Cultural Artifacts
The first step in developing part one of your course project is to choose two artifacts from the galleries you explored earlier in this learning block. Select two works that you would like to compare, and remember that you’ll need to identify a theme that is common to both artifacts.
the title of the work the name of the artist, author, or composer
The initial description of your two works deals primarily with the information required to identify them. For each piece, use the identification information from the galleries to convey the following details:
.the date (if known) and time period in which the work was created
.the cultural setting or physical location of the artifact
the edition you’ve been reading (if the work is literary) and the name of the translator (if the work was translated into English)
the performance you’ve been evaluating (if the work is musical)
Now that you’ve described your two works, you can move on to the next requirement, which is to discuss the theme you will use to compare them. This theme will serve as the framework or basis of your comparison of the two works. Describe your theme: In your discussion of the theme, be sure to do the following:
State the theme.
Explain how the theme is expressed in each of your two works, being as specific and detailed as possible.
Point out differences between how the theme is expressed in the two works.
The next step is to reflect on the theme you’ve selected and relate it to your personal experience. In this next writing template, be sure to do the following:
Explain how the theme is personally meaningful to you or how it relates to your personal experience.
Provide specific details to support your explanation.
Sample Answer
Cultural Artifacts
Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is one of the most renowned literary works that was first published in 1847 in London, United Kingdom. The novel was first published under the pseudonym of Currer Bell, which was meant to disguise that the author of the novel was a woman. This is because in 1847, women were not involved in literature, and their works were rarely published. Jane Eyre, therefore, provides a story of individualism for women in that the main character in the novel rises from being a poor and orphaned girl into a successful independent woman. Jane Eyre combines themes from different Victorian and gothic literature to clearly develop the central character.
The Great Gatsby is also another important literary work that was written by F Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. The novel is set in the jazz age of the 1920s in the United States. The main character in the novel is Nick Carraway moves into New York City and eventually becomes friends with an eccentric rich neighbor Jay Gatsby. The Great Gatsby novel provides an inside look at the Jazz ages of the 1920s in the US but also critiques the American dream idea.
Common Theme
The common theme that is evident in The Great Gatsby and Jane Eyre is class. In her novel, Charlotte Brontë explores the complicated issue of social hierarchy in Victorian England. In the novel, Bronte portrays Jane, her main character, as having an ambiguous class standing which results in a lot of tension between various characters around her (Brontë & Prior, 2021). In the novel, Jane is therefore portrayed as having the education and sophistication of an aristocrat but also as a paid employee who is treated as a servant. This makes Jane remain powerless and penniless while she works as a governess at Thornfield. Jane eventually speaks out against class prejudice in different sections of the novel. Jane eventually notes that as a woman intellectual, she does not enjoy the same social class as men intellectuals (Brontë & Prior, 2021).
On the other hand, in The Great Gatsby, the theme of social class is also clear in that Scott Fitzgerald highlights that in the world of the Great Gatsby, the class has a significant influence on all aspects of life, especially in the choosing of spouses to date and marry. For example, Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy in the novel is significantly affected by class (Fitzgerald, 2021). The author highlights that Gatsby is only able to make a move on Daisy only after he amassed a large fortune. This shows that in the society in which the Great Gatsby is set, the maintenance of social class is important. Fitzgerald also highlights at the end of the novel that only social class has a significant impact on which marriage will survive and which marriage is eventually destroyed and marriages that will never come to be. In the novel, the author illustrates that only the most affluent are able to effectively navigate various life events (Fitzgerald, 2021).
Personal Experiences
Although the literary works were written more than a century ago, it appears that the theme of social class is still prevalent in contemporary society. Personally have had several experiences with social class and especially how individuals treat others they consider as coming from a higher social class and those they consider coming from a low social class. Individuals coming from a higher social class are therefore more likely to be treated with respect and given more attention compared to those who come from low social class. For instance, when trying to access various social amenities such as a movie theatre, it will be easier for a person of high social class to gain entrance into the movie theatre and receive the best services in an exclusive setup while a person of a lower social class will not enjoy such services.
Professional Experience
One of the professions that can be significantly impacted by the issue of social class is the psychology profession. A psychologist might therefore be consistently involved with clients facing different challenges related to their social class and their current position in the social hierarchy. Possessing a working knowledge of humanities can therefore help a psychologist to be able to advise their clients effectively on various issues related to social class and the various strategies that such individuals can take to go through social mobility.
Humanities Resources
The three main humanity resources that can be utilized to investigate my social class theme and the chosen artifacts would include peer-reviewed journals highlighting the issue of social class and social mobility. This would include Cohen et al. (2017), Kraus et al. (2017), and Manstead, (2018) articles that address various issues related to social class and social mobility. By focusing on the issue of social class, the three humanity resources would therefore be appropriate and relevant to investigate my key theme. The similarity of the content in the three humanity articles is that they all talk about different issues related to social class. On the other hand, the main difference between the three articles is that Cohen et al. (2017) focuses more on defining the concept of social class between different groups and across time. In contrast, Kraus et al. (2017) evaluates the expression of social class and its effect on everyday life. Finally, Manstead, (2018) article concentrates on the psychology of social class. When searching for resources, I only considered utilizing scholarly databases where I searched the keyword of social class. During my research, I considered current sources published within the past five years.
