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Analysis of the picture, Nkisi Nkondi
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Nkisi Nkondi
Also referred to simply, as the Nkisi, the Nkisi Mkondi is a sculpture representing a magical container in the human form that is believed to hold the spiritual power that can be used for various cultural practices. These cultural practices include protection from evil, performance of magical spells, as well as, exerting spiritual powers on a certain group of people (Dallas Art Museum 1). This sculpture is distinctive to the communities living within the Democratic republic of Congo, and for that reason is a significant piece of art for these communities. Originally sculptured through the use of various materials such as wood, ceramics, cowries, animal skin, and blades, the sculpture stands at 45 inches in length, 15 inches in width, and 11 inches in breadth (Dallas Art Museum 1). In layman language, the sculpture is also refers to as the standing power figures and it comes in various forms such as pots, wood figures of animal or human form, shells or cloth bundles. Each of these forms of the Nkisi is accorded a special name, purpose and ritual. Accordingly, these containers are filled with special empowering medicines, which can be placed on the head, belly, or back of the Nkisi (Dallas Art Museum 1) The medicine put in these containers is referred to as Bilongo, and it is usually made of various elements such as minerals, plants, animal deposit and grave dirt among other things. This specific Dallas Nkisi originates from a class of Nkisi called the Nkondi. It belongs to a class of Nkisis which are considered as having hunting powers for the tracking of wrongdoers in relation to matters of civil law (Dallas Art Museum 1). For that reason, this Nkisi is used by authoritative figures in the community such as judges, chiefs, priests and even doctors.
This paper provides a critical Analysis of the picture, Nkisi Nkondi, illustrating the form, content, technique, historical connections, and value of this piece of art.
Analysis
The sculpture of the Nkisi Nkondi was specifically chosen for this study because of its visual appeal, as well as, the cultural elements associated with this piece. At the outset, the sculpture appeals to its audience in that it looks like a miniature caricature of an African medicine man ready for the performance of a traditional event. Notably, the human figure in the sculpture seems to have metal blades coming out of his chest area, which signifies the amount of power that in turn spikes a level of interest in the piece of art. Additionally, this sculpture was chosen for this study because of the indirect comical factor in the piece of art. The bulging eyeballs, face painting, as well as, the torn clothe-like materials on the sculpture indicate an interesting story behind the existence of this piece of art.
Form
In terms of form, the sculpture incorporate various principles and elements of art. Visually, one notices five main artistic factors such as color, use of line, and diverse textures, in relation to the principles of art. The color used for the sculpture is brown, which represents the skin color of the African community. This color gives the piece of art a sense of belonging as it links the piece of art to the Jungles of Africa. The colors white, red and yellow can also be identified in the sculpture as they are used in unity or contrastingly to the dominant brown color. The use of line in the sculpture is used in two main ways including the 3D imaging of the sculptures, as well as, the individual line drawings on the sculpture such as around the eyes.
Content
As explained in the museum text of the sculpture, this piece of art is intended for hunting purposes. This implies that the sculpture has special hunting and capturing capabilities of evil spirits. A closer look at the sculpture gives the “hunter” feel of the Nkisi Nkondi, in that it appears to have magical powers. The blades emerging from the chest of the sculpture provide the audience with the sense that the sculpture’s forces are around its chest and belly. The seed-like form at the centre of the belly also gives the sense that the sculptures power is around the belly area.
Technique
As illustrated in the museum text, this sculpture is made from 13 different artistic materials including wood, iron, raffia, ceramic, pigment, kaolin, red camwood, resin, dirt, leaves, animal skin, and cowrie shell (Dallas Art Museum). Speculatively, the wood was used to sculpt the overall shape and form of the sculpture, whereas all the other materials are added on to the sculpture by gluing.
Historical Connections
The sculpture of the Nkisi Nkondi is historically connected with the Kongo Nail Fetishes, stories about the mystic nails that had spiritual powers during the time.
