Comparison and Contrast

Created just five years apart, these works relate in time as well as subject. On the bottom, the painting American Gothic, by the Iowan Grant Wood (1892-1942), depicts farmers in 1930, before the Great Depression was fully under way. On the top, the photograph Rural Rehabilitation Client, by the Lithuanian born New Jerseyan Ben Shahn (1899-1969), depicts recipients of a federal aid program in Arkansas in 1935, at the Depression's low point. Closely examine the people in each image (clothes, postures, expressions) and their settings. What striking and not-so-striking similarities do you notice? What is the most obvious difference? What are some more subtle differences? What does the medium of each work (painting versus photography) contribute to the differences? How would you summarize the visions of rural folk conveyed by Wood and Shahn?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are many similarities and differences between these two pictures. To me, their expressions look almost identical. The only difference in this though, is that the husband and wife are switched in each picture. In the bottom picture, the house looks a lot fancier than the other people's house. Also, in the bottom picture, they look cleaner, not dirty and unkempt like the top couple. In a painting, the artist can make the lives of people look more perfect, while as in a photograph, it shows the ugly truth. I think these two artists wanted to capture these type of people to show the common population how bad things can get.

Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain

Original Paragraph:

"Tom!" No answer. "What's gone with that boy, I wonder? You, TOM!" No answer.

The old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked over them about the room; then she put them up and looked out under them. She seldom or never looked through them for so small a thing as a boy; they were her state pair, the pride of her heart, and were built for "style," not service-she could have seen through a pair of stove lids just as well. She looked perplexed for a moment, and then said, not fiercely, but still loud enough for the furniture to hear:

"Well, I lay if I get hold of you I'll--"

She did not finish, for by this time she was bending down and punching under the bed with the broom, and so she needed breath to punctuate the punches with. She resurrected nothing but the cat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have never read this book, but the first part I read, this paragraph, sounded like the book was going to be funny. Mark Twain's sense of humor is absolutely priceless. The part about the old lady's glasses made me smile when I read it. This beginning part was interesting enough to make me want to finish the book. I plan to read it soon.

Yours truly, Lucy B. Parker

Original Paragraph:

After Target we went to H&M so we could play TWUO, which stands for The World's Ugliest Outfit. It was a game that Rachel and Missy and I had made up in fourth grade, and I had really missed it. It wasn't like I could play it with Marissa. Because she dressed in weird ugly outfits every day, she wouldn't get the joke. Also, I didn't want to admit she was my friend, because, well, she's Marissa. Because the clothes in H&M were so cool, it was a lot harder to play TWUO there, rather than, say, the Misses Department at Marshalls. Either way, you could never go wrong with sequins or rhinestones. Which is exactly why Marissa was a bad choice-she wore at least one rhinestone thing every day of her life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really really enjoyed this book because the way it's written is from a girl's point of view and it sounds like her actually talking. This part in the book was pretty great for me because I do this at the mall with my sister all the time. We will go to like, Ross, and either pick out the most horrid prom dress there, or try to beat each other with the worst outfit. Even though the girls in this book are much younger than me, I really enjoyed it. I have felt exactly like she does sometimes, when she is dealing with life issues. Lucy and me are very different people, but I really enjoyed her story.