John C Calhoun Monument Essay

Monuments are designed to encapsulate and preserve history so that future generations have access to the lessons of the past. However, a memorial or a statue can only show so much about an event of history, and thus, the creators of these monuments attempt to symbolically connote meaning in their work. The statue of John C. Calhoun is no exception to this. The creators of the John C. Calhoun monument artfully created the statue in a way that preserves his significance to the history of South Carolina as a state for generations to come. Calhoun is portrayed as a powerful and notable figure through the messages and aesthetics of the statue itself, and the hidden meanings they carry. Poetically speaking, the layout of a monument aesthetically

The monument depicts a bronze Calhoun towering atop a pedestal, held up by a stone column, 115 feet in the air. Furthermore, the bronze figure used to represent Calhoun seemingly appears to be looking down upon the city of Charleston. One can see the use of bronze palm trees around the base of the monument, and the use of actual palm trees around the statue is quite apparent. The sun showers the monument with light in the beautiful, well-kept Marion Square of Charleston, South Carolina. The statue is relatively symmetrical, but the bronze cast of Calhoun is seemingly asymmetrical. The creator of the statue had artfully used the sun to contrast the bronze figure with the remaining stone column and pedestal. When the sun shines down upon the bronze figure, he is illuminated. Consequently, when an individual sees the statue, their eye is immediately drawn to the shining, bright Calhoun. One could surmise that the artist had attempted to illustrate the level of political prowess and sophistication that Calhoun achieved during his life through the use of height. The monument stands at 115 feet tall with a bronze depiction of Calhoun at the top. Moreover, Calhoun is seen looking down at the city of Charleston. One could interpret this as a symbolic depiction of Calhoun watching over the state that he loved for all of his life. The use of palm trees at the base of the statue illustrates