FREE ESSAY ON SONNTAG VS. THE UNABOMBER

SONNTAG VS. THE UNABOMBER

Expansion vs. Preservation
William Sonntag was acclaimed in the 1850s as a painter of the dramatic landscape. In his
painting "Garden of the Gods," Sonntag portrays a family in the time of the westward
expansion. The very subtle painting, expressed by its loose brushwork, captures the
shifting atmospheric contrasts of light and dark. Apparent in the painting is a family
struggling to survive in nature. In the bottom left corner of the painting is a weather
beaten shack, the home of the struggling family. This painting brings out the "live of
the land" mentality, but it also incorporates the idea of expansion. When you think about
life today, do we really need to expand? Does all this technology really make our lives
better? Certainly, Ted Kazinski (aka "The Unabomber") doesn't think so. The well known
advocate for a revolution against the Industrial system, the Unabomber believes the
technological era will be a disaster to the human race. William Sonntag's "Garden of the
Gods" symbolizes expansion, as opposed to the Unabomber's belief of preserving ones
current way of life .
The Unabomber's ideal society would be that of life in the nineteenth century. It would
be characteristic of life without TV's to brainwash us with, no scientists and engineers
to try to simplify our lives, and no cars to pollute our mother earth with. It all comes
together in what we see in the "Garden of the Gods," hunting for food to feed your loving
family, living in a shack made by ones own god given hands, and entertaining each other
by storytelling in front of a campfire. Depicted in this painting is a luminous
reflection of the sun on what seems to be rock formation in the background. This
symbolizes gods intervention into human life, and the spiritual livelihood that is
inherent in all of us. It is the heavens that helps us to overcome our everyday
obstacles. Conquering new ground wasn't an easy task for many expansionists, confiding in
god is what brought many of these settlers to overcome their fears and hindrances. Even
though there are similarities between these two pieces, they still have one monumental
difference. 
Expansion is what brings us to new levels. For many of these settlers, land wasn't a
necessity; they believed they were destined for more land. This brings out the whole idea
of Manifest Destiny. Continental expansion by the United States revitalized a sense of
mission or national destiny for many Americans. Instead of expanding, The Unabomber
wanted life in general to be simple. Is there really a need for expansion? With expansion
comes new businesses which leads to an a economy that needs nourishment which then leads
to the manufacturing of new products to make life easier. The Continental expansion
excluded those people who were perceived as being incapable of self-government. Thus,
causing the Indians to be forced of their land and placed on reservations. Just like the
Indians, the Unabomber believed that the government has invaded our lives with all these
technological advances and that they need to make the public aware of what the
technological boom has on our society. 
The Unabomber would probably see himself like the hunters in this painting. But instead
of killing animals to feed his family, he believed that he was helping out other people
by way of murder. An example of the Unabomber's slayings would be that of Thomas Mosser.
The Burston-Marsteller executive who helped Exxon clean up its public image. The Exxon
Oil spill caused the death of millions of animals just off the coast of Alaska. Exxon
agreed to clean up everything, but that would of caused billions of the company's profits
to be washed away. Instead, Exxon cleaned up most of there accident and left the rest to
Thomas Mosser to make people think the spillage was nothing but history. 
The Unabomber's belief of preservation is opposed in Sonntag's "Garden of the Gods." 
Its hard to compare the Unabomber's beliefs with such a beautiful painting. When I think
about the means of him getting his ideas across all I think about are his killings. If he
would of found a non-violent way of communicating his ideas I'm sure I would of respected
him much more. I believe there is a lot of truth behind his Manifesto.
Bibliography
Sonntag, William. "Garden of the Gods". Oil on Canvas. 1850