BIOGRAPHY This part also tells us about the events that took place two days before the
This part also tells us about the events that took place two days before the closing of an exhibition. Swain, Koppel and the doctor
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist,
sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor.
Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted
ways. The cartoons led to the expression "Rube Goldberg machines" to describe similar gadgets and processes. Goldberg
received many honors in his lifetime, including a Pulitzer Prize for political cartooning in 1948 and the Banshees' Silver Lady
Award in 1959.
Goldberg was a founding member and first president of the National Cartoonists Society, and the namesake of the Reuben
Award, which the organization awards to its Cartoonist of the Year. He is the inspiration for international competitions, known as
Rube Goldberg Machine Contests, which challenge participants to create a complicated machine to perform a simple task.
The popularity of Goldberg's cartoons was such that the term "Goldbergian" was in use in print by 1915
GENRE
The text under analysis is a short story. It’s a satire. The title of the story reveals its subject matter, but it is only when we have
read the whole story we shall understand what underlies this title.
THEME
The basic theme of the text – is the power (influence) of money in American society.
Through the text “Art for Heart’s Sake”, R. Goldberg touched upon a general theme - art. The specific aspect of art presented in
the text-painting-was introduced by one of the characters(Doctor Caswell) as a healing supplement for avoiding a potential heart
attack. This was also suggested by the title, which is an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s concept “Art for Art’s Sake”
Theme - loneliness that influences on human’s behavior.
SETTING
America before the Great Depression – somewhere around 1920-1925. It was the Golden Decade of millioners who made their
fortune because they were stockholders of many successful companies. They could do nothing and purchase whatever they
wanted. Actions mostly take place in Ellsworth’s house and the Lathrop Gallery.
I suppose, that the span of time the extract covers is obviously the beginning of the 20th century. To prove this fact I can say,
that institutes and railroads existed already, as well as art galleries. The other proof is that the Prize the artist was awarded was
$1000 and for the 19th or 18th centuries it was a fantastically huge amount of money, no matter in what kind of competition.
POINT OF VIEW
The narrator used the third-person limited omniscient (objective-dramatic) point of view. The narrator is completely outside the
action of the story, simply a voice telling of a story that happened to other characters. The narrator is reliable. There are such
compositional types of speech as: narration, dialog and description. The mood is humorous for the most part.
The form of speech of the text under analysis is equally direct and indirect. The prevailing forms of utterance are narration and
dialogue.
PLOT
We can distinguish the compositional patterns of the text: 1. The beginning of the plot – doctor’s suggestion to take up art. 2.
The rising action – Ellsworth’s interest to art, his painting “Trees dressed in White” 3. The climax – the exhibition in Lathrop
Gallery and the award for the first place 4. The falling action – Ellsworth’s confession
THE PLOT RUN AS FOLLOWS
The first part is an introduction starting with a dialogue between the old man and the male nurse. EXPOSITION Which annoys the
latter very much as the patient is a very disagreeable man, who refuses to follow doctor`s orders. Here we get acquainted with
Ellsworth with his inherent disrespect for the people around him. Whether it is a male nurse or a doctor, who are with him in
order to help, the businessman pulls no punches. It was not the first outburst of Ellsworth. So, instead of trying to demand an
apology, the doctor suggests a new way of getting rid of old man`s problems. NOUEMENT
That`s where the 2nd part of the story starts. In this part we get to know that doctor considers busying his patient with art to be
a way out.
The idea of Caswell is to bring a young student Frank Swain to the patient. When Swain arrives to Ellsworth`s house, he starts the
therapy, suggesting that the man should try to paint a vase.
The old grump starts unwillingly. The first attempts do not meet success, but the practice leads to progress as the vase on the
painting gradually develops resemblance to the one on the mantelpiece. Ellsworth asks Swain for more hours and seems to
forget about his obsession. He becomes curious about what`s going on in art galleries. Some idea arises in his head. RISING
ACTION
The third part of the extract is connected with the events in the Lathrop Gallery. There was an exhibition in it, which as a lifetime
dream of the mature artists. And the newly-made artist Ellsworth aimed at showing his amateurish awkward painting there. The
male nurse, Koppel, is sure that if it happens, the old man will become a laughing stock. But the doctor orders him to forbear
from interfering in Ellsworth`s business not to ruin their achievements. The painting is accepted, but luckily for the worried
fellows, it hangs in a corner where people can barely see it. CLIMAX
witness a strange follow-up to the story. the old man receives a letter which surprises the people even more: the First Prize of
the Lathrop Exhibition has been awarded to Ellsworth`s painting Trees Dressed in White. The part ends with the reaction of the
men: the male nurse and the student remain inarticulate, and the astonished doctor pulls himself together and, trying to keep
his countenance, gives his compliments to Ellsworth, and requests the man to admit that art is more satisfying than business.
FALLING ACTION
The last passage of the text, the fourth and the shortest part of it, contains the predictable and the only imaginable explanation
to what has happened: Ellsworth demolishes Caswell`s assertion as it turns out that he has purchased the Lathrop Gallery the
month before. DENOUEMENT
CHARACTERS
The characters depicted in the picture are:
Collis P. Ellsworth, Koppel, Doctor Caswell and Frank Swain. The direct characterization, used rationally, was meant to
make the personages look more vivid. However, the basic way of characterizing the 4 persons involved in the story remains
to be the indirect characterization, employed with the aim of awakening the reader’s imagination and critical thinking,
oriented skillfully by the author.
The protagonist of the story- Collis P. Ellsworth (round, dynamic, main character) was introduced from the very beginning as
an old man of a difficult temperament. His numerous interjections and negations had to emphasize his resemblance to a
spoiled child.
The male nurse-Koppel (simple, static, ,minor)-didn’t appear much in the story. This could be explained by the fact that there
was a relationship of mutual hate between the servant and his master. First of all, Koppel used the personal pronoun he when
referring to Mr. Ellsworth- a rather strange way of speaking about one’s employer.
The doctor (simple, static, ,minor)displayed an apparent sincere feeling of care and concern towards his patient. The author
used to point out the character’s professional calm in difficult situations, underlining thus his professionalism. The doctor was a
strong believer of the efficiency of his own treatment, based on art.
The youngest of all characters-Frank Swain (simple, static, ,minor)-is described as being patient and makes polite suggestions to
the old man, trying to show him some respect. His attitude changes towards the end of the text, when he became ashamed of
his pupil’s “masterpiece”. A reader might consider him responsible and well-bread.
IDEA
The idea of this text is that everything can be bought for money.
On the lexical level neutral words prevail, though many slang and colloquial words are used (by the old man): scrawl, bosh,
poppy-cock, jerkwater, rot, gob.
Repetitions and anaphora (“He won’t take…He doesn’t want…He hates…He doesn’t like”).
Oxymoron is used (Upon this distinguished group Ellsworth was going to foist his Trees Dressed in White).
Epithets (a god-awful smudge; a loud, raucous splash on the wall)
Simile (which resembled a gob of salad dressing thrown violently up against the side of a house)
Epithet (a lifetime dream of every mature artist was a Lathrop prize)
Inversion (upon this distinguished group Ellsworth was going to foist his painting)