The past has effected everyone today in some shape, way, or form. It makes society how it is today and history are the roots for our world. The Industrial Revolution has impacted the world today in many ways. Another piece from this era, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, also had an influence even if it was least expected. Even art can shape the way people think. A memorable work of art by Auguste Renoir called Dance at the Moulin de la Galette put new ideas into artist’s minds about showing happiness. In this paper I will discuss these three significant topics and how they have current significance.
The Industrial Revolution introduced machinery into factories, replacing human and animal labor. It was not easy and working conditions in factories were still tough. It originated in Great Britain where there were significant amounts of resources. Coal was a resource that was present in factories. Coal was the main energy source that powered most of the machines. Not only the machines in the factories, but steam ships and trains that carried most of the material to the factories. This connected the world and made the revolution possible. Without coal as a main energy source it would be hard for the revolution to take off.
Many people worked in the factories. Men worked in the first factories that consisted of Mills and women labored in textile factories. This revolution made people flock to where the jobs were offered. This caused urbanization. This industrialization was great for society, but the working conditions still were not the greatest. There were long work hours, accidents happened, there were even children working in the factories! Pollution caused health effects and it increased a ton in cities during this revolution. There were works of art influenced by this but one that I really enjoyed looking at was J. M. W.
Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire. It showed how there was an end of an era and the beginning of a new one by showing a steam-powered ship towing a wind-powered ship. Coal was the main power source of the steam ship. The Industrial Revolution brought in so many new ideas and changed the world for forever. The significance of this revolution showed how eras can suddenly change and one new change can trigger a whole new society. The Industrial Revolution introduced a whole new way to run factories and the labor force changed forever. Production was increased by the shortening of time and increase of products being made by the power of coal.
Before machines used different resources that did not allow them to heat up as fast and as much as coal allowed them to. It opened new doors for factories and today has made the industrial force more connected. This also made everything much more efficient. Everything that we use today at some point has passed through a factory or a product line. If this revolution did not happen, we would not have half the things we have today. Without the steam ships and trains to transfer goods there would be no airplanes to travel overseas, no cars for transportation, or even computers that we greatly value today.
Another product that is very common in society today is the cell phone. That goes through an assembly line also. Even the smallest component of our lives that we do not think about much is electricity. Factories fuel electricity and allow us to have it all throughout our lives. If the Industrial Revolution did not take place in history, our world would be a very different place. There are some negatives to this such as pollution, but overall this was a major positive for our world. During this revolution, there was a novel published that greatly influenced many and is still popular today.
This book is called Frankenstein and the author of it is Mary Shelley. She was the first author that produced this type of science fiction. Mary’s Frankenstein brings up questions about the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions. It also raised another question about artificial intelligence such as technology. Frankenstein raises these questions, but the overall theme of the book is thriving for a companion, isolation and loneliness. Throughout the whole book, it seems to be that every character is at some point alone. They are all longing for someone.
Another theme in this book is the desire to become something, such as a divine being or the need to find a purpose. Again the characters though out the book are always on a journey or trying to accomplish a task to better themselves. There are many examples in Frankenstein where it shows the theme. The first example the reader observes in the book is when Robert Walton is looking for scientific discoveries in t North Pole. He is writing letters to his sister about his not only his journey, but his purpose and the reader gets the feeling that he is indefinite need of a companion.
Along comes Viktor to fill the emptiness. Viktor is a man who wants to prove others wrong, overcome death by creating life, and has a passion to become a divine being. He shows this by creating a man called Frankenstein from animal and human parts. Robert and Viktor develop a relationship once Viktor comes on board. Viktor tells his story about Frankenstein and tips with it, making Viktor somewhat of a teacher to Robert. Another part that shows loneliness in the book is when Viktor flees to the mountains. Mary Shelley portrays nature to be a rejuvenating escape.
Viktor hopes this will revive him from the past events. In the middle of the book, Creature is spying on the people in the cottage and learns from them. I think Creature is longing for love and a purpose to he starts to learn language by watching them and finds books to read. He always clears the snow and wood for the cottagers. After this, Creature convinces Viktor to make him a companion if he leaves him alone. This does not end up happening therefore the turnout is not good. In the end, Viktor’s wife ends up getting killed, Viktor dies, and Creature burns himself making Robert Walton alone again.
The book is very negative towards companionship and it never turns out good with this concept. Also I do not think that many characters found their purpose in this book. This novel ties into the real world in many ways. It showed the readers that science has its limits and too much power does not work out if it is not monitored correctly. This book shows pros and cons of engineering also. From Shelley’s works scientists decided that experiments cannot be conducted in isolation. They need to be in groups or the scientist has to have experience in order to be able to test.
Overall with all of the reasoning, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gave the scientists a standard set of rules to follow when doing experiments. It provided the guidelines that are used today. An influencing piece of artwork from this era is by Auguste Renoir is titled Dance at the Moulin de la Galette. This canvas was finished in 1876, and it is still fresh in everyone’s minds today. Renoir’s goal was to provide a picture of social interactions between good natured people. He wanted to make images “happy” and “pretty. ” Also he focused on making this a fantasy or escapism experience.
Looking at the title of the painting, Moulin is a mill and a Galette means pastry. The artwork illustrates a sunny Sunday afternoon in Paris. The interesting thing that Auguste adds into his work is all of the people that have encouraged him. He knows everyone basically in the painting and a lot of his friends are in it. Even though a lot of his friends are incorporated, many of the women painted are from the lower class ranking. Another difference is that dance halls in this time period were not like this at all. They consisted of prostitutes and there are none shown in the painting.
These are the characteristics of the inspiring Dance at the Moulin de la Galette and each makes the artwork stand out today. The artwork is still present in today’s world. Dance at the Moulin de la Galette by Auguste Renoir exhibits the style of Impressionism. Impressionism is among the most popular works today. It is meant to catch the public’s eye and Renoir did a perfect job of this for a number of reasons. He does this by not painting modern life which makes the piece not realistic. Other versions of this dance hall were portrayed as dark and Renoir managed to capture the perfect light.
This painting also did not have the paint all rubbed in, making the audience able to identify the brush work and color. Impressionists tend to go outside to construct their works, but Auguste decided to be different and spent most of his time working in the dance hall. A great aspect he implemented on his painting was making abstract. From all of these facts about how the painting was different from the others, it made it famous today. Shockingly, there are actually two sizes of this painting that was made by Auguste.
There is an ongoing debate about which one was first, the smaller or larger canvas. There are observations made that say the easiest portable was the first made. Recently, about twenty years ago, the painting was up for auction. It was bought for $78. 1 million dollars, and the put into storage. It was then sold again privately. To this day no one knows who has it. That is another reason why it influences the world today and is still discussed. It will forever be a mystery. During the Industrial Revolution, many things influenced the era to be as significant as it is in today’s world.
The revolution played a huge part, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published that showed a significant amount of science, and lastly Auguste Renoir’s painting that had a ton of impressionism. In this paper I have attempted to show all of these topics characteristics and impacts they have on the world today. They have each shown it in different ways. If these events and works of art were not invented or written, our world would be a very different place today. It is truly astonishing how much these topics changed the world.