In class today we discussed using small but significant clues to sneak your way into a "text." Please peruse the above painting, titled "American Gothic," and respond to the following questions:
1. How would you describe the relationship between the subjects of this painting, and what clues helped you figure this out?
2. Why do you think the painting is called "American Gothic"? What image of America does this painting create? Do you agree with this image?
Remember to read the other posts to avoid repeating someone else word for word. Instead, focus on having a conversation with your classmates. Posts are due by 10 pm Sunday.
1. The relationship between the two people in this painting is that their are either married or they both live on the farm together. You can tell that they are related some way on the farm because they are both standing on the farm together. The woman looks as if she is not satisfied or has fear. I can see flowers over one of her shoulders but I don't know if that means anything. The man is a hard worker and if you look on his overalls he has a pitchfork sewed on them. It may mean that his blood is in farming and that's he was meant to do.
ReplyDelete2. I think painting is called "American Gothic" because it was the typical American lifestyle of the time and because the house behind them is a Gothic styled house. The image that it creates for America is the hardworking class of farming. You see that he has a pitch fork which shows that he is hardworking. And it also looks like it was in the late 1800's or early 1900's when it was essential to farm. I agree with this image because farming was so important then and it shows how hard he works.
1. I think they are married, in that they are standing very close together with no look of discomfort. Plus it seems to be a stereotypical farm family: Pitchfork working man and double-knit wife
ReplyDelete2. I think its called American Gothic, because all that America was for a long, long time. Farming, farming and farming, though I seriously doubt this is a colonial picture due to the the house looking like more then a small settlement. If I had to guess, I would also put this picture in the 1950s, because of the house design and clothing.
1: relationship between man and woman: the man and woman appear to be husband and wife because they are standing next to each other in front of what appears to be their house. Also, they look a little too old to not be husband and wife
ReplyDelete2: reason of title: I think the painting is titled American Gothic because of the house; if you look at the window in the house it looks like one from a Gothic church maybe in Europe.
3: image of America: the image of America projected from this painting is that it’s just a take off of Europe and that women stand behind the men in this country, maybe as if they don’t matter as much. This painting is a sort of stereo type of old America. Looking back on what it was in the early 1900s.
1. They look like they are husband and wife. They do not look liek they are very happy, they look really boring. They look like they mite be omish or this picture just mite be of an farm a logn time ago.
ReplyDelete2. I think it is called American Gothic maybe because they are omish. The omish are very gothic because they live life by the old ways of life. Also it could be called American Gothic because they are different and stand out.
1. I think they look married and have been married for a while and passed the HOT AND STEAMY part of their marriage, but I suppose they could be related and live together.
ReplyDelete2. I think this painting is called "American Gothic" because the characters live on a farm so they probably have to work long hours, produce for them selves, and have to entertain themselves. Now these people are like in their 60's so they probably just sit and read all day when they aren't working and sleep in separate beds at night. That explains their dull facial expression.
I think this picture accurately depicts the early american lifestyle.
1. the couple in the portrait are married. they are standing together as if in a family photo. their house is the background, and the pitchfork is a prop.
ReplyDelete2. I think it's called american gothic because of the somewhat darker feel you get from the portrait. i think the couple are in that more seperate part of their marriage and they probably just do nothing but work so that could describe the dull look of bordom on their face. that describes the "gothic", but the "American" part is all in the Farm theme. back then in their time, America was still the Farm lands so at the time this was the essence of American living. And I do agree with this image.
1. The relationship of the two people in the painting is that they are related in some way. Married or father and daughter. They look as if they are related. They have long necks,long faces, and chiseled features on the lower part of their jaw and chin.
ReplyDelete2. I know that the painting is called "American Gothic", because the window in the background is modeled from the rennacance era. I also think that this painting is sending a message to the new generation to remember America in a simpler time.I think it is important because if we dont remember we wont be able to thank the people who helped shape this country to be what it is today.
