How can art be a mirror of society?

Art was one of the things that were being ‘reborn,’ in the Renaissance, and art itself is a language, but not verbally but visually. If you look at the paintings from the renaissance you can see what they were focused on. Art is a reflection of the society inside the mirror because you can get a lot of information out from it. The focal points will tell you about the characteristics of men in the era, the vanishing point will tell us about the setting, the classical architecture tells us that the Renaissance society based most of their ideas on improved basketball. Art is a reflection of the society improved and as time passed. More tools/intelligence was used to make art better as there were more tools/intelligence for making a piece of art. Art shows that the Renaissance society was very rich which also made the Renaissance art become rich too. If the society is awful, old, bad and sad the art colors would normally be depressing colors used in art but the art from the Renaissance are mostly all bright showing that the Renaissance was a happy, new, fresh, and lively.

An example is shown right away in the painting of “The school of Athens.’ The painting shows that there were 2 strong sides of view in the school of Athens which represented some sort of society. The two societies were Spiritual and Non-Spiritual. This painting reflects that people with the same ideas stayed together from the others who denied the idea. ‘The School of Athens’ also tells us what subjects the society was mainly focused on. And as you can see most of the characters in the painting are focused on either mathematics of science. This means that the society was very curious about the things around them. Art is just a fantastic piece of history to tell historians about what was going on in the Renaissance.

‘School of Athens’ contains many different types of characters but if I were part of the painting I think I would be Apollo. Apollo was the god of prophecy, colonization, medicine, archery, poetry, dance, music and intellectual inquiry and also the god of light. He was also the son of Zeus and twin brother of Artemis. In the painting Apollo was painted on Plato’s side which is the side that believed in the spiritual world. The reason why I think I would be Apollo is because Apollo has a wide range of abilities and I believe I have the wide range of abilities just like Apollo. I do everything from academics, sports, and everything else that is available. Apollo loved to teach people how to play the lyre and to entertain them with it. If I loved to do something, I would entertain it with great enthusiasm for people and teach it to them if I had the chance. Also, Apollo was the god of medicine and light. This could be interpreted into reality and change god of medicine and light to having the power to make people happy from sadness, and to always be happy, lively, and positive. I always make people smile, laugh and happy when they’re in their bad mood but I always stay happy, lively, and positive myself. I believe I have the power to make people happy even though they were having a bad day. Also Apollo had a fairly good relationship with many people. I, also have good friendship with friends, just like Apollo. One thing I would like to be more of Apollo is how he used time carefully for everything, and I learnt from him that we should always believe in ourselves.

Leonardo Da Vinci- A Renaissance man

Leonardo Da Vinci

Da Vinci can be characterized as a true Renaissance Man because when you state someone as a Renaissance Man you mean that he has a wide range of abilities and interests especially in the arts and science. Da Vinci had a very open mind and thought of new ideas that no one in his time thought of. Renaissance was a time of ‘rebirth’ of everything and Da Vinci in the Renaissance gained and improved on knowledge of every concept. If Da Vinci didn’t exist, we might be still living in the Stone Age with no technology because every ideas/concepts in a technology is based on Da Vinci’s ideas. Da Vinci’s knowledge on arts and science has helped the people in the Renaissance to improve their world and it has also helped us to live the life we are living right now. If it weren’t for Da Vinci nothing would be the same as it is now.

There's a hero inside everyone's heart

Hero,

by Mariah Carey♬

There's a hero
If you look inside your heart
You don't have to be afraid
Of what you are
There's an answer
If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know
Will melt away

(Chorus)
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

It's a long road
When you face your world alone
No one reaches out a hand
For you to hold
You can find love
If you search within yourself
And the emptiness you felt
Will disappear

(Chorus)
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears asideAnd you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

Lord knows
Dreams are hard to follow
But don't let anyone
Tear them away
Hold on
There will be tomorrow
In time
You'll find the way

(Chorus)
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

lugri.blogspot.com

Mariah Carey’s song ‘Hero’ is showing that all humans have a hero that lies inside their heart. The point of this song is to make you have courage about yourself. Mariah Carey is saying that even though you will go through a life in sorrow, if you look deep inside your soul the sorrow you knew will melt away and you will have the strength to carry on with your life. This makes people reflect back to their lives on what they were thinking about when they were in pain of sorrow. This song transcends time and talks to all cultures about the hero that’s inside you. For example Napoleon, was a short little man from France. But he overcame the complex of his height and became one of the most furious conqueror history has ever known because he knew there was great hero inside his heart. This made Napoleon have a burning fire of determination to reach his goals. This example shows that there is really a hero that lies in you no matter of your size, race, cultural background, social status, gender and age. As I connect this song with the Napoleon it encourages me to have a lot of courage in myself. This song and Napoleon has inspired me to always look carefully inside my heart and to see what great things I can do to the world. I now have to courage to become a hero and to tell people that nothing is impossible.