Value
This piece of sculpture has both spiritual and expressive value. The expressive value of the piece of art is illustrated in the way the sculpture has been made using the different artistic materials. This piece of art is an expression of the culture of the people living in the DRC. The piece of art also has a spiritual value as it is used for spiritual purposes for the community.
Work Cited
Alisa, “Mangaaka Power Figure (Nkisi N’Kondi).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin
66.2 (2008): 22, 40.
Bassani, Ezio. “Kongo Nail Fetishes from the Chiloango River Area.” African Arts
10.3 (1977): 36-40.
MacGaffey, Wyatt, and Michael Harris. Astonishment and Power: Kongo Minkisi and the Art of
Renée Stout. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press for the National Museum of African Art, 1993. p. 44. 21. Print.
“Standing Power Figure: Nkisi Nkondi”. Dallas Museum of Art.
Thompson, Robert F. “The Grand Detroit N’kondi.” Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Art
4.1 (1978): 206–221.
Vanhee, Hein (2000). “Agents of Order and Disorder: Kongo Minkisi,” New
Perspectives on African Collections of the Horniman Museum. London and Coimbra, (2000); 89-106.
Wyatt, M. Religion and Society in Central Africa: The BaKongo of Lower Zaire Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2000. Print.
Analysis of the Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
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Introduction
Authors have always used their literary works to convey a certain message or to depict some evil in the society within which they live. This is clearly depicted in the novel “Montana 1948″ by Larry Watson. The novel revolves around the life of a boy named David Hayden, who lives with his extended family in a minute town known as Bentrock, Montana. The Hayden family is known to be extremely powerful in Mercer County and incorporates members such as a war hero and the local sheriff. However, the summer of 1948 marks the turning point in David’s life as far as his point of view of the things that he has ever known is concerned. First, David’s nanny named Marie Little Soldier fell sick upon which David’s uncle Frank was called in to examine her. Marie, however, refuses to be examined by him and confides to David’s mom Gail, that Frank molests Native American patients. Ultimately, Marie dies, but David Hayden admits to his dad that she may have been sexually abused and murdered by Uncle Frank. This leaves Wes, who is David’s father and the local sheriff in a dilemma as to the legal action that he is supposed to take. He has to decide whether let Uncle Frank remain free and maintain his loyalty to his family, or be loyal to justice of the land and arrest Uncle Frank. Ultimately, there is an agreement that Uncle Frank should be locked up in David’s house cellar until such a time when an appropriate decision is made pertaining to his fate. However, Uncle Frank ends the reigning dispute when he commits suicide with the cellar.
One of the most dominant themes in the novel is racism. Daisy McAuley, one of the local women uses the term “squaws” in reference to the Indian women. This is a racist terminology that incorporates terms such as “redskin”, “black gin” “nigger”. It is worth noting that these things are a symbol of racial inferiority. Daisy has always known that doctor Frank Hayden rapes Indian women but does not care much about that. This is because the entire community bears some prejudice against Indians and opines that they are ignorant of what doctors should do when examining them.
In addition, racism is shown to be a function of misunderstanding and ignorance with Julian Hayden as a prime example. This key symbol of Julian’s opinions is his two story “dude ranch”. While Europeans conquered the west thanks to their guns and brute force rather than their intelligence and knowledge, Julian is quite ignorant of this fact in his opinion. He uses the term “red meat” to refer to the Sioux thereby denigrating them as objects that may be used anyhow by his son frank. Julian’s crude and boorish nature are exhibited by his regular use of foul language, as well as his reference to bodily functions in describing other races.
While it may be assumed that Wes was free of racial prejudice against the Indians, subtle expressions of the vice may be noticed in some of his behavior. For example, Wes prevents his son David from wearing moccasins that had been given to him as he believed that the shoes would make David as lazy and flat-footed as Indians. The use of shoes in reference to Indians may point at the fact that the society believed that there was nothing wrong in keeping them under their feet, as that is where they belong. Wes’s prejudice is seen especially in the fact that he thought them to be irresponsible, superstitious, ignorant and lazy, of course, with a few exceptions.