1. I think either they are husband and wife or father and daughter.
ReplyDelete2. I think it's called "American Gothic" because it represents the past of America and comparing us now to what we where then in the sense of back then you would use an animal to churn the ground now we use machines and another definition of Gothic is Violent events and the lady in the picture looks like she has seen the man do something very violent.
1. the reltionship between the two people is tht they are married, the man in the painting is wearing overalls and holding the pitchfork resembling that he does all of the labor intensive work on the farm. The woman in the painting is wearing a dress, showing that she probably did most of the house work of the two.
ReplyDelete2. I think this picture is called American Gothic because the house is very gothic, they also look very disintrested, the dont seem like they like eachother. They look like they are on a big unsucessful farm and are med.
1. The people in this painting look like a husband and wife. Although, they look like they have been married for a while and are at that stage where nothing new or exciting is hapenning. This is evident from their blank, vacant look that they have on. I think the farm is also symbolic of the slow, rural life that the couple lead.
ReplyDelete2.I think this painting is called American Gothic because of the style of the house and of the man's expression. This is definitely a painting of the past. It depicts the traditional roles of the wife and husband. It shows that the man is hard-working and brings home the meals. The wife however is shown to be domesticated, a homemaker. While this may have been the picture of a household in the 30's, with traditional roles, i don't agree that it is the case today. Presently there aren't roles for husbands and wives. They have become intertwined, to where wives can hold jobs while the husbands stay at home.
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ReplyDelete1) The relationship between the man and woman in the picture is a boring relationship. I cna tell by their facial expressions that they unhappy with their lifestyle and that they are just going through the motions everyday. The man provides by working the farm and the woman stays at home doing chores, making meals, and caring for the house. I can tell because the woman is wearing somewhat of an apron. The man has a pitch fork and there is a farm in the background which tells me that he does farm duties like digging up soil, maybe planting crops.
ReplyDelete2) The painting is titled "American Gothic" because first, the lifestyle portrayed(farming) was the lifestyle lived by most Americans during the 1930's. Second, the style of the window on the house inbetween their heads is gothic, like from a church or building from a different country. This painting creates an image of hardworking families doing their best to survive in a rough world to survive in. I agree with this image because it captures what families were doing in the 1930's and how Americans are determined to not give up and to keep going until they are satisfied.
1. They appear to be married, but unhappy about it. They don't seem very happy.
ReplyDelete2.It's called American Gothic because it depicts a standard couple for the time but they don't seem very happy. I agree with the image because farming was a very typical, important need.
1. the relation ship between the two people in the picture is that they are realated in some way. my guess is that they are married to each other. i'm saying this because they are both older people and it looks like some kind of family portrait or something. The clues that helped me figure this out is that it looks like they are on a farm witch means thay are either related or a hired help.
ReplyDelete2. I think this painting is called american gothic cause it is showing what looks to be twi american farmers together and then there is the gothic style window in the backround. the image that this painting is creating is that the american farmers are really dull and seem to be unhappy. and yes i would agree with this.
1.In this image there is a man and a women and I think these two people are either related by blood or they are married but I dont think they really have an exciting relationship because both of them have a blank look in their eyes which shows they have a very redundant life. You can tell they are related somehow because they are standing there together both wearing farm attire on a farm.
ReplyDelete2.I think this painting is called American Gothic because the gothic times happened a long time ago and to people in the U.S. today think of people who live on a farm as old fashioned just like the gothic times. This painting depicts America as being hardworking because of the farm and farmer, which are hardworking people. This picture also shows America to be kind of boring just because of the look on the two peoles faces.I disagree with this image because I think of America as being really exciting but not quite as hardworking as it used to be.
1. I think this picture shows an older farming cuple that have to work very hard for what they have and they probaly see no imediate end to what they have to do to just survive the tuff times.
ReplyDelete2.I Belive this picture "American Gothic" has its title becuse it is the medieval time or "gothic"time in america where it was custome for people to farm even though maybe the pay off wasnt so great. I agree in this picture that if you could see though there eyes in that time period there would probaly be the same dissapointed look on your face.
