Symbolic Landscape- Brooke Steed
Throughout life, there are many different areas that hold symbolic meaning, some holding multiple, for many different reasons. One of the big symbolic landscapes for all people in the United States is the Statue of Liberty. It means many different things for many different people. One example is for Americans who were born here. The Statue of Liberty for us symbolizes our love and pride for the country that we live in. Many people take trips to the Statue of Liberty to see it in person and take in that symbolism of the patriotic nature of our country. For Americans who have immigrated into our country, the Statue of Liberty symbolizes a new life for them. It truly is one of the main landscapes of the United States, and it represents the new freedom and new opportunities that they will get in their new home. According to the National Park Service, “Between 1866 and 1924, almost 14 million immigrants entered the United States through New York. The Statue of Liberty was a reassuring sign that they had arrived in the land of their dreams. To these anxious newcomers, the statue’s uplifted torch did not suggest ‘enlightenment’ as her creators intended, but rather ‘welcome.’ Over time, Liberty emerged as the ‘Mother of Exiles,’ a symbol of hope to generations of immigrants.” Even the original creators had a symbolic meaning behind the Statue of Liberty. It was given to the United States as a gift from France, symbolizing the American-French friendship, a form of symbolism in itself. There was also a ton of symbolism included when designing the statue of liberty. The Ellis Island Foundation states “Bartholdi’s design encompassed much symbolism: her crown representing light with its spikes evoking sun rays extending out into the world: the tablet, inscribed with July 4, 1776 in Roman numerals, noting American independence: to symbolize the end of slavery, Bartholdi placed a broken shackle and chains at the statues foot.” With this being said, the statue of liberty is the perfect example of a symbolic landscape. The original design was made with symbolism in mind, making it a place where people would want to come visit to truly look at not only how amazing America is now, but really how far it has come. It even included some of the negative aspects, like slavery, but the positive side of when it ended. This helps to symbolize how far the nation has come and just one of the positive changes that happened over time. Even the actual location itself for the Statue of Liberty is symbolic. Putting it on Liberty Island, which is right next to Ellis Island, meant that not only every boat that entered the New York Harbor would see it and be reminded of the values and freedom of America, but every immigrant that came through Ellis Island would be able to see it and envision themselves and the freedom that they were going to have in their new home in America. Not only is it symbolic for the people coming into America however, also for Americans who were born here it is a representation of the freedom that we have. Every young student in America learns about the Statue of Liberty, and how we got it from France in grade school, showing how important it is to Americans that it is a universal staple in the school curriculum. In fact, it is such an important symbolic landscape that the United States is no longer the only country with a Statue of Liberty, although it is the only true one. According to “Wanderlust and Lipstick”, “More than 15 countries have a replica of the ‘Liberty enlightening the world’ including France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Kosovo, Ukraine, Japan, Vietnam, China, Ecuador, Peru, and Pakistan.” The Statue of Liberty truly is one of the most important symbolic landscapes, not only in the United States, but around the world as a whole.
Works Cited
National Park Service. “The Immigrant’s Statue - Statue of Liberty National
Monument (U.S. National Park Service).” Nps.gov, 2016,
www.nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/the-immigrants-statue.htm.
Shepherd, Beth. “Four Statues of Liberty That Are Not in New York.” Pampers and
Pakhlava, 15 Oct. 2015,
wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/pamperspakhlava/2015/10/15/four-statues-of-liberty-that-are-not-in-new-york/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.
The Statue of Liberty—Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. “Overview + History | Statue of
Liberty.” Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, 28 Feb. 2020,
www.statueofliberty.org/statue-of-liberty/overview-history/.
No comments:
Post a Comment