Slavery In Thomas Benton's The Sowers

Has anyone ever asked why kids of the 21st century only understand history from one view? This provocative topic, known as history, is biased and narrow minded. Thus, those who study history are left in the same state. When discussing battles, winners will review their triumph in war and the losers will evaluate their oppression. However, it should be of no consequence to ask about the opposing side. Edwin Burke was once quoted as saying “Those who don 't know history are destined to repeat it.” People, thus intend to learn about the faults in prior years and the mistakes of humans, in order to prevent them from happening again. For some odd reason, despite this interest in the past, kids are hushed and told just the partial facts. Such an …show more content…
Benton uses an immense number of symbols and techniques, which requires an understanding for the struggle of Europeans. Benton, a Missouri native, was commissioned to paint the walls of a --- subway station in the city of ----. Taking this as an opportunity to provide both facts and the abstract aspects of Missouri, Benton paints a fabulous representation of slavery that is both accurate and symbolic of the pain in which African Americans suffered from in a southern town. A short anecdote such as this subway story resembles Benton’s ability to paint controversial topics without question, and lack of care for others thought. Furthermore, Benton goes as far as painting the suffering of fascism and the Nazi party in his piece entitled The Sowers. As seen in the picture, 3 men, dressed in identical uniforms resembling a fascist government, are seen tossing heads and bones into graves by a barren waste land. This tossing of bodies and bones are representative of trash and therefore is a very dehumanizing aspect of the painting. Another way to look at it is that the people are sowing the heads, reffering to planting seeds. The planting side would refer to the production of –planting meaning more heads would be made… Either way it is looked at, this refers to the fact that all those who suffer from an overruling fascist government will die and be reduced to less than human. Another perhaps insightful analogy spotted is the electrical wires in a barren land. This imagery is similar to that of the death camps of the holocaust. Connecting to the horrible events of his time just adds more power to Benton’s work. Adding all of this together, it can be devised that Thomas Benton can at least be said not to be a supporter of fascism. Furthermore, I believe Benton is rather just one of the few who sympathized for a struggling