The sky

            

Breathing heavily after a long run Tom stopped by a big cypress that was on top of a little hill, he could see now the silhouette of his house back from where he came. Still angry, for what happened back at his house, Tom laid under the shadow of a cypress breading his anger with his thoughts. Suddenly, Tom heard a noise behind him.  He turned anxious, trying to discover where the noise came from. A little face appeared from behind of a tree, two big blue eyes timidly looked at him while Tom incorporated, trying to see who the stranger that was spying on him was. 

-Hey! Tom said, why are you spying me? 
A little girl stepped out of the edge of the forest with a surprised look on her face.
- I am not spying you, she said contradicted. What are you doing there, that is my tree! she replied. 
Tom looked at the massive cypress and gave a look back to the little girl. 
-Your tree? That is really funny, Trees have no owners! they are just there! He said laughing, 
-Well, this one is mine, the little girl replied while she slowly walked to the cypress. Whats your name? She said. 
Tom took a moment to reply while he analyzed the little girl. Her hair was pretty short for a girl her age, she dressed a grey trousers and a comfy wool white sweater that was a bit big for her, her hands where almost hidden between the sleeves of the sweater. She walked graciously, almost floating, a big smile was always present on her face, almost like an expression of satisfaction.  But as she was getting closer, Tom could not avoid getting astonished with the incredibly big blue eyes of the little girl, they seemed to look at everything without fear. The girl realized that tom was looking at her and she immediately looked back, directly to the eyes. He felt a warm sensation all over his body that baffled him completely, suddenly Tom felt like all his problems were nothing, an immense peace sensation filled all his body hollows. Until, completely overwhelmed, he had to look away. 
-My name is Uriel she said, extending her hand to Tom. 
-I'm Tom he mumbled nervously, avoiding the eye contact. 
-What are you doing here? ,The little girl asked as she sat down in the shadow of the cypress. Tom quickly recovered and sat down next to the little girl, thinking what brought him to the forest. I hate my life he replied, all weekends is the same, I have to go to school, help mom during the week and when I have a little time to myself during the weekends nobody can play with me, on top of that my mom wants me to help my brother James to pick up the attic, when it was James and only him who messed all up. I wish I had another family; I hate all of them, said Tom finalizing his speech, visibly angry, and frowning. 
-I understand, said the little girl giving Tom some time to clear his thoughts. Where do you live said Tom? I never saw you around here… are you new in this neighbor? 
-Yes, Uriel replied, I come around here when I feel the need but I normally live far away from this town. 
Both of the kids let the silence of the evening surround them, the sun was starting to fall. The birds around flied close to the trees where they had their nest, on a disordered concert of sounds and flapping wings. 
-You know Tom, we do not always can have everything that we want, she said breaking the silence, and looking up to the sky. How beautiful this is. 
Tom looked up and discovered a pallet of colors on the ceiling of his world. The fading sun and the clouds were dancing in an explosion of tonalities that went between the most pure white to red and pink tones mixed all with different kinds of blue. The colors appeared to change every second, as the sun slowly faded in a picture that not even the most talented painter could ever imitate. 
-I like where you live Tom, is a beautiful place to be. However, I miss my home, I feel so well when I am there, like there is nothing else I need, just being there comforts me, I never feel anger or sadness, I feel loved and I love. But is not perfect, something is missing. Every place has something that makes it beautiful but also something that sometimes makes it hard. The same thing applies to our lives. The question is what are you going to do about it? We have to learn to live with the things that we have, if you really want, you will be able to feel how you choose to feel. Your life will be the attitude you have towards it.

Tom felt a little bit better after the comforting words of the little girl. The warm feeling and the peaceful sensation he experienced earlier started to grow again in him.
- I am glad I met you Uriel, Tom said, I feel much better now. 
The little girl gave him a loving smile and said: 
-You should go back home Tom, is getting late. I will do the same. 
Both of the kids stood up and Tom started walk back to his house, thinking in what Uriel told him. When he was on the edge of the forest he turned, one last time to say bye. But a question pooped out in Tom´s mind. 
-Hey Uriel, it sounded like you really miss your home, and as you described, it sounds so perfect. What is that thing you cannot have when you go back there? Tom asked intrigued.

 Uriel gave him a big smile as she looked up, taking her time to reply. 
-Well Tom, this is really funny, but, the thing is that, from heavens, you cannot see the sky… 

The Rhetoric of art as an individual expression

What is art? Truly, the concept of art itself can be vague, broad or open to interpretation. However, is rich in messages that sometimes can be really hard to identify. Art itself is one of the most pure forms of individual expression. An artistic piece is not necessarily created to state a message or to communicate, but some of the most famous masterpieces are a reflection of the artist thoughts, a picture of his deepest feelings or a provocative message to the society. The representation of Saturn devouring his sons by Francisco de Goya constitutes a strong political message that could have caused him death if it were expressed on a written document or on a speech. This masterpiece can be categorized as a mythological composition, and indeed it is. However, Goya also intended to represent the struggle of the people being squeezed by the politics of the Spanish royal family at the beginning of the XIX century.

Analyzing the rhetorical concepts, it can be stated that Saturn devouring its sons is a masterpiece because Goya was a well-known reputed artist that worked for the 1800’s elites of the Spanish society. That can constitute Goya Ethos, he has credibility, and therefore, the message will have a strong consideration. Following that, the painting shows a horrific scene, a little figure covered in blood, totally defeated, against the old Saturn, represented as massive, pop-eyed and unhinged man dismembering its own heir. All in that image surely provokes an emotion, the Pathos of the message. Attending to the logos, Goya makes logical analogies with what the country was facing. Spain was consumed in wars, its people (Saturn sons) were being taxed heavily to support the cost of a corrupt, old and inefficient absolute state (Saturn). Moreover, According with the myth Saturn feared that their sons will overthrow him and therefore he decided to brutally eat them. The same fear that an inefficient government may have of its people. A common reaction would be to control the situation implementing a suppressive politic based on fear and terror. Finally, the painting, and therefore the message, was made in the precise moment when important historical events were happening. The defeat of the Spanish army in the battle of Trafalgar, the War against France, Britain and Portugal, the economic crisis and the Aranjuez coup d’état were contemporary to the painting, a suitable moment for a political message that can be identified as the Kairos.

Secondly, speaking about the invention, the author choose to his rhetorical message a mythological theme to make an analogy with the social situation of the country. The use of a mythological theme to convey a message seems logical, since the author would risk too much if he directly criticized the Spanish government. The message is hidden but still effective. On the other hand, the arrangement is clearly visual, Goya did not need to write or speak about his piece to convey the message he wanted to state. All the elements present in the painting are structured and organized to imply an image of obscurity and desolation, this point connects with the style of the art piece. His “word choice” is once again obscure, setting a feeling of despair and negativity about the situation, the color distribution is dark and murky. The only fading light emanates from the dismembered body of the son (the people). This obscurity can have a strong impact to the intended audience, an uneducated society that maybe cannot identify the double meaning of the painting, but surely will be impacted by its darkness. Lastly, speaking about the memory, the mythological story of Saturn thus terrible and despairing ends with a message of hope. The Titan Gea hided and protected her son Zeus from the voracity of Saturn, whom once strong enough overthrow his father, liberated his brothers from the oppression and cruelty of his progenitor.  Once again the analogy appears, sending  a message of faith to the listener that invokes memory.