The Treachery Of Images (TOW #6)

The Treachery Of Images

Rene Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist. He is considered one of the most notable surrealists of the time period, ranked amongst the likes of Salvador Dali and Max Ernst. This considered, his works were not greatly recognizes until the 50’s, the later parts of his life.  Many of Rene's works have been greatly influential on the pop art movement particularly in the works of Andy Warhol.

The piece, titled The Treachery Of Images is an oil painting of a wooden pipe against a plane beige background, and underneath are painted the words, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe,” which translates in English to “This is not a pipe.” The painting is one of Magritte’s earlier work, painted roughly thirty years before his more famous The Son Of Man and Golconda. The painting is very simple in its composition and does not have many parts, however it is effective at achieving its goal.

The painting is a kind of speculative piece on the gap between a representation and reality. It is similar to the idea that the word is not the thing itself. It is meant to cause the reader to question the meaning and importance of the image and the word. It shows the idea that a real pipe is not the same as a picture of a pipe which is not the same as the word pipe. This pipe is an allusion to the book Vers Une Architecture.

The painting has been analyzed by many critics and is even the topic of a full length book. The painting at the time of its creation was treated much disapproval due to its strange and mysterious tone; however it is this tone that makes his piece so influential and well known.

The Oedipus Complex (TOW #5)

                Sigmund Freud is probably the most important figure in world of modern psychology. His works have been so influential that they are still studied and are the basis of nearly all of today’s psychological principals. Considered the father of psycho analysis, Freud coined the iceberg theory, a belief that a person’s subconscious had a great effect on their daily life. He believed that dreams were a crucial tool in analyzing patients’ subconscious.

                In his book The Interpretation of Dreams Freud discusses one of his more famous concepts, the Oedipus complex. In a section of the book, in which he describes the more common dreams, he talks about this complex in an essay entitled “The Oedipus Complex.” The essay seems to be directed toward an audience of more educated individuals, presumably with some connection to the neuroscience or psychology field, as shown by his use of specialized jargon without pretense.

                In his essay Freud establishes, and defends his theory of the Oedipus Complex. He theorizes that the relationship of between parents and children have great effects on the psychological traits of the children. He shows that there is an even more significant effect on children who hold onto polar opinions on their two parents. Freud goes on to explain his belief that children go through a phase where they become sexually attracted to their mothers and feel resentful, even wants to kill their father.

                Freud justifies this belief with three primary examples. He initially discusses patients he has had who became stuck in this Oedipus complex, never growing out of it, and resulting in states of poor psychological health. His next example is the legend of Oedipus Rex from which the complex obtains its name. The myth tells of a young boy who is abandoned, becomes king, accidentally kills his birth father, has sex with his mother, and then gouges his own eyes out as a form of retribution. Freud argues this is an exemplification of the complex. Freud’s final large example is in his analysis of Hamlet in which he argues that the reason hamlet could not do what his father’s ghost asked is because he would feel like a hypocrite because he too desired to sleep with his mother and kill his father.

                Though Freud was a notable figure and established some ethos with patients and cultural examples the theory has generally been regarded as wacky and been refuted many times. This, Freud would argue, is tied back to the social taboo of incest, but he would also say that the Oedipus complex is why incest was made into a taboo.

               

Into The Wild (TOW #4)

     John Krakauer is most famous for his books Into The Wild and Into Thin Air, both of which are number one best sellers and ranked among Time's best nonfiction books of all time. John Krakauer is a mountaineer and most of his books revolve around the themes of nature and adventure. I chose read the first, whcih details Christopher McCandless's death in Denali national park as well as the many months leading up to it.
     The Details of McCandless's death were very cloudy when his boy was first found and the story became quickly famous. Krakauer initially wrote an article on McCandless, but became so interested and invested in the story that he wrote a book.
     Krakauer forms the story by piecing together accounts of Christopher McCandless from the people he met along his travels. He includes journal entries and letters written by McCandless, as well as many anecdotes from the people who McCandless spent time with. This helps to characterize McCandless incredibly as well as further establish Krakauer's ethos, as the events surrounding McCandless's death were just as much a mystery to him as they were to others. Through the stories about McCandless Krakauer establishes him as a very educated and driven young man and continually draws parallels between him and the authors who inspired him. He also establishes McCandless as very disciplined and almost monk like. He gave up nearly all his earthly possessions and moved to the wilderness.
     It is important to consider the way Krakauer characterizes McCandless when we look at his purpose. The first traits that come to mind when you hear a story about a college student who tried to survive in the Alaskan wilderness, woefully unprepared would be foolish or dumb. This, however, is not how McCandless is painted in Into The Wild. Krakauer makes him into an altruistic hero, searching for something pure, and ultimately adventuring to find himself. To me there was something profoundly inspiring, in McCandless's devotion, and faith in good, as well as his unrelenting search for himself, and I fell as if this this the purpose Krakauer was arguing through his stories. McCandless is someone, who although completely foreign, can be related to by everyone, and should be an inspiration to everyone.