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The image shows a final exhibition of the art after its first versions were criticized and the
artists had to make some changes. In the first version, there was a rifle lying on the boat behind
the boy. The work was condemned, and the artist was accused of encouraging cruel sport. Homer
then edited the piece and painted the rifle out (Burns, 1997). He also added more water to cover
the deer and had the implication that it was already dead and the boy was not trying to drown it.
Homer also defended the work stating that the deer was not alive; otherwise, it would have
knocked the boat and the boy into the water.
Reflection
The piece is very instrumental in shaping my life and career. It makes it clear that even as
an artist tries to be creative, one must be careful to ensure that the art does not directly or
indirectly appear to support cruel or hostile behavior. Additionally, perception is very important
in analyzing a work of art. Martin (2018) notes that individuals are unlikely to respond
sensitively to a work of art if they did not perceive it properly. For instance, in Homer’s case, the
audience did not perceive his work well the first time he produced it. He thus had to redo it and
erase doubts and misperceptions so that the intended meaning could be perceived. Perception is
thus very important. The perception of the audience was partly influenced by the events taking
place at the time it was produced. Hunting through cruel means was becoming an issue. Animal
rights activists were opposed to hunting methods that inflicted pain and suffering on the animals.
Philosophy and music influenced me in a great way. Several philosophers stood out for
me as I interacted with the content. For instance, philosopher Susanne Langer states that music
possesses the capacity to educate the audience’s emotional life. This is because one of the subject
matters in music is feeling. Music has a way of imparting an audience’s feelings in a great way.
The impact may be negative or positive, but it does exist. The music bears certain similarities to

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the forms of human feelings. Langer remarks that music or the tonal structures therein is a tonal
analog of emotive life.
Further, Roger Scruton influenced my view on music when he said that the emotion in
music is a reflection of some states in the human mind. Music is therefore very important in
human life. It does not consist of mere tonal structures, but these tones carry emotions and have a
huge impact on human minds. Music is associated with certain feelings that are experienced
during nonmusical contexts. For instance, a piece of music will be referred to as sad if the
listener associates it with feelings that they had felt during other times when no music was being
played.
Philosophy has also influenced my thinking and perceptions in a great way. It has
inspired me to give reasoned answers and interpretations. When I look at a piece of art or listen
to music, philosophy has made e realize that I can get a deeper understanding of the object or the
words different from the surface meaning. I have also realized that philosophy somehow
interconnects the other disciplines. Philosophy makes it possible to interpret works in other
disciplines. For instance, through philosophy, I can assess the moral aspect of a piece of art. For
instance, a surface look at Homer’s piece, Hound and Hunter, shows a boy on a boat holding a
deer and looking at a dog. From a philosophical perspective, I can see more than what just meets
the eye. For example, it could be that the boy killed the deer already and now wants to also kill
the dog. From a moral perspective, that is wrong. I can then analyze and even critique the piece
of art from a moral perceptive. Thus, philosophy comes in handy when interpreting works of art,
literary pieces, and drama.
Overall, this class is very impactful to my career as well as my personal life. Using
philosophy, I will be in a position to analyze things more critically. For instance, when listening

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to music, I will be keen on the emotions being elicited and try and relate them to other times and
my experiences in life. Additionally, from a career perspective, philosophy will help me
understand different works in arts, literature, music as well as drama from a better perspective.

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References

Martin, F. D. (2018). Humanities through the Arts. McGraw-Hill Education
Burns, S. (1997). Modernizing Winslow Homer.