Essay Plan for This Term

Essay Plan from Last Term

Babar

Babar is about an elephant who, after his mother is killed by a hunter, leaves the jungle and enters the city, where he learns about civilisation. He returns to the jungle, wiser, and becomes the king of the elephant kingdom. This book has been heavily criticised for attempting to justify colonialism. The writer Adam Gopnik, in his article Freeing the Elephants, thinks that the book is more about the lure of organised civilisation, and the safety and easiness of it, is something that elephants can feel too – “"while it is a very good thing to be an elephant, still, the life of an elephant is dangerous, wild, and painful. It is therefore a safer thing to be an elephant in a house near a park.""

Little Black Sambo

A children’s book first published in 1899, which has been revised many times as black people have gained more equality over the course of the 20th century. Sambo is an indian boy who meets some tigers while he’s on a walk, and gives them his clothes in exchange for them not eating him. The tigers argue over their new clothes, and melt into butter. The caricature of a black child was hurtful to black children who read it, and as early as 1932 it stopped being recommended to school children. The book has been remade and rebranded by many writers and illustrators, who have changed it to names such as “little kim”, “the boy and the tigers” and “chibikuro sampo” (a Japanese version, which translates to little black sambo). 

Matilda

The distinctive illustrative style of Quentin Blake shows the story of a little girl who is neglected by her vile parents, and develops telekinetic psychic powers. Quentin Blake said in an interview that his informal style makes his works more approachable, encouraging children to engage with the books. The illustrations of her sitting by piles of books, smiling, particularly speaks to shy, bookish children, who feel that books are their only friends, and lets them know that it’s okay to be like that. Matilda is a brilliant example of a female main character in a book aimed at both girls and boys, something that is surprisingly rare in child-oriented media. 

Paintings of Venus

Venus is the roman goddess of love, sexuality and fertility, being the human embodiment of these things.

She has been painted a lot and here I have looked at two paintings of her, by Titian and Manet. This is Venus of Urbino, a painting by Titian from the 1500s.

 She is inside, a change from her usual depictions (she was born from sea foam so she is often in the sea), and she is looking directly at the viewer, engaging with them. As well as this, the painting is erotic, her body language being inviting and relaxed. However, the dog in the background is a symbol of fidelity, and her hand is delicately hiding her vulva as her servants search for clothes in the background.

 In the Manet painting, which is inspired by Venus of Urbino, she is depicted as a French prostitute, wearing high heeled shoes, an orchid in her hair, a bracelet, pearl earrings, and other things. This also has some marked differences in that the animal depicted is a cat, another indicator of prostitution, and her hand is firmly placed over her vulva, as she looks away from a bouquet of flowers, likely a gift from a client. This painting is also very sloppy and lacks midtones, which was shocking at the time, as it depicts a harsh and sickly goddess, rather than a beautiful fantasy.