1. The relationship between the two subjects seems to be pretty cold and it also seems like they really don't like each other too much. The wife isn't smiling and she is looking off into space and the husband has a sad look on his face.
ReplyDelete2. I think this picture is called "American Gothic" because it portrays a dark, bland side of America at the time when farming was very important as it was back in the Gothic age.The image portrays America to be a very "to the rules" country and also makes farming seem important. I agree with this picture because many people who lived back then probabaly had very little money and farming was a way to put bread on the table. That being said, life wasn't the greatest, so I can understand the looks on their faces.
1. In my opinion the two people are husband and wife.The man's eyes have a subtle look of pride. I think it's because of what he has accomplished with his life in such difficult times.The women looks as if she was sick of him and her difficult life.She looks at the man with an almost disapproved look.They look like they both have had their share of hard work.The clues that helped me figure this out was mostly facial expressions,clothing and the backround.
ReplyDelete2.The title American Gothic is deceving because the painting isn't at all the gothic style except for the one window at the top of the house. It's also ironic because the American colonies were not even in North America during the Gothic period.I think the reasoning for the title is because it was America's own gothic time, in the sense that we were coming out of the tunnel. I think the picture conveys the hardships of the couple and their home but also conveys the positive outlook on the future.
1. It seems that the two people on the farm may be realated in someway. They are both on the farm together but there is no way to tell if they are married or not. They seem to be angery about something. The woman is looking at the man with something akin to disaproval and the man seems to be ignoring her by looking off into the distance.
ReplyDelete2. I agree with jay they are American and the house is in the gothic style. It is sort of steriotypicall of the time yes. They are farmers but people don't call America the bread basket of the world for nothing so it may have been safe to assume that they are farmers.
1. The relationship between these two people is that they are most likely a simple married farm couple. The hint that it is a farm is that the male i sholding a pitch fork most likely used for moving hay. the female is wearing a simple dress. The man is also wearing overalls and that could be a hint as well.
ReplyDelete2. This image is called "American Gothic" most likely because the time period is slightly before machinery so the farm couple had to do a lot by hand. It sets up an image of america that most of us were simple farm people that didnt display a lot of emotion or really care for life. I disagree with this image because it is stateing that Americans are simple and do not care much for life, which, in my oppinion is inacurate.
The relationship is a boring marriage. The clues are both are a man and a women and both are not smiling.
ReplyDeleteThe reason its called American Gothic because It was the 1930's during the deppresion. At that time farming was going down.
1. spouses because they are together but unhappy looking
ReplyDelete2. they are depressed looking or "gothic" and in modern times
My two favorite responses to this subject would have to be Anthony's and Lance's.
ReplyDeleteAnthony's made me laugh and So did Lance's because his closing statement was so short and to the point.
I liked Dominic's post because he used history as part of his explanation, and it made sense to me. Also, I liked Anthony's "HOT AND STEAMY" comment.
ReplyDelete1.)
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm kinda late but i think those two people need some wrinkle cream because it looks like they can't even look at each other. I think uh maybe there thinking each other will be hotter if i look the other direction an it won't
2.) Its called that because of the structure in the background
1.) The man is giving the get me out of here look because the woman is probably really crazy but he realize's that he is trapped and can't get anyone else.
ReplyDelete2.) The title is American gothic because american life was known back then as farming age and then their looks are really dark.
1. I believe the people in the picture to be a married couple whose marriage is not going well. I think this because they are standing close together, but show no signs of enjoying each others company. They both seem very inattentive to the other.
ReplyDelete2. I believe the panting is called American Gothic because of two reasons. The window between the man and the woman is a Gothic style window. Also the couple does not seem very happy. They appear to be farmers, and during many times in history farmers have lived a hard life.
The two people are most likely married, And pissed off at eachother at the moment. They live the typical farming lifestyle which would be pretty dull hince the facial expressions.
ReplyDeleteI think this painting is called the american gothic because it shows that working hard at your job and makeing money doesnt buy happiness and the gothich window between the heads of the two subjects.