Find a need and fill it

'DESTINY'

Destiny always waits for you at the end of the road,

Destiny wears obstacles that you have to take it off,

You have to gamble your whole life with Destiny to win a destiny.

sodahead.com

Coelho states in The Alchemist that destiny always waits for you and all you have to do is listen to your heart and overcome the obstacles the world sends you. When destines are revealed to people they refuse to go on a journey to their destiny because they have a negative thinking on what the consequences will be and doubts that they will achieve their destiny. But some people also keep their destiny in their heart to have a reason why to live like the crystal merchant in The Alchemist and there are people who think their destiny is not worth it like one of the thieves in The Alchemist. But destiny sends you messages and omens to help you throughout your journey to your destiny which most people ignore. Coelho talks to all cultures through Santiago’s journey and everything else that happens throughout Santiago’s journey. Like Santiago in The Alchemist we need to listen carefully to our heart and use the messages and omens to aid us to our destiny.

Life with no grief is likely to be shallow and weak

A life trained in sorrow will have the profundity of life

“If a person is living out his destiny, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” (Coelho 135) In The Alchemist, Santiago, a young dreamer leaves his homeland to see the whole new side of the world and to find the hidden treasure in the Egyptian Pyramids (that appeared in his dream). Santiago has to overcome his fears and obstacles to reach his goal. Santiago achieves his destiny by learning new things with curiosity, intelligence and determination.

Santiago has great curiosity even before he begins his journey, but he gains more curiosity as he steps closer to his destiny. The reason Santiago became a shepherd was because he was curious about how people in other lands lived. Santiago had a talk with his father about his curiosity. However, his father said that only rich people could afford to make journeys to other lands; but shepherds were the only one who could travel amongst them. Therefore, Santiago chooses to live as a shepherd. Traveling around from places to places Santiago learns how different cultures are from each other. One day Santiago dreams of a hidden treasure in the Pyramids of Egypt under a sycamore tree. And with his curiosity regarding to his dream leads him to an old amazing woman who interprets dreams. The old woman tells Santiago that he must make his journey to the Pyramids of Egypt. On the journey, Santiago, meets the alchemist. The alchemist is a wise man that answers everything Santiago asks him. “Does a man’s heart always help him?’ the boy asked the alchemist. “Mostly just the hearts of those who are trying to realize their destinies. But they do help children, drunkards, and the elderly, too.” “Does that mean…danger?” “It means…it can,” the alchemist said. (Coelho 129) Santiago was curious about if a man’s heart will always help him to overcome the obstacles. The alchemist tells him that the heart only does what it can. Not only does Santiago’s curiosity help him on his journey, he also moves closer to his destiny by gaining wisdom.

With the alchemist by his side, Santiago achieves a huge amount of new intelligence. When Santiago first began his journey, Santiago wasn’t sure about anything. When he was robbed and lost all his possessions, he was so shocked that he even thought about stopping his journey and going back home. But he continued on with his journey thinking of the old man (Melchizedek), who taught Santiago the Principle of Favorability, and also about how the world will conspire to help him to achieve his destiny. Santiago then goes through a journey with the alchemist. The alchemist teaches him that he should always listen to his heart. Then Santiago listens more carefully to his heart, which enables him to speak many languages of others. Santiago also uses the words of wisdom that the alchemist told him about and uses to persuade things to help him throughout the journey. “Help me,” the boy said. “One day you carried the voice of my loved one to me.” Who taught you to speak the language of the desert and the wind?” “My heart,” the boy answered. (Coelho 130) According to this quote, Santiago uses what he learnt from the alchemist to persuade the wind to help him out. With his new intelligence it made the journey easier for him. But if Santiago didn’t have perseverance, the curiosity and his intelligence would have just been useless.

