Art And Religion Analysis

Thompson’s art and his religion are incompatible because of his perception of art being fundamentally sinful, selfish, and separate from his faith. One example of this belief is demonstrated by the image on page 209, in which Thompson’s childhood drawing of a nude woman slowly transitions into a picture of Raina. This transition figuratively represents Thompson’s growing sexual desires for Raina, which is beginning to overcome an admonition from his childhood never to think such thoughts again. He links these “sinful” sexual desires, symbolized by his childhood art, to Raina, meaning he is combining both his sexual and his artistic desires. This image demonstrates that Thompson’s selfish desires of both sexuality and art are overcoming his
It parallels his struggle between art and religion – he persists with his art as far as he is able to, until the shame overcomes the desire to continue and he stops – similarly, he continues to “leave his marks” on the snow until he stumbles and
Finally, on the bottom of page 141, a blank sheet of paper is displayed, next to a pencil that lies abandoned. The paper is a symbol that represents Thompson’s inability to reconcile his art and his religion – the results of his efforts to draw his religion, to portray the divine, ultimately ended with a blank sheet of paper. It stands in contrast to his later art which he sends to Raina; that art was secular and ultimately drawn to appease his own desires. But when he attempts to draw for others, for a higher purpose, he fails – the blank sheet is the literal absence of content, his refusal to do something that he perceives as sinful even to solidify his faith. He fails to reveal this inner struggle to others; only through the results of his failures can his conception of the sinfulness of his art be revealed. Overall, while religion and art are not necessarily incompatible as entities on their own, Thompson’s perception of his art being fundamentally opposed to his religion forces him to choose one over the