ipl-logo

Symbolism In The Grid

473 Words2 Pages

The movie Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance by the Hopi people displays hundreds of symbols. More specifically, in the section “The Grid”, the lights on cars and buildings, the people moving in patterns, and the signs represent symbols of a rushed, chaotic life and ungratefulness of nature. Multiple times throughout “The Grid”, people pause to eat at a restaurant or consume pre-made foods such as hot dogs, twinkies, and pop tarts. The inability to stop to make a meal for one's family and to enjoy each other’s company demonstrates the rush of life. People do not stop to enjoy the little things like a home cooked meal or a lazy day with the family or even appreciate the beauty of nature. Also in the movie, the viewer sees hundreds of thousands …show more content…

The three symbols lead to the conclusion that people rush through life trying to live the very best one, but miss out on so much in doing so. People overlook the nature surrounding them as they get caught in a routine without any adventure. How disappointed Henry David Thoreau would be to see people moving in a flurry of speed from here to there wasting time in traffic and working meaningless jobs. He stated in his essay Walden, “why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?” believing that people spend too much time on the details of life. At the end of Walden, Thoreau writes “I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves”. In recording this belief, people can infer that Thoreau would be distressed with the systematic lives of people today. The repetition of the same activities day after day without adventure would bestow sorrow in his

Show More
Related
1022 Words | 5 Pages

1. Thoreau uses antithesis to describe his purpose for going to live in the woods to show that if he does the opposite it will be unfortunate. His contradicting points set balance to the first paragraph. If he just put that he wanted to live in the woods, his argument would not have started out as strong. By offering both points of view, he reaches out to a greater audience.

Read More
525 Words | 3 Pages

He suggests that you might look around yourself and really take into consideration as to how you are spending your short time you’re given in this life. Much like Chris McCandless, Henry David Thoreau looks around him and finds himself to be displeased. To quote Thoreau, “ I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Much like McCandless, Thoreau thought very little of money, jobs and other things of the civilized world. Henry Thoreau concluded that to live, not much is needed.

Read More
664 Words | 3 Pages

Thoreau also writes about routine living and conformity in this quote, “The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity!” (Walden) In this quote, readers can see that McCandless and Thoreau have very similar beliefs in regard to the idea of routine living and conformity. It is clear that both men believe that conformity and routine living are detrimental to the human

Read More
884 Words | 4 Pages

Chris McCandless, a Transcendentalist? Unlike the majority, Chris McCandless decides to leave his home and possessions, and embark on a dangerous journey to the Alaskan wilderness. In the novel, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, the author describes Chris McCandless’ journey in depth to show transcendentalist ideals. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that focuses on following your heart and the idea that humans lead towards goodness, while defying against society and materialism. Many well known transcendentalists include Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

Read More
161 Words | 1 Pages

In Walden, Thoreau states “Let us spend one day deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track…” (909). Depicting nature as a lifestyle

Read More
722 Words | 3 Pages

First, Thoreau’s Walden displays his simple lifestyle which consisted of having the essential necessities in order to live. An example is told in this quote, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the

Read More
858 Words | 4 Pages

Thoreau’s life was full of independent spirit. He tried to live by his own values, rather than society’s, which he considered materialistic. He wanted to be different, like most transcendentalists do. In one of his most famous works called Walden, he comes up with an amazing and inspirational aphorism, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer” (Thoreau 390). This aphorism is similar to one of Emerson’s most famous, but also gives a whole new perspective to the idea that everyone is different and everyone can accomplish their own goals independently.

Read More
564 Words | 3 Pages

Thoreau explains how his walks in nature benefited him by saying, “In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to society” (Thoreau 10). Just by walking outside, Thoreau explains that he would forget everything else he has going on, including his

Read More
976 Words | 4 Pages

Ray Bradbury 's “The Veldt” takes place in a house that can do anything the want which results in the main characters-George, Lydia, Peter, and Wendy Hadley not sharing a strong bond with their family. You end up having no connection to your family so you have trouble communicating and having feelings for them which results in even though the machines don’t have any feelings or connections having to machines more that other people this shows how when people use technology too much or machines. People become to rely on them too much which dehumanises them and Bradbury shows that by symbolism, imagery and dialogue. Ray Bradbury uses symbolism to show how machines dehumanise people. One example is what the lions actually mean, the lions represent

Read More
683 Words | 3 Pages

Two partakers, Henry David Thoreau and Chris McCandless sought out peace and calm, but in doing so exposed themselves to cruel elements and lonely isolation. Like McCandless, Thoreau longed to “live deliberately” and yearned for something more from life (Thoreau, line 24). Both Thoreau and McCandless were in search of serenity; desperate for enlightenment and an escape from modern society. After years in the wilderness, Thoreau decided to return to society, a decision similar to one made by McCandless. Embracing the wilderness and seclusion seemed to answer McCandless’s philosophical questions and he decided to conclude his odyssey.

Read More
923 Words | 4 Pages

He wrote about how technology and new lifestyles were continuously replacing what nature had established. He pointed out how nature was the window for people to find their own identity, which was fogged by the changes in society the industrial revolution had caused. Then, he continued to elaborate on how pure nature truly was by stating that all living things survive and live because of nature. Thoreau believes that society had lost itself in the tangles of its discoveries, and points to the solution of going back to

Read More
548 Words | 3 Pages

The act of hunting will start to consume you and may end up controlling your mind. These symbols unravel the theme of mistakes in human nature. When people are given a circumstance and time they may end up losing their civilized ways. People start to change over time if things are not working in their favor.

Read More
958 Words | 4 Pages

I went to the Lynden Gardens deliberately, to seek solace with a friend who never speaks, but tells his story to everyone who will stop and listen {1}. I went to the Lynden Gardens because here is a spot where the Spirit of Nature and the Genius of human creativity co-exist [1]. Mr. Thoreau, I think you would feel at home here; there are enough twists and turns to avoid falling into “a particular routine” (Walden 18.4). Solitude and sanctuary abide here; nevertheless, not beyond my sense of hearing comes the sound of the “desperate enterprise” (18.10). In your day, you expressed concern about the pace of life, but can you imagine the ability of travelling 50, 60, 70 miles per hour, just to arrive on time for work or for play?

Read More
456 Words | 2 Pages

Symbols are an important tool in literature, they develop the plot and make the reader think deeper about the meaning behind some of the key aspects of a novel. There are three main symbols in a Brave New World that not only give the novel a deeper meaning but convey the theme and tone. In a Brave New World the three main symbols are books and flowers, soma, and technology. These symbols are important in the novel’s development and convey the theme and tone.

Read More
637 Words | 3 Pages

In his essay Walden, Thoreau affirms the Transcendentalist belief of living simply by emphasizing the thought of living with only the essentials and the importance of self reliance. Thoreau supports the ideal of living simply through the emphasis of only living with what one needs. Simplicity exists

Read More

More about Symbolism In The Grid

Open Document