Century Twenty One Essay

Century Twenty One represents how the term slaves existed and suffered. I was curious to see how my interpretation of the painting correlated with the actual meaning. First I wrote down an analysis of what I derived from the painting to understand what I could grasp from it. When I first glanced at the painting I just assumed it was a man running from a forest fire. As I thought deeper I saw was a man who was african american who escaped the plantation running through a nearby forest. All of a sudden it hit me like a bat hit a baseball, of how powerful this painting is. “Eden is the tract home suburban life, indicated by the repetitive birdhouses, white picket fence, and the painting’s title, which references the national real estate agency.” …show more content…
That it only secures african american people. The white picket fences represent it as being a “nice place” but behind the fence is a dark story. The woods have a gloomy appearance, with numbers etched in the tree. Bird are seen flying into the bird houses. I interpreted this as the black lives are meant to be free just like a bird. But instead they are just a number on the plantation. This symbolism signifies how they were stuck in such a huge piece of land unable to escape. Also, the dark sinister blue and black background represented the death of loved ones, and that everyday was difficult for people on the plantation. “The Haloed black man running could be the soul of a slave.” (Museum of Art). The artist's work left themes in this painting, such as fear. Fear was the main theme during this twenty first century because the slaves never knew if today would be their last day or the beginning of a new hell. Neither did they know if they were going to be separated from their family, or if they would be punished for not working hard enough, or killed. The troubles African Americans went is thoroughly represented in this painting. There is a heavy use of metaphors and meaning within the