Analysis of the Novel, 1984 by George Orwell
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Analysis of the Novel, 1984 by George Orwell
Introduction
The novel, 1984, by George Orwell qualifies to be considered a classic piece of literature going by the depth in the content and relevant insights it contain and the unique style that it adopts. Using the experiences of character Wilson Smith, Orwell attempts to highlight the influence that a totalitarian government would have on the society members. The dangers arising from such a government lie in attempts to control the lives of its civilians. Through this, the government manipulates civilians’ minds undermining their ability to make decisions for themselves. These totalitarian tendencies are the ones that Orwell is disturbed with as they give way to widespread oppressions as the government seeks to control and monitor the lives and movements of civilians.
While capitalist nations such as the United States claim to rubbish totalitarian tendencies, it is gradually becoming evident that they are embracing the same tendencies. Events that have taken place after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 points towards authoritarian government tendencies covered in the novel 1984. Legislations, revelations of illegal wiretapping and government sanctioned torture and assassinations that have taken place relate to the tendencies that make George Orwell disturbed. As a result, the democracy that the US has traditionally been associated with has been progressively contracting. Relating totalitarian tendencies established in 1984 and the current ongoings in the US administrations, it is becoming evident that tendencies mentioned in the novel are creeping into the US and they pose dangers to and are counterproductive to the democracy that the country has been advocating.
Constant Surveillance
George Orwell has effectively discussed the issue of constant surveillance, where government authorities watch over the lifestyle of its citizens in order to look out for any signs of rebellion. For instance, the government establishes a slogan of, “big brother is watching you” (Orwell 3). This is meant to ensure that the citizens became cautious of whatever they are doing. Additionally, the government authorities use telescreens to monitor the activities of its citizens. These screens are found in public places. The police are also strategic and George Orwell depicts them as flying around residence using helicopters, peering into people’s windows.
Government authority is vested in the Party, signifying that the Party is the government. Curiously, the Party uses members of the family to survey the activities of fellow members. The Party uses children to get information about the activities of their parents. Orwell provides a picture in which spies of the party train children to be devoted members of the party, thereby making them to relay information about the activities of their parents. The fact that children are allowed by the party to eavesdrop on their parent’s conversation makes adults to even fear their own children. Sometimes, parents denounce their children, and the party’s propaganda machine, The Times, would write an article praising this act as heroic. The child would be branded as a ‘hero’ for abandoning his family for the well-being of the party.
Other forms of surveillance can be depicted when party officials warn the citizens against allowing their thoughts to wander aimlessly. The consequence of this according to party officials is that some negative thought could easily be registered on the public telescreens. For instance, if a citizen has a negative facial expression when victory is announced, he would be facecrime. The author says, “Your worst enemy was your own nervous system. At any moment, the tension inside you was liable to translate itself into some visible symptom” (Orwell 64).
In the US, the situation is the same as in Oceania. As has been witnessed in Oceania, police officers are not ashamed of using helicopters to even look through the windows of their citizens. In the US, many government officials have been mandated to enter into private homes without any warrants. These powers have been offered to them by the Patriot Act of 2001, which was signed into law by former US President George Bush (Fincen 3). This Act was extended by President Obama in 2011, suggesting that the citizens would continually have their homes checked without warrants. The aspect of using children to monitor the activities of their parents can be equated to the habit of US authorities keeping computerized information of citizens. The fact that children would relay information of parents to party officials is akin to the danger of private information being fed into a centralized data bank (Bennett 3). Government officials have effectively used Media outlets like CNN to spread western ideals. In this sense, both the Obama and Bush administrations have traditionally used media houses to paint a good picture of Western countries. This makes non-western nations to look ‘bad’.
