A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words Essay Example

The saying “A picture speaks a thousand words” is very true. Being able to look at a picture and breaking it down to see what it is saying is not something everyone can do, and this course made me realize that and taught me how to do that. It is exciting to write this paper because I will be able to utilize the different strategies all together for this image that I will be discussing about in this paper. 

The content of an image is one of the important factors we must keep in mind. For example, take a second and observe this picture. What do you see when you look at this picture? What comes to your mind? When I look at this image the first two things that come to my mind are how the picture shows different aspects of life and it symbolizes the trials and tribulations one must go through in life. All trees begin life in the same way, however as they grow older, they weather nature’s forces and develop in their own unique and beautiful ways. Another way the image represent life is by the idea of re-birth, positive energy, new beginnings, and individuality. As all the tree stands tall and powerful all throughout the world, trees are a global emblem of strength and growth. They ground and stabilize themselves by spreading their roots deep into the soil. 

Trees can withstand even the most severe storms, which is why they are such a powerful symbol of strength. When tree begins as a small, delicate seedling and grows into a massive, powerful tree over time. The tree grows upwards and outwards, symbolizing how a person develops strength and expands their knowledge and experiences throughout the course of their life but the roots play a part in that because if the roots are bad it causes to add obstacles in one’s life. Individuality comes from the fact that every tree is different, with branches emerging at different spots and in different directions. It represents a person's personal development into a unique human being because of many events shaping who they are. As branches break off, new one’s sprout, and the weather takes its toll, trees develop more distinct characteristics, but the tree stays strong and durable throughout. This shows how people develop and grow throughout their life from different experiences and lessons they have learned while growing. 

The appearance of the image is another thing that plays an important role while looking at a image. The roots embedded in the ground show stability because the roots hold the tree together as one. Also, the colors in the image say a lot as well. The colors are bright along with the liveliness and fullness of the tree. As you can see there is only one tree in the image which makes this stand out even more because it represents strength as well. A tree can symbolize many things nut when it is put into the image it the meaning can than vary based on the different characteristics in the image. 

Moreover, lets discuss the use in the picture. Use basically is the relevance is of things that you mention in terms of the various uses of the image. For example, in this image the image created makes me think about life and how we all build our own foundation from the time we are born till the end. This image also shows how the result all depends on the decisions we have made. For instance, the tree is so green and looks so alive because the roots are good. Now if the roots were not good the tree would look dead. 

The context of an image is also important because aside from interpreting the deeper meaning of what this picture means to me, the colors of the picture and the background makes me feel stronger about how I feel about the picture. For example, the picture looks alive its 

colorful and bright. That makes me look at the picture more in a positive perspective. It shows the good of inside and outside. This relates to the example I said earlier about “The tree is so green and looks so alive because the roots are good. Now if the roots were not good the tree would look dead”.  

Trees have a relaxing presence as they stand tall and still while their leaves flutter in the breeze and most importantly, they give us oxygen! Before moving on lets, talk about how this image has its own connection to everything. The tree connects to everything in the universe. It symbolizes togetherness and serves as a reminder that you are never alone or isolated, but rather that you are connected to the world. The roots of the tree dig deep and spread into the earth, thereby accepting food from Earth, and its branches reach up into the sky, accepting energy from the sun and moon. Just like some one trying to accomplish their goals towards success in what they want to go. The tree also connects to the natural recourses we get from them it is a home to animals, birds etc.

Overall, with keeping content, appearance, use and context in mind and observing a picture really does change the way you interpret the image itself. This course made me realize that just how you need background knowledge for other things the same goes for images, drawings, paintings. We are surrounded by pictures all the time. Whether it is a picture of a childhood memory, or a picture of an animal, or object. Every image has its own story and meaning and to help determine that you need to know what is content, appearance, use and context. These four things will help you break down a picture and you will find a deeper meaning about the image or even see all the different ways that one picture can connect. 

Lastly, I would like to talk about personal connection I made to the image. The very first time I saw the image it reminded me of the tree in my backyard. I only have one big tree in my backyard and its right in the middle. I never liked the tree there because when I was younger, I wanted a big swimming pool in my backyard, but the tree was in the way, but we never got rid of the tree. Even though, I did not like the tree at first later I started it to love it because my dad built me and my siblings a huge swing that we would always go on. I would always go to that swing if I needed to go away for a bit to think or if I were sad. Till this day I go there. It is still my safe place, and it also reminds of my great childhood memories as well.