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The House on Mango Street 24203 Views
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Description:
Do we need creative arts to survive, or is logic enough? And how can The House on Mango Street help us decide? Check out this video to find out.
Transcript
- 00:07
House on Mango Street, a la Shmoop. There's a little artist in every one of us.
- 00:16
Even if he only allows us to draw stick figures. But what does artistic expression mean to
- 00:21
us? Isn't art a reflection of our souls? We all rely on numbers . . .
- 00:26
. . . and scientific formulas . . . . . . to help us get through our day.
- 00:29
In fact, we'd be lost without them. But what if logic and rational thinking were
Full Transcript
- 00:37
our only options . . . . . . and no one felt compelled to express
- 00:41
themselves through dance . . . . . . or music . . .
- 00:44
. . . or literature? Would it really be such a big deal?
- 00:54
In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza dreams of having her own little house where she can
- 00:58
write. She quotes poetry . . .
- 01:00
. . . and writes stories to make her difficult life more bearable.
- 01:05
Esperanza uses creative expression to escape. But what about the rest of us? Do we all have
- 01:12
the need to write a book . . . . . . or dance in the ballet . . .
- 01:17
. . . or paint a masterpiece? And if so, why? Is that our saving grace?
- 01:24
Well, we already mentioned the whole "escape" thing.
- 01:29
Life isn't getting any easier, so we all need to chill out once in a while with something
- 01:33
that makes us laugh . . .
- 01:34
. . . or something that allows us to cry. There's also the chance that someone else's
- 01:42
artistic expression will touch our souls . . . . . . or inspire our own creativity . . .
- 01:48
. . . or completely knock our socks off. All good things.
- 01:54
And, even if we never have his eye . . . . . . or his grace . . .
- 01:58
. . . or her pipes . . . . . . we keep trying.
- 02:00
Because our tiny attempts at creating works of art . . .
- 02:03
. . . or thoughtful self-expression . . . . . . may make us feel better about ourselves
- 02:07
than just about anything else we do. And whether or not they are masterpieces...
- 02:12
...they open a window to our souls. We thought it was getting drafty in here.
- 02:17
So... is practicing some form of art essential to the human experience? Or can we do without?
- 02:24
Shmoop amongst yourselves.
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