Unending Propaganda
The inner party uses propaganda as a strategy to force its viewpoint on its citizens. Those who rebel against the assertions of the propaganda are tortured and sometimes brainwashed in order to conform to the dictates of the party. It is quite apparent that rumors, false ideas and myths control the minds of citizens in the fictitious country, Oceania. One of the most distinct propaganda machinery used is the party slogan that reads; “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” This slogan is doublespeak because it does not express any form of absolute truth. A clear analysis of this slogan reveals key issues. For instance, the slogan spreads a distinct propaganda that discourages citizens from looking for freedom because it is a form of slavery. Additionally, the party slogan creates the impression that the ignorance of the citizens on government affairs is a great strength. In this sense, the propaganda asserts that the secret to happiness lies in ignorance.
The slogan has effectively been used by the government to control its citizens into believing that the INGSOC government alone that can make them happy. Another slogan, “Big brother is watching you” is an effective propaganda that is used by the party through the media to control the minds of its citizens. From the surface, the slogan creates the impression that the citizens are safe in the hands of the authority. However, the slogan is meant to spread fear among the citizens that without the Party, there would be no safety. This makes the citizens not to rebel against the establishment.
Of course, it has to be acknowledged that the ‘Big brother’ is composed of the Party and the INGSOC. In general, propaganda has been used to brainwash the citizens of Oceania into believing that ‘big brother’ intends to make them happy. These propagandas have effectively been used to prevent rebellion because it makes citizens to feel safe and protected. The apparent belief in an ideal society through propaganda can therefore be described as one of the most lethal weapon that has been used by the Party to control the citizens of Oceania. Indeed, the aspect of brainwashing is quite successful. When Winston visits Parsons’ place, he notices a full-sized banner of ‘big brother’ (Orwell 27).This is the party paraphernalia within the house of a citizen, highlighting the fact that ‘big brother’ has been effective in spreading propaganda to households.
President George Bush was a master propagandist, especially during the time of the Iraq war. Having known that the public was not supportive of the Iraq invasion, he tried to use some phrases which were meant to hide the truth. Terms such as,’ axis of evil’ were meant to whip public sentiments for the war. Although it was quite apparent that there existed no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the then US president was more concerned about regime change in order to install a regime that was favorable to the oil interests of the US. By suggesting that Iraq falls within the axis of evil was a strategic language that was meant to convince the public that the country was making nuclear weapons.
Distortion of Language
Like other literary scholars, George Orwell has effectively abused and misused the English language in order to drive his message home. Government authorities deceive and manipulate the citizenry by language. As a result, the people are able to exhibit unquestionable loyalty to the regime. Distortion of language is highly exposed through the media. Quite apparently, the media is skilled in engineering the ‘truth’. For instance, Winston’s job in the ministry of Truth is to modify news items and other documents that expose the Party in bad light (Lewis, Florence and Moss 47). After replacing the original document with a modified one, he destroys all the original files. Orwell says:
This process of continuous alteration was applied not only to newspapers, but also to books, periodicals, pamphlets, posters, leaflets… Day by day and almost minute by minute, the past was brought up to date. In this way, every prediction made by the Party could not be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record (Orwell 42).
Of course, the aspect of distorting language was meant to make it difficult for the opposition to grow. Additionally, the totalitarian state of Oceania is in constant war, and the Party has to keep the public satisfied with this warfare. The authorities are quite aware that if the public becomes dissatisfied with the warfare, then it would resent the shortage of food and other commodities and possibly rebel against the party (Berkes 7). Therefore, the use of language through the media has been used to distract public attention away from the negative side of warfare. Media uses soothing words, which creates good news of victory. For instance, Winston’s telescreen announces, “Our forces in South India have won a glorious victory. I am authorized to say that the action we are now reporting may well bring the war within measurable distance of its end” (Orwell 28).
In many instances, the media relies on the contention that any piece of information that is repeated often becomes accepted truth. This is something that Winston comes to discover, when he becomes amazed that his friends and colleagues accept the lies that emanate from the media. Therefore, in order for doublespeak to be effective, “you just say things frequently and people eventually understand and say it themselves” (Chilton 27).
