Mini Essay Draft 1 & 2 Passengers/Wishing Well

Art does make us see the world in a new and different way by allowing us to look deeper into everyday objects or ideas, connoting them to give them greater meaning. In order for one to understand the meaning behind the art piece(s), one must be able to analyze and observe. In both "Wishing Well" and "Passengers", the underlying message is the lack of connection between people that is pressured by societal standards which creates a feeling of loneliness and how finally connecting can provoke feelings of joy or comfort.

The poem "Wishing Well" by Gregory Pardlo focuses on how much comfort one can find in someone that they do not even know. For a reader who doesn't analyze and connote it seems like a pointless poem about making a wish with some stranger. But to someone who looks at this as a piece of art with deeper meaning, this poem expresses the pressures to ignore strangers that are pushed on us by society. There are many connotative moments that express this underlying theme in the poem, however, two of the most prevalent is the meaning of strangers and the wishing well. Strangers in this poem actually provoke a sense of comfort and push back at the feelings of loneliness, allowing the narrator and the other man who are present in the setting. Upon holding hands, which is a sign of creating a personal connection, and going to the wishing well there is a pushback against what society says about getting to know "strangers" despite one's first judgment that is enforced by ideas programmed into our thoughts. The importance of the wishing well truly appears towards the end when it seems like there is hope that the narrator can, in fact, change his ways and how far he is from the reality around him. This allows the narrator to truly feel safe, even connected and he struggles to let go of the man's hand when they are done making a wish. Perhaps his concern about letting go is because he is fearful to return back to the disconnect and the loneliness the narrator was first in before the connection was made for he states "...and is about to hand me back to the day he found me in".

Just like the connection that occurs in the poem, there is a connection in the short film "Passengers" despite the fact that there is no dialogue throughout the whole film, just facial expressions. The beginning signifies loneliness by showing the bird sitting completely alone. The strangers on the subway say nothing to one another like it is an unspoken rule to once again remain disconnected from people you do not know. This continues until the feather game occurs and creates a sense of connection and joy amongst all of the passengers on the train. Every single one of the passengers involves themselves in the task of keeping the feather from touching the ground. While some of the expressions show us a lack of amusement, the two main characters show us amusement through the looks on their face. This short film really requires more than one viewing and forces you to analyze it on your own because there is no speaking going on to help you better understand what is going on, there is only the film. The lack of communication through voice helps express the amount of disconnect that is occurring. One can also connote the subway into one of the most disconnected places where people have one vision and that is to get to their destination, not to make friends. Feathers have been known to represent freedom as well, so perhaps these passengers feel free from societal pressures towards the end of the film.

Both stories are set in a city area, one is on a subway in a city. This is heavily important to being able to connote the idea of strangers and the disconnect that occurs because of the idea that strangers are not people whom you find yourself randomly conversing or taking part with. The main focus is the idea of disconnect in both pieces that exists between strangers and how perhaps this is not the best way to live, pushing back on this lack of connection and loneliness by ending both pieces with a sense of connection, be it through a game or a wishing well. Going back to the concept that art makes us view things differently, this is shown by what I have connoted from these two pieces and how I have uplifted an underlying message that can be compared between both. Without going back through and connoting the denotations understanding the message would have been more than likely impossible so with art you must look deeper rather than simply looking at the surface.