Bird Cages Analysis

In my piece of narrative art entitled “Smile ☺” there are two key components which help create the setting of the piece and develop the tone of the piece. When you look at the piece the first component of the setting is easily identified, the cage each girl is standing or sitting in. On the surface level, this may seem obvious supplying no deeper meaning to the story, but you would be incorrect. The cages the girls are presented in are in fact bird cages, and hence symbolize the dehumanization these young girls are facing in this human zoo they have been trapped in. These girls are left to hang in bird cages, they have been reduced to nothing more than a spectacle to stare at, like the beautiful birds stuck in cages at the zoo. The second …show more content…
This, of course, being the main conflict we see creates the story, these girls have been taken and are now being forced to smile in what the viewer can infer is a human zoo of sorts. This external conflict also helps establish the internal conflict present in each girl, which is the way being held captive in this zoo affects each them. This conflict, both internal and external, is developed through the piece in a variety of ways, including characterization, the setting of the piece, and even the title of the piece itself. When examining each of these factors, it is easy to uncover the story behind the piece, even if the art is only available to show a snapshot of the story. We can delve into each of these individual factors that all create this conflict. First, the characterization, most of the internal conflict has been created directly through the characterization aforementioned. We see the struggle each girl is having being in this zoo, from the fetal position of Shirley to the single tear on the cheek of Carmen. Secondly, we have the setting of the piece which we have already established is both the zoo and the 1950’s. The setting helps flesh out both the internal conflict and establish the external conflict. The zoo itself is the external conflict; it is creating the main underlying conflict of the piece. The piece being in the 1950’s also helps flesh out the internal conflict of the characters because it makes a dissonance between the ‘perfection’ of their time and the ‘imperfection’ of what is happening to them. Lastly, there is the title of the piece which is ‘Smile ☺.” This title may further the viewer's understanding of the more malicious intent behind whoever has put these girls in the cages. Without the context provided by the title, the viewer may misunderstand the overall conflict of