Comparing/ananlysis - Essay Example

The Davenports essay appeared to be extremely useful for making a deep insight into the meaning of the "American Gothic".Now I perceive the picture more as being a complex of meaningful details, each playing its specific role for maintaining the message of the picture as a whole. Some of them were left unnoticed by me, such as cameo brooch or that the hair of the woman bears resemblance to a medieval Madonna, which, indeed, adds modesty to her look. In contrast, when these details are explained, it becomes obvious that everything on the picture appears on its place rather than arbitrary.

Subsequently, it becomes clear that the painting is an incarnation of the American style of life. In my opinion, regardless of whether the picture was intended as a satire on the rural life, its rigidity, or resistance to the change or whether it was meant as a praise of those time values, it still exposes characteristic traits of the society.Moreover, the variety of parodies and revisions of the painting enable to better grasp its original meaning through exposing characteristic traits of the time during which they were created.

For instance, Gordon Parkss variant can be viewed as symbolizing social injustice and segregation, which stay is contrast to the value of freedom embodied by the U.S. flag. Similarly, “American Gaythic” draws attention to the social issue that has been much discussed recently. In a sum, it is possible to conclude that parodies help to understand the symbolism of the picture and hint on the most essential elements of it. Parody substitutes those elements and in this way makes them evident.

It becomes clear that the original picture depicts characteristic traits of the time when it was created. Similarly, parodies reflect upon the newly appeared elements of the modern culture, its views, and values.