Emotional Insight from “Catcher in the Rye” Part II

Vik RubenfeldNovel1 Comment

Here’s another big, easy-to-get with example of emotional insight from J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye.” Holden Caulfield is trying to find his little sister Phoebe at her school: I went down by a different staircase, and I saw another “Fuck you” on the wall. I tried to rub it off with my hand again, but this one was scratched … Read More

Emotional Insight from “Catcher in the Rye”

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(Illustration via Listal) In this passage from J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye,” Holden Caulfield has finally gotten back to his house. He’s sneaking in so as not to wake his parents, whom he’s trying to avoid. He’s hoping to talk to his dear sister, Phoebe. It was dark as hell in the foyer, naturally, and naturally I couldn’t turn … Read More

Emotional Insight from Robert Frost’s “Love and a Question”

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One of the things I do regularly on this site is to post big, easy-to-get-with examples of emotional insight. Emotional insight conveys a meaning that can only be grasped using your emotional ability. Here’s another great example, from Robert Frost. Love and a Question by Robert Frost A stranger came to the door at eve, And he spoke the bridegroom … Read More

Kick-Ass Emotional Insight from Dylan Thomas

Vik RubenfeldPoem1 Comment

(Image via Black Spruce Hound) I’ve posted previously about how a work of art communicates a meaning that only your emotional ability can appreciate. Today’s Dylan Thomas poem, “In My Craft or Sullen Art”, is a great example. In My Craft Or Sullen Art by Dylan Thomas In my craft or sullen art Exercised in the still night When only … Read More

Marilyn Monroe’s Reading List

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Via GalleyCat and Gothamist: Library Thing has made a list of 261 titles that were a part of Monroe’s personal library. Books on the list include: Out Of My Later Years by Albert Einstein; Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert; The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner; as well as poetry collections from Robert Frost, John Milton, and Edgar Allen … Read More

Emotional Insight in Caravaggio’s “The Denial of St. Peter”

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The Denial of St. Peter, by Caravaggio

“The Denial of St. Peter”, by Caravaggio Regular readers of this site know that I try to find big, easy-to-get with examples of emotional insight. Emotional insight is what a work of art communicates: insights into the meaning of things that your heart — your heart alone — sees. Today we’re going to be looking at a painting by Caravaggio.

Subjects of Emotional Insight in “A Streetcar Named Desire”

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Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh as Stanley Kowalski and Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” The play “A Streetcar Named Desire” is an American classic. This post will suggest the topics of emotional insight Tennessee Williams may be looking into in “Streetcar.” (Note: Justly famous as the film version is, it is important to be aware that the … Read More

The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Rembrandt

Vik RubenfeldArt Talk, Painting1 Comment

The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Rembrandt Here’s the story of the prodigal son from the Bible. It’s quite moving. 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 … Read More

This One Sneaks Up On You

Vik RubenfeldPoem1 Comment

This one sneaks up on you and then delivers a really powerful emotional insight in the last lines.  It’s by Robert Frost. It doesn’t matter what it’s called – the title’s just a fakeout so you won’t see the end of it coming. (It’s called “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”). At first it seems like it’s very tame, … Read More