. She became an accomplished abstract expressionist artist in her own right, but her work was often overshadowed by her efforts to promote the work of her husband. They had a stormy marriage with each of them open about having affairs with others. They separated in the late 1950s but never divorced and reunited in 1976, remaining together until Willem de Koonings death in 1997. De Kooning had one child, Lisa, through an affair with Joan Ward after his separation from Elaine. Willem de Kooning with daughter, Lisa. Images Press / Getty Images Later Life and Legacy De Kooning applied his style to the creation of sculptures in the 1970s. Among the most prominent of those is Clamdigger (1976). His late period painting was characterized by bold, brightly-colored abstract work. The designs are simpler than his earlier work. A revelation in the 1990s that de Kooning had suffered from Alzheimers disease for multiple years led some to question his role in the creation of the late-career paintings. Willem de Kooning is remembered for his bold fusion of Cubism, Expressionism, and Surrealism. His work is a bridge between the formal subject concerns of the experiments in abstraction by artists such as Pablo Picasso, and the complete abstraction of an artist like Jackson Pollock. Sources Stevens, Mark, and Annalynn Swan. de Kooning: An American Master. Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.