In another instance, politicians abuse language to hide the truth. Orwell offers the example of how politicians can twist words in order to deceive people. For instance, defenseless villages are bombarded from the air and the inhabitants are driven away from their homes. When millions of peasants are robbed of their farm produces, the authorities’ uses jargon filled English to pacify the general republic (Orwell 148). Orwell in fact castigates this heavy reliance on ready-made phrases.
The Obama administration can be accused of the distortion of language using aspects of double speak. In doublespeak, the administration has distorted language through the application of semantics and euphemism. Obama has on many occasions been overheard suggesting that he accepts debate on civil liberties. This has not been true because his administration has been known for penalizing whistleblowers who volunteer information to the public about the secret dealings of the state.
Historical Revisionism
Historical revisionism is normally achieved through the deliberate distortion of historical records in order to legitimize negative events that happened in the past. Sometimes, it would entail denying some crimes that happened in the past. This is normally achieved through the aspect of forging documents, and manipulating statistics. As has been visualized earlier, the Party used the media to engineer truth through language. In this sense, Orwell acknowledges that the Party has the ultimate control over history. In fact, language according to Orwell is linked to history. The work of Winston at the Ministry of Truth is to modify news items and other documents in order to erase the truth that happened in the past. Quite apparently, this whole process of falsification of documents amazes the reader of the novel, when it is found out that Winston, the master forger of documents has problems recalling reality of the past.
Oceania is at war but Winston is not sure whether the country is at war with Eurasia or Eastasia. This is because the Part keeps changing history (Orwell 42). Falsification of documents also happens in the ministry of plenty, where economic figures are made up to create the impression that the economy has improved greatly. This is meant to make a contradiction between the past, and the present, in order to make the citizens believe that the current regime is better than the former ones. This is not true because the ‘big brother’ regime is involved in numerous warfare, which makes the economy slow down.
In a different instance, the government of Oceania has the habit of continually revising records that are historical in order to conform to the politics that occur in the current realm. It is quite apparent that Oceania is currently at war with Eurasia with records indicating that this country has been a constant enemy of Oceania. However, the records are changed in order to brainwash the public into believing that the country is actually an ally. In essence, historical revisionism is an effective tool that is used for propaganda purposes by the ministry of truth. Orwell witnesses the aspect of changing the truth of the past to conform to the current setting in this statement; “he who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future” (Orwell 37).
The aspect of distortion of historical records has been achieved by the Obama administration largely. The hunt for Osama bin laden has been filled with a lot of discreetness and few Americans know what happened. Distortion of information during Osama’s killings was achieved through censorship. No information has been availed to the public concerning how the al-Qaida fugitive met his death. Although much remains to be desired as to how the man was killed, the Obama administration has convinced the public that he was shot and dropped in the ocean in order to prevent Muslims from making the terrorist a hero.
Fear
Technological surveillance features prominently within the novel, where telescreens are being used to monitor the daily activities of the citizens. This is meant to instill fear within the general population that any action beyond what is acceptable by the establishment would attract heavy punishment. Ironically, the aspect of surveillance is received positively by the citizens, who view it as an aspect of a caring government that protects them from potential danger from enemies of the republic. In this sense, widespread fear is initiated into the enemies of the establishment. This helps to cement the authority of those in government because they get assured of ultimate obedience from the citizens.
In the same spirit, Americans have accepted technology as a form of surveillance for security purposes. Most Americans regard technological surveillance as favorable. This acceptance hinges on fear of terrorism. Therefore, Americans have no problem with government authorities tapping their telephone conversations because they believe it is a worthy sacrifice for their security.
