The Tortured Artist: Myth, Reality, or Somewhere In Between?

 

We've read three short stories so far this semester. What do they have in common? Yes, they all feature art and artists, but what else do they have in common? The artist characters are all tormented in one way or another by their art or by how other people regard their art. The one exception might be Sue in O. Henry's "The Last Leaf." We will revisit this theme as the semester progresses. 

Here's a link to a great video from "The Art Assignment" that explores the history of the "tortured artist" idea over the last three hundred years. What do you think about this idea? Do your friends and family think that you're somehow different due to your passion for art and design? Do you see it in yourself? Think of other related questions and angles of approaching this idea. 

Short Assignment Two 

"Charles Dickens, O. Henry, and Alice Moore: The Artist as Tortured Genius" 

Now that we've watched the video, what do you think about this idea? Do your friends and family think that you're somehow different due to your passion for art and design? Do you see it in yourself? Think of other related questions.

Ingredients

1    introductory paragraph that introduces your essay's main idea

3    body paragraphs, each using textual evidence    quoted verbatim from the three stories, one story per paragraph

1    paragraph that applies the concept of the tortured artist idea in your life. be specific. you might choose to include an additional paragraph about your experiences. 

1    concluding paragraph that moves your ideas forward

This six-paragraph essay is due no later than noon on September 21. Even though you will be quoting directly from published sources, you do not need to include a "Works Cited" page for this assignment because we are all reading common texts. You do, however, need to incorporate in-text citations in MLA form. Proofread carefully before uploading to Populi. Please remember to single-space your text. 

Questions: csmith@dcad.edu