In order to critically discuss the representations of the grotesque in art and popular culture genres and to understand what these representations tell us about the social and cultural ideas concerning the body and its boundaries; I will firstly attempt to explain the term grotesque and identify its context within today ’s society. In order to do this I will revert back to the earlier notions of the grotesque within the carnivalesque era as a way to understand and compare the modern day notions
Free Culture Sociology Popular culture
The word grotesque originated during the time of the high renaissance. It comes from the word grotto‚ from the Italian grottesco. The Grotesque is a term now used rather loosely in everyday speech. By definition‚ it is a style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity or ugliness. Although this is how the term is typically thought of‚ it does not necessarily have to
Premium Human Suffering Fear
Professor Ostrom ENGL 210 7 December 2012 A Grotesque Depression There are a lot of things throughout life that could make a person depressed. They could have lost someone close to them‚ problems in their work place or schooling‚ or just a mind set that the person has. What exactly is depression? Depression is a disorder that is feeling sad‚ guilty‚ and helplessness. It can lead to changes in a person’s diet‚ or sleeping patterns. According to Dr. Prentis Price‚ 19.5 million Americans
Premium Truth Depression Loneliness
Brittany Luckey Mr. Clements American Literature 21 March 2013 Grotesque Characters What is a grotesque character? In literature‚ a character or location that is irregular‚ extravagant or fantastic in form. When used as a device‚ the purpose is often in the style of expressionism‚ making the grotesque a parody of human qualities or a distorted reflection of a familiar place. In many ways grotesque characters have some kind of problem in society‚ and example would be a veteran who lost a limb
Premium Southern Gothic Gothic fiction
A Grotesque Life Southern Ontario Gothic‚ a form of story telling is perceived throughout these three stories‚ “Floating Bridge”‚ “Tricks” and “Wenlock Edge”‚ all told by the author of Alice Munro. These stories interact with the characters minds and how they perceive life through every experience they’ve gone through. All three stories have Southern Ontario Gothic in common due to all characters relate to having grotesque features whether in their appearance and or personality. In “Floating
Premium Short story Alice Munro Meaning of life
Similar to the southern gothic settings found in the two stories that were examined above‚ this next story also takes place out of the American south. In Capote’s “Miriam”‚ out of his collection entitled The Tree of Night‚ we find our grotesque character living alone in a cold‚ desolate version of New York City. Similar to “Mr. Jones”‚ the setting is winter in an isolated city apartment. The streets are described as shrouded in “a pale but impenetrable curtain” which gives the feel of a setting
Premium Woman Gothic fiction Edgar Allan Poe
Much of the grotesque in Metamorphosis stems from the fact that Gregor’s transformation is partial. While he is physically an insect on the exterior‚ he retains a human mind inside. Hence‚ Gregor is mentally aware of what is happening to him and his body. This hybridity‚ in terms of having an insect body but a human mind‚ contributes greatly to the grotesque image of the main character. As quoted from Bakhtin‚ what is happening to Gregor is an “unfinished metamorphosis” whereby he is not fully insect
Premium The Metamorphosis Vladimir Nabokov Cockroach
Christine Ku 13 December 2010 ENGL-213‚ Pollack The Use of Grotesque in Literature While we can make some useful generalizations about the purposes to which the grotesque may be used‚ it is clear that the range of possible functions is very broad. Some instances of the grotesque serve no purpose at all apart from a purely ornamental or personal one; some have no function except the fulfillment of a whimsical and capricious desire to invent something bizarre and eccentric. In some works
Free Short story Eudora Welty A Good Man Is Hard to Find
term "grotesque" is appropriate in a way Anderson could hardly have been aware of; for it was first used by Renaissance artists to describe arabesques painted in the underground ruins‚ grotte‚ of Nero’s "Golden House."<br><br>The conception of the grotesque‚ as actually developed in the stories‚ is not merely that it is an unwilled affliction but also that it is a mark of a once sentient striving. In "The Book of the Grotesque‚" Anderson writes: "It was the truths that made the people grotesques the
Premium English-language films Fiction Sociology
There is no we there is us‚ the negroes. About 150 years slavery has existed in America and you just now question whether it is to continue. As a previous slave‚ I’ve endured being manhandled‚ whipped‚ and cast down. I stand here today to stop the grotesque sin of slavery and achieve equal rights for my brothers and sisters. This is a white man’s dream ‚ a black man’s nightmare. Have you ever realized that slavery directly goes against the Declaration of Independence? The second paragraph states “
Premium Slavery Slavery in the United States Black people