Twilight in the Wilderness and Indian Camp

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Simon T. Thomsen Engelsk 27-11-2013 Twilight in the Wilderness & Indian Camp A comparison In this comparative analysis will I study the painting Twilight in the Wilderness painted in 1860 by Frederic Edwin Church and compare it to the considerable praised short story Indian Camp written by Ernest Hemingway in 1924. Twilight in the Wilderness is in many ways an interesting and thought-providing work of art, which contains a broad range of harmonious and mellow colours that flawlessly combines with the blue colours of the heaven, which appears behind the blazing red clouds. This blue colour symbolises peace and engulfs you in a state of tranquillity, hence promoting calmness and relaxation. At first sight the painting therefore seem peaceful, but at the same time, some may argue that the darker contrast of the surroundings, may indicate a feeling of uncertainty - maybe even fear - of what lies ahead. And with the knowledge of the events happening the year after the painting was done - referring to the civil war - the painting suddenly radiates a less optimistic atmosphere. With this in mind the painting begins to display similarities to the short story, where the whole atmosphere is sort of depressing; we hear it is dark, cold and misty. But at the end, the story takes a drastic turn in terms of the atmosphere: “They were seated in the boat. Nick in the stern, his father rowing. The sun was coming up over the hills. A bass jumped, making a circle in the water. Nick trailed his hand in the water. It felt warm in the sharp chill of the morning.” Parallel to the painting, Nick is embraced with the serenity and tranquillity of nature itself. I therefore believe that the painting and story share attributes containing many opposites. For instances the occurrence of night to dawn, that quite possibly could symbolise life and death, which also seem to have a major role in

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