Explain what your visual text shows about the concept of

discovery and how this has been done.

Text one, Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar Friedrich, is an oil
painting showing a lone man standing on an elevated rock looking down
at the sublime landscape before him. The text conveys the discovery of
nature, combined with solitude, as one that can lead to physical and
spiritual fulfilment. The character is placed in high salience to emphasise
his isolation. His costuming suggests that he has trekked up the mountain
to reach this isolated place and has hence attained physical fulfilment.
The gaze of the character is on the sublime landscape, in particular the
fog. The fog is symbolic of the unseen, and the character seeks comfort
through nature knowing that uncertainty is a normal facet of life, allowing
him to attain spiritual fulfilment. Therefore, it is evident how, through the
use of techniques, the composer is able to convey the way in which the
discovery of nature, with solitude, will lead to physical and spiritual
fulfilment.
How does this text show a different aspect of discovery than is
seen in text one?
While text one depicts discoveries as physically and spiritually fulfilling,
text two explores the opposite notion. In The Road Not Taken by Robert
Frost, the persona reaches a fork in the road and chooses the one less
travelled by. Here, discoveries are portrayed as deeply personal yet
unfulfilling as they lead to uncertainty of the future. The poem begins by
saying Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. The word yellow is of
particular significance as it is a metaphor for Autumn or Fall. This connotes
that the choice is being made when the narrator is old and his future is
uncertain. This uncertainty is further exemplified in To where it bent in
the undergrowth. Undergrowth is symbolic of aspects of the speakers
future that are uncertain as a result of the discovery of the fork in the
road. In ages and ages hence repetition is used to show the narrator
speculating about his future that is influenced by the decision he makes
right now. Hence, we can clearly see that, unlike in text one, text two
conveys how discoveries can be unfulfilling and often lead to uncertainty.
Explain what this text shows about the concept of discovery.
The text conveys how discoveries can be reassessed overtime for their
value in light of an individuals experiences. The text details a young
couple moving into a supposedly immoral neighbourhood where the
children are always screaming and ones privacy is disregarded.
Throughout the story, the couples attitude slowly shifts from perturbance
to acceptance as they gather experiences with their neighbours. When the
woman becomes pregnant she is overwhelmed with the wishes and
presents she receives from her neighbours. We can see that her opinion of
them is torn in flattered, claustrophobic, grateful, peeved. The use of
oxymorons highlights her conflicting emotions and conveys that she is in
a transitional state from perturbance to acceptance. This contrast
between the couples attitude at the start of the story to the end is

paramount in highlighting how discoveries can be reassessed overtime in

light of recent experiences which provide renewed perspectives.

In your opinion, which text is most effective in exploring the

concept of discovery? Explain your choice with close reference to
the text, elaborating on how the composer has executed his/her
ideas.
In my opinion, the text that was most effective in conveying the concept
of discovery is text one Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar
Friedrich. This text provides commentary about the human condition and
and reveals a personal discovery about an individuals place in this world,
which is something that everyone can relate to. When we first look at the
image, we notice that the character is placed in high salience in
comparison to the surrounding nature. This serves to emphasise the
deeply personal nature of the discovery that he is undergoing. The fog in
the landscape is symbolic of the unseen, and the character seeks comfort
in nature knowing that uncertainty is a normal facet of the human
condition. A wide angle shot is used in the image to place more emphasis
on the landscape than on the character suggesting that nature plays a
significant role in revealing personal discoveries to an individual. The
character is gazing out at the landscape in deep introspection, which
emphasises the power the landscape has over him and the insignificance
of humanity.