Green grass, green tree overhead, green-ish brook, green on the other side of the brook, these are the first things you note. But, so save us from a green overload, we have a heroine sitting in the middle of our picture, a young girl, maybe 10 years old, she is sitting Indian style beside our peaceful brook, reading a book. She is adorned in a white apron, and her hair is pulled back with a red ribbon that absolutely pops in start contrast to the rest of the relative monochromatic nature of the rest of the piece. She is the picture of tranquility and innocence.
I had a large framed picture in my room once, not so long ago, when I was 8 years old. The star of this picture was lying on her ...view middle of the document...
But, “Reading by the Brook†evokes similar desires to replicate this serene situation. It makes me want to be carefree and innocent. And, yet, the realistic part of brain is skeptical about how lovely this situation really is. Reading Indian style is not very comfortable, and I would imagine this girl would have to wiggle around quite a bit to stay comfortable. And, any weather that can make everything so green is rather hot weather, so we musn’t forget the sweat that is probably trickling down her back. And, how many 10 year olds do you know that can sit still for any length of time? There is also the unfortunate possibility that she is reading a boring Latin book, or other such mandatory literature, and not a fantastically magical book.
Now, you must think I am rather negative to say so many buzz-kill things about this seemingly simple and lovely piece. But, I feel the need to remind you that the probability of our girl being as content as she seems to be is very unlikely. She probably had to flee within seconds of this moment to swat at bees, or jump in the brook to appease the gradual sense of overwhelming heat. Or maybe she is studying blades of grass out of sheer boredom until her mandatory allotted “literature reading†time is over. The point is: this piece wants us to believe a sense of tranquility and almost a holy environment is happening here. We are supposed to believe this kind of moment is easily attainable, that he just stumbled upon it. But, in reality, the inner turmoil of our girl probably has little in common with the seemingly perfect exterior.
