Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus

At the center of the painting, a farmer plows his field by the aid of his ox as his neighbor shepherds his flock along the hillside. In the distant ocean, ships are setting sail with as much hopes to profit, as there is cargo. But what- no, who- is that? From the bottom right of the painting, are those someone’s legs helplessly flailing upward out of the water? Could that insignificant blot be Icarus himself? Just as everyone else in the painting goes on with their lives, I too should not have the slightest sympathy for his poor soul. His Father warned him not to fly to close to the sun. His fall was by his own folly, yet I struggle to escape such allegations myself. When observing Pieter Bruegel’s painting, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, I cannot help but look back upon a time at which I myself failed. …show more content…
Growing up as a child, I not only had trouble focusing in the classroom, but I found school to be devastatingly boring. I quickly became enamored by TV and video games, but sending me to school was like a punishment. My parents and teachers all told me of how I would regret not trying in school, yet I would not listen. Each year I faced the dreadful uncertainty of whether or not I would make it to the next grade. Each year I ignored the loving advice of my teachers to try harder. By the time I reached ninth grade, I was as blind as Oedipus, unable to see the damage I had actually done. Like Icarus, I had fallen into the sea, but much worse, because I thought I was fine! I was the foolish man building his house upon sand; I had little to no foundation in my education. All that was left was for me to