Christopher Columbus

Americas national memory is filled with icons and symbols, avatars of deeply held, thus far imperfectly understood, beliefs. The role of history in the iconography of the United States is pervasive, even the facts behind the fiction are somehow lost in an amorphous haze of patriotism and perceived national identity. Christopher Columbus, as a poor boy and symbol of the first order in America, is an important figure in this pantheon of American fable. His status, not inappropriate most American icons, is representative not of his own accomplishments, except the self-perception of the society which raised him to his pedestal in the American aim of heroism. This gallery was not in place at the receive of the political nation. America, as a immature republic, found itself straight off in the centerfield of an identity crisis. Having effected a unpeaceful separation from England and its cultural and political icons, America was left without history--or heroes. Michael Kammen, in his Mystic Chords of Memory explains that repudiation of the past left Americans of the young republic without a firm foundation on which ... ...

middle of paper ... ...n popular culture, national commemorations and memory, and prominently in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Randolph Rogers massive bronze Columbus Doors express this vision of Columbus, the ultimate visual expression of Americas self-identity as embodied in the explorer. He emerged from the shadows, reincarnated not so much as a homosexual and historical figure as he was a myth and symbol. He came to epitomize the explorer and discoverer, the man of vision and audacity, the hero who overcame opposition and adversity to change history. (Noble, 249) If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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