Ways of Seeing, Second Reading Questions

Berger seem to see that without history, art is hard to perceive. He seems to want the background history in able to appreciate art because this allows him to see what the artist might have had on his mind when trying to express him/herself through art. Therefore, if Berger has not “discovered” the past or recovnized  it for exactlty what it is, his writing about the paintings could ultimately mean nothing  if he wants to know the history in order to appreciate it. If it’s not the case, if he can appreciate art without the history behind it, ,then it would not be pointless.

Berger’s theory is that you would need to know the background information in order to fully apprecicate the artwork. Therefore, if there is a painting offered by the unnamed art historian in a case of “mystification”, he would not be able to understand nor appreciate the artwork because he would not know what the hidden meaning that the artist is trying to portray in his work.

Walker Percy- Questions for a second reading

1. I feel that as Percy progresses with his thought process in the essay, he is ultimately trying to prove his point that we should try and experience things on our own instead of going by what other’s say. At first, it seems like Percy has a pessimistic view of the world that no one can have their own experiences because of the preformed complexes of the world. I feel that as the reading progresses it Percy continues to illustrate that when people are too worried with matching their experience with the preformed complex, they lose the true meaning of the experience which is to have their genuine experiences. Therefore I feel that Percy was trying to say that we should focus on forming our own experiences instead of trying to say that we can’t have genuine experiences anymore because almost everything has been discovered already.

2. I feel that Percy’s concerns represent the interests of everyone who cares to gain knowledge instead of trying to get things correct in life. For example, I think being a student is perfect for his point. If Percy’s points are followed, it would be in one’s best interest to learn how to do work on their own even if they are wrong instead of having someone else show them what the right way is because when they are shown the preformed complex, students will be too concerned with whether or not they are doing the “right work” instead of learning on their own.

Walker Percy’s “The Loss of the Creature”

1. The question that the reading left me with the most was whether or not Percy took his own points in to consideration when he wrote this essay. Percy’s main point is that people will never be able to value something the same way as another person. If this is true, how are we supposed to be able to comprehend and think about his points the way that he wants us to?

2. The part that I struggled with the most in the reading was simply trying to keep up with what Percy was saying. He had very valid points that were illustrated in his essay but I needed to reread what he said a several times in order to fully understand his points.

3.  The reading’s main point of the essay related back to our discussion of cliche. The example of the grand canyon illustrated this perfectly. Percy discussed that the value of appreciating the grand canyon can not be shared among people because of our differences. This relates with our discussion of cliches in the sense that even though people might be using the same cliches, the meaning and the value of what we are trying to say varies because of the fact everyone’s differences and biases.

The reading also talks about how sightseers have a preformed symbolic complex when going into experience sightseeing the grand canyon. Cliches work in the same way because they are also preformed symbolic complexes that people use.

college experience 4

(http://www.aberdeen.k12.sd.us/dsc/departments/foundation/Telethon/photo%20gallery%20images/new%20bathrooms.jpg)

This picture represents hall bathrooms. A lot of people experience hall bathrooms for the first time in undergraduate colleges. Many people have to get used to sharing bathrooms when they live in dorms in undergraduate college.

college experience 3

(http://users2.ev1.net/~turton/sleeping66.JPG)

This picture represents a class full of tired students. Often times, college is the first time that people have to manage time on their own and therefore don’t go to bed early at night which results in tiredness during the day.

college experience 2

(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0005YVMF8.01-A3CDPEGSIQM61V._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg)

This picture represents the eating style that undergraduate college students have. In undergraduate college, many students don’t have access to kitchens and are too lazy to walk to get food from the cafeteria and therefore develop a bad eating habit. This picture also represents how people end up gaining the freshmen 15.

College Experience

(www.med.cornell.edu/…/halloween2004.html)

This picture represents a social gathering. I know a lot of people come in to undergraduate colleges expecting to party. Though not everyone “parties” in college, everyone meets new people and engages in some kind of social activity. I feel that even if someone is anti-social they get to be sociable in college because there are things like orientation that encourage them to engage in social activities.