7/29/2019 Sample Essay on Animal Imagery as Metaphors of Power

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Sample Essay on Animal imagery as metaphors of power 

Example of Expository essay, Sample Paper  

Keywords of the work: culture of Africa, animal’s character paper, image of animals, dog's skull

means guardianship, Kingdom of Dahomey, essay, ethical group Fon people, king Glele of Dahome.making portraits, image of a lion, sample paper, qualities, analyzing the animal imagery, art product,example essay, signs of courage and generosity, examples of using an animal as the metaphor of power.

 Animal imagery as metaphors of power Essay 

 Africa has always been the continent of hidden secrets, unrevealed mysteries and the place whereevery person dreams to travel to. Seeing and understanding the culture of Africa, means knowing itshistory and everything is has gone through. The cultural impact that Africa’s arts have in the generalcollection and its influence is very important and irreplaceable. One of the well-known facts is thatancient people in Africa used the image of animals a lot in their art to transmit the special meaning of 

the animal’s character and the way it cognates with the person who owns this thing. The image of animals on different things shares with us the unique contents that the art product carries inside andhow deep African people felt other people to chose animals with such a precision. For example, adog's skull on a African sculpture form means guardianship and surveillance. A dog is believed tohelp, because is warns people by barking that a stranger is coming or that the danger is close.

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One of the popular places of ancient Africa is the Kingdom of Dahomey. The Kingdom of Dahomeyexisted from 1620 up to 1901. During the period of its existance a lot of masterpieces have beencreated. And the quality of the art products can be justified with its “saturated” history. The ethicalgroup that lived there was called: Fon. The culture that the Dahomey presented is very varied doe tothe changes and influences it went through. But we are particularly interested in the role of theanimal image in the cultural products of this kingdom. One of the examples we are about to talk is

 “The divination portrait of a lion king and the man of iron”, performed by king Glele of Dahome. Thisis one of the brightest examples of the Dahome culture and it is very important to see the roots andthe value of the animal image usage in making portraits like this. It is a visual projection of thecharacter of a brave man. In the deep meaning of the Dahome culture the image of the lion signifiesthe divine power, earthy remains, authorities and greatnesses, sun and fire. The image of a lion isclose related to such qualities as wit, nobility, generosity, valor, fairness, pride, triumph, haughtiness,vigilance, and bravery. It is not surprise that the image of a lion was used to depict a king and a

hero. And by having such a powers it is connected with the ability to give life and death. All thesethings are reveled through using the image of a lion in this sculpture. The iron face in this caseintensifies the lion-effect. It is very important to understand the variety and the deep meaning of theanimal image if the Dahome culture. As we started with the image of a lion, let us continue analyzingthe animal imagery through it. In ancient Africa a lion could be compared only to Ra (the god of sun),which only by itself indicates on the power of this image. It is a symbol of royal power. It is veryuseful to understand the total understating of all the lion-variations in the Dahome culture, for indifferent art forms the image of the lion changes giving an additional special meaning to the artproduct. Fighting lions signify giving mercy to a timid and not subdue a proud one. Which meansbeing intelligent and strong enough to show generosity and be merciful. If the lion is depictedobedient and quiet it indicates the image of a person who is not ferocious, however he isunconquerable; the lion here is a symbol of true courage and generosity. Very seldom we can find the

image of a lion bitting himself. He seems to say:”I do not spare even my own flesh. Why do youexpect me to spare yours?”. It is a symbol of fury. The validly of the usage of the image of a strong,

7/29/2019 Sample Essay on Animal Imagery as Metaphors of Power

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powerful animal to emphasize the strength and bravery is unflinching. The Fons simply followed theirintuition and based on experiences making the art product they created very deep in the sense of meaning. Certainly, the lion is not the only animal used to depict honorable qualities. But the imageof the lion is one of the brightest examples of using an animal as the metaphor of power. The wholeessence of the creation can be understood through the animal images it sustains in itself. And it canbe grown on to a very skilled literature product by the ability to put inside it so much life depicted

through the life of an animal. Africa really has something to be proud about…