The purpose of travel is to understand the culture of others and to acquire things of interest.
“People have to live together and so to understand more of others' worldviews.”
-Ninian Smart
The reason I travel is to express my individuality and free will. Just as the purpose of Lucy’s travel is to break away from her own social norms and awaken new perspectives and values.
Image from http://www.soane.org
After his Grand Tour and once he had enough money, Sir John Soane traveled to acquire and learn about things that interested him such as architecture and art. Lucy on the other hand, traveled to Italy to acquire an understanding of life outside of her own quiet and sheltered one.
Image from http://www.soane.org
Joan Soane acquired amazing things in hopes of educating others. He wanted to bring the Grand Tour to common people who would never have a chance to experience it. John particularly enjoyed acquiring architectural pieces and paintings of the sites he had visited.
Coming to age as a traveler can be shocking and awakening just like the blood and gore depicted in this painting of Judith by Johann Liss. When Lucy experiences blood and violence in Italy it awakens her inner values and represents liberation from her own social normality’s.
The views that I have experienced so far in the United Kingdom have helped me grasp a better understanding of what these people truly value and how they live out their everyday lives.
"The ancients were far more civilized than ourselves in matters of crucial importance and it is we who are in our progressive way, shiny barbarians.
These ancient civilizations collectively and individually put their creative energy into fabulous architecture, art, and sculpture and so on. Present civilizations have 90% of their creative energy going into WMD's.
Weapons of Mass Destruction and Weapons of Mind Destruction (Jersey Shore and Hollywood)
We do not have as much free will at our disposal as we think we have. Man has free will but not the will to use it. We must first realize that we have much less free will as we think and that we have to develop free will to use, and we have to do that individually. Do what seems to you to be important but you have to do it yourself."
-John Anthony West
An interesting set of images and reflections on coming of age as a traveler. Thanks, too, for crediting sites when you used images that other people put up for view.
ReplyDeleteI like how you said coming of age as a traveler can be shocking and awakening and I think we can all relate to that through our experiences so far here in London. Nice pictures too!
ReplyDelete