The 1930 painting titled “American Gothic” illustrated by Grant Wood is perhaps one of the most renowned and recognized paintings in American history. It has continually maintained a role throughout numerous popular culture references, and is considered by many to be possess a definite historical value. That does not go without saying, however, that this detailed portrait doesn’t have an assured extent of persuasion appraisal, an amount that has carved both the piece and its illustrator a notch in history. The Great Depression was one of the most chastening, degrading periods of time in American history. The crash of the stock market in 1929 left most of the U.S. decrepit and penniless, leaving millions of individuals and families to suffer from starvation …show more content…
This predicament is vividly personified within the aforementioned painting, featuring a man and woman who are presumably married staring down the onlooker with sunken, hardened faces that signal they have been through some extremely tough times. A pitchfork in the forefront of the painting and a barn in the far right corner indicate that the pair are farmers, and have indeed suffered harshly due to the vilified economy that has seemingly worked against them for many long years. Its painfully detailed, elegant brushwork and the unyielding expression on the two figures were stimulated by the painter Wood’s experiences with Flemish Renaissance art, which he studied diligently throughout his travels to Europe between 1920 and 1926. His incentive for the piece came from visiting a small town by the name of Eldon in his home state of Iowa, and coming across a house with a single, vast window made in the classic style architects refer to as “Carpenter Gothic”. “I imagined American Gothic people with their faces stretched out long to go with this American Gothic house,” he stated when asked about the origin of the painting. After the completion of this painting, Wood became beholden towards
Leuchtenberg sad, “There was no single cause of the crash and ensuing depression,” [Doc2]. Many things as stated earlier contributed to the crash, such as overexpansion of credit, goods, industries and rising rates of unemployment. Many Americans saw the Stock Market as an easy way to create wealth by buying stocks cheap, usually at a margin, and selling for a higher price, hopeful to profit. Buying on margin was the act of paying some money on a stock, but loaning the rest from a bank who expected would be paid back when profit was made. Stocks became more expensive to the point where nobody wanted to buy them because of their extreme price.
This dark time in history began with the collapse of the stock market in October of 1929. Wall Street became unstable and in turn wiped out millions of investors, which caused the United States to fall into the longest and deepest economic crisis in its history. Although the stock market crash of 1929 started the chain of events, other events also fueled its decline. First, firms in America earned record profits during the 1920s and reinvested much of those funds into expansion. By 1929, companies had expanded to the “bubble point”.
It was one of the most economic crisis that ever happen in the history of our nation. The 1929 Stock Market crash was a result of various economic disparity and structural failings. It all started, when
The stock market crash of October 29, 1929 provided a dramatic end to an era of unprecedented, and unprecedentedly lopsided, prosperity. This disaster had been brewing for years. Different historians and economists offer different explanations for the crisis–some blame the increasingly uneven distribution of wealth and purchasing power in the 1920s, while others blame the decade’s agricultural slump or the international instability caused by World War I. In any case, the nation was woefully unprepared for the crash. For the most part, banks were unregulated and uninsured.
This is significant to Birch’s view of the American Dream as many people only see what the dream has to offer. In addition to this, the pale color of the sky along with the white hue of the lighthouse convey a sense of simplicity, creating this illusion that a person can easily achieve their goals as long as they put in the work. This illusion, however, is broken by the bottom half of the painting, as it represents the harsher, more realistic view of the American Dream that Birch believed in. While the upper half of the painting suggested this sense of straightforwardness with the bright sky and the pristine lighthouse, the bottom half juxtaposes this with a small ship approaching dark waves and rocks. Just like in, “Shipwreck, 1829,” the
In 1929, the U.S. was hit with the worst economic crisis in the history of the country, the Great Depression. The Great Depression left millions of people unemployed and cost millions their life's savings. The Depression lasted for ten long years for the American people. Since the Great Depression ended, people have studied it, trying to figure out what happened that started it all. The problem was, in fact, the poor economic habits of the people at the time, such as speculation, income maldistribution, and overproduction.
Kostandin Valle Mr. Zoellner English Language Arts II 26 August 2015 The Devastating Effects of the Great Depression Throughout life, many people go through some type of devastating or traumatic event that can change their lives forever. For the American people of the early to mid 1930’s, the Great Depression was one of these events. The Great Depression caused a major impact on all of America and affected the economy, the government, as well as the personal life of many Americans.
This painting, created by a Modernist, depicts modern life in America as a ‘new civilization’. This painting contradicted Fundamentalist beliefs, as they wished to preserve traditional values and the modern depiction departed these old
What Caused the Great Depression? The Great Depression was a devastating tragedy that changed our economy. In the U.S, the Great Depression shortly happened after the stock market crash in 1929. This sent Wall Street into a great panic and wiped out millions of investors.
There began to be a gradual decline in prices and the stock market ruptured. On October 24, 1929, the infamous “Black Thursday” took place, where stock holders went on a panic selling spree. Things then went from bad to worse, stock prices went down 33 percent. People stopped purchasing goods and business investments decreased after the crash. In the fall of 1930, the first of four major waves
Laura Marie Yapelli Professor Rung Final Paper 12/8/2016 Baseball in The Great Depression On October 29th, 1929 the stock market crashed and sent the United States into a severe economic disaster marking the start of the Great Depression. The effects of the crash were extreme and affected the living and working conditions of Americans across the Country. People and families were not the only ones affected by the Great Depression. Many companies and organizations were feeling the effects as well.
"There is no cause to worry. The high tide of prosperity will continue." The Great Depression started on March 25,1929. In the Great Depression people lost started people lost their jobs and half of the banks failed. Why do black people get treated poorly Know one had money for them to have in their bank.
The Great Depression was not only one of the defining moments in American history, but also one of the most difficult hardships Americans faced. During the Great Depression, which was ignited by the stock market crash of 1929, people faced unemployment, poverty, and changes in government the ultimately shaped America today. Many people believe that The Great Depression began when the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929 (“The Great Depression,” American Express). In the mid to late 1920’s the stock market grew majorly, the stock prices skyrocketed gaining interest from all kinds of people.
Edward Hopper’s painting, House by the Railroad, portrays an abandoned, Victorian-styled mansion built adjacent to a railroad. Hopper depicts the lonely state of the house by emphasizing the shading of the house, colors, architectural design, and placement. In the poem, Edward Hirsch emphasizes the houses’s “emotions” through the usage of personification, diction and metaphors. Hirsch’s personification of the house provides us insight on how the house is feeling. For instance, he describes the physical appearance of the house by using words like “strange, gawky house”(142) and “faded cafeteria windows”(143).
The image has a dark side to it which is foreshadowed by the rustic feel created by the farmhouse and shed. Like many, the history of this painting actually goes back to the illustrator. Christina Olson was a good friend and neighbor of Wyeth. He soon discovered that Christina lived with a unbearable disorder that took away her ability to walk and use any limbs. Years down the road she died at age 74 after a long hard life and complications from her disease These details may help the viewer to