Berger's writing responce

Natalie Beech

english 1101

John Berger- Exploratory Writing

Ways of Seeing Exploratory

            This difference between men and women through paintings is very interesting.  You have the idea of being naked, and also the idea of being nude. There is the explanation through religion of how it came to be naked instead of nude and then you have more modern approach of how it became the difference of naked a nude.  In the next little bit I will try and explain this for you and possibly make you think more about how we look at women.

            Berger’s makes a very big point that women don’t see themselves the same as men, this being that men look out and are capable of doing something for you regardless of the fact that he might not be able to.  On the other had women are constantly looking at themselves always thinking about their own image as Berger’s says “Whilst she is walking across a room or whilst she is weeping at the death of her father, she can scarcely avoid envisaging herself walking or weeping.” Berger then goes on to explain how art is being seen by women and what it actually says instead of just some naked/nude women on the wall.

            This brings Berger to the point that “men act and women appear.”  This means that “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.”(Berger) Now when Berger tries to tell you what is being looked at in the paintings the first idea would be that it is a naked woman laying there and in today’s society you would think that it is possibly sexual.  Well that would be partially correct but there is more to the painting than just that, one being that there is a difference in the paintings, if the women is looking at you she is nude-thus being an art form looking out into the eyes of the artist or the owner.  Then there is the paintings in which she is looking away at something else, thus she is being naked-not looking at the owner or artist and cannot be perceived as such.

  I choose to wright a review on Jeff's Berger’s writing. I think that Jeff did a great job explaining the difference between nude and naked. He also said something that I really think is great. He said, “Throughout this explanation of the Ways of Seeing Berger makes many points of the differences of art, women, and also men.  He uses a lot of pictures to explain what he is referring to, and makes valid points by doing so.  In all Berger makes one look at women not as a painting but as an art form, a person, and a gender not to be looked at as just an item.

  In theses pictures i like how they used the explanation of cupid, and of a woman looking into a mirror meaning that she is vain and you could name the painting “vanity.”  

  I think that it is so old school how in Jeff’s essay how he quotes  Bergar’s essay about  “men act and women appear.” This reminds me of the 3 monkeys see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. I think that this is how woman were looked at back in the day. I am so happy about woman rights now.

  Throughout this explanation of the Ways of Seeing Berger makes many points of the differences of art, women, and also men.  He uses a lot of pictures to explain what he is referring to, and makes valid points by doing so.  In all Berger makes one look at women not as a painting but as an art form, a person, and a gender not to be looked at as just an item.