Perpetual War
George Orwell’s book rotates around three states, Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. At any time, Oceania is at war with any of these states. In this sense, there can never be a time in which Oceania is in alliance with both states. When it is at peace with one state, it must always be at war with the other. The theme of perpetual war is therefore consistent in the novel. This is similar to situations in the US. The US is always in a condition of perpetual war, and barely in time for peace. This traditional was precipitated during the Bush regime, when the war on Afghanistan began. The end of the Afghanistan war was associated with the commencement of the Iraq war, and it is quite apparent that the end of the Iraq war shifted attention to Iran due to its nuclear program. Therefore, the states of Eurasia and Eastasia can be compared to Iraq and Afghanistan, which seem to change positions of war.
Torture
The Party has an exclusive room through which all forms of torture are carried on individuals who seem to have ideologies that contradict the manifesto of the ‘big brother’. Room101 is a torture chamber within the Ministry of Love, where political prisoners are forced to recant their convictions. Indeed, the protagonist Smith undergoes untold anguish within the confines of room number 101. In the book, Smith undergoes physical torture where he receives incessant blows in order for him to confess even things he has not done. The intellectuals of the party administer drug injections and electric shocks in order to make a forced confession.
The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 has shielded the US from the atrocities that were being done on war prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. Before the Act, torture was used as an interrogation tool for the prisoners, who were mostly, associated with terrorism (Greenberg 114). Like the use of drugs and electric shock in room 101, war prisoners in Guantanamo Bay were initially forced to accept fabricated charges. Therefore, the Detainee Treatment Act that was signed by former President Bush can be described as a great success in prohibiting inhumane treatment of prisoners. Nevertheless, the amended Act of the same law has been criticized by human rights organizations like Amnesty International for providing loopholes that can precipitate torture of prisoners. In this sense, the amended version is akin to allowing the torture activities that happen in Room 101.
Lack of Habeas Corpus
The principle of Habeas Corpus ensures that an individual under arrest is brought before a court of law. This ensures that a prisoner is not detained unlawful. The novel 1984 by George Orwell exposes situations in which individuals are arrested without trial. Thought police arrest Winston and never provide any trial. This denied him the chance to prove himself innocent. When Winston Smith is arrested, he is taken through torture even before any court of law proves him guilty.
The aspect of preventing someone from declaring himself innocent until proven guilty is quite visible in our society. This signifies that there is a lack of the principle of Habeas Corpus. In the US for instance, former President George Bush suspended the Habeas Corpus and it has never been reinstated up to date (Monacellib 5). Therefore, innocent people can be arrested and sent to jail without any trial. Even when in jail, it becomes quite difficult for such people to prove themselves innocent in order to afford them freedom and a fair trial. This signifies that contemporary Americans are not quite different from Winston’s case, who suffered torture at the hands of the party officials.
Conclusion
The novel 1984 by George Orwell can be acknowledged as having predicted the advent of totalitarianism in the contemporary society. Surprisingly, totalitarianism is not being practiced in communist countries like Russia and China alone. The threat of terrorism after the 9/11 has forced the US to adopt these practices. The United States has therefore become the new Oceania, and abandoned democratic ideals for totalitarian ones.
Works Cited
Bennett, John. Orwell’s 1984: Was Orwell Right? 2013. 7 November 2013 <http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v06/v06p–9_Bennett.html>.
Berkes. “Language as the “Ultimate Weapon” in Nineteen Eighty-Four.” 27 February 2000. Berkes. 7 November 2013 <http://www.berkes.ca/archive/berkes_1984_language.html>.
Chilton, Paul. Orwellian Language and the Media. London: Pluto Press, 1988.
Fincen. USA Patriot Act. 2001. 7 November 2013 <http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/patriot/>.
Greenberg, Karen J. The Torture Debate in America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Lewis, Florence and Peter Moss. The Tyranny of Language in Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1984. London: Comedia Publishing Group, 1983.
Monacellib. “1984 and Orwell’s Predictions.” 5 June 2011. Swsd. 7 November 2013 <www.swsd.k12.wa.us/…/Big_Brother_is_watching_you_articles.pdf >.
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Penguin Books, 1949.