Santiago had determination before he even started off his journey. “Amongst us, the only… shepherds.” “Well, then I’ll be a shepherd!” (Coelho 9) Here Santiago is so determined on wanting to know about the other lands that he chooses to live as a shepherd; even though he could choose a relaxing life by choosing to live as a priest. But another reason that describes him as a determine boy is because he didn’t regret on choosing to live as a shepherd. Santiago was not only determined towards his destiny but also to the lives of other people. Due to the help of Santiago, the crystal merchant made a lot of money. There were many times when Santiago could have stopped in his journey and head back home, especially when he couldn’t agree on what the alchemist was doing. However, watching/hearing the alchemist solve problems, talk in words of wisdom, teach life’s lessons Santiago gains a stronger determination on achieving his destiny.

The journey that took off for Santiago to Egypt was just a road of experience before he achieved his destiny. It is because at the end of his journey Santiago realizes that the treasure, he’s been looking for was just underneath the ground where he had dreamt on. When he got his treasure, Santiago not only gained wealth but the experiences he had during his journey. On the other hand Santiago would have failed at achieving his destiny and gained nothing if didn’t have curiosity, intelligence or determination. The Alchemist tells you that life with no grief is likely to be shallow and weak. It is because you need to go through some obstacles, in order to have a successful and happy life. It is important to achieve your destiny, because in the process, the world around you will let you know that a man trained in sorrow can know the profundity of life.

'Determination'

petergrant.wordpress.com

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. Meaning, if you don’t have any determination you wouldn’t have that much accomplished in your life. Like Santiago, determination is an essential thing for me to have in my journey to my destiny. Determination allows me to have a strong feeling on what I should go for. However, I hesitate for a while thinking if I should move on or stop but mostly choose to move on with my journey. Having determination enables me to have a burning fire of greed which makes me overcome the obstacles blocking my way to my destiny. Like Coelho states in The Alchemist you can only learn through action. But you should always think before you act. Not meaning that you should always be aware of everything around you because that would just destroy the point of determination. It just means that you should choose your decision wisely, because having determination won’t always reward you with great gifts of life. Having too much determination can actually hurt you more. So, it is always wise enough to control your determination over things. But you should always know that when your life is trained in sorrow you will have profundity of life.

My Adolescence Song 'I believe I can fly'

'I Believe I Can Fly'

I used to think that I could not go on

And life was nothing but an awful song

But now I know the meaning of true love

I'm leaning on the everlasting arms

If I can see it, then I can do it

If I just believe it, there's nothing to it

[1] I believe I can flyI believe I can touch the sky

I think about it every night and day

Spread my wings and fly away

I believe I can soar

I see me running through that open door

I believe I can fly

I believe I can fly

I believe I can fly

See I was on the verge of breaking down

Sometimes silence can seem so loud

There are miracles in life I must achieve

But first I know it starts inside of me, oh

If I can see it, then I can do it

If I just believe it, there's nothing to it

[Repeat 1] Hey, cuz I believe in me, oh

If I can see it, then I can be it

If I just believe it, there's nothing to it

[Repeat 1] Hey, if I just spread my wings

I can flyI can flyI can fly, hey

If I just spread my wings

I can fly

Fly-eye-eye

"Youtube Hyperlink" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbUpPVOEkdA

Paragraph explainning why I chose the song

‘I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky, I think about it every, night and day, Spread my wings and fly away, I believe I can soar, I see me running through that open door.’ I chose this song because it translates, to me that I should always go for my dreams and goals even though something/anything or someone blocks it. The reason I translated in this way is because in the song it says ‘I BELIEVE I can fly, I BELIEVE I can touch the sky, I THINK about it every night and day.’ This is my favorite part of the song because it taught me that I should always believe in my thoughts that I always think about every night and day. ‘If I can see it, then I can do it, if I just believe it, there’s nothing to it,’ this is my second favorite part of the song because it encouraged me that if I can do it and if I believe in it there’s nothing hard to it. ‘Hey, cuz I believe in me, oh’ is my 3rd favorite part of the song because I always believe in myself, and it sort of seems like my part of the song. This song represents my adolescence because it tells that if I believe in something I can do it, which I have always believed in myself. That helped me always try something new.