In Johan Dahl's "Eruption of Vesuvius", a volcano, which is surrounded by smoke and fire, is the focal point of the painting. The smoke and fire give a sense of death and destruction. Looking at this picture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art I remember thinking about all the pain and death that the eruption of this volcano caused; it reminded me of all the innocent lives lost. In the background of the painting, a small, peaceful village can be seen, which may be the town of Pompeii. Dahl gives the village a look of innocence by having a lake and the sunset. To a viewer, it seems as if the village is quiet and unaware of what is happening with the volcano. They are not aware of the horror and destruction that is about to engulf their small, peaceful village. In a way, nature is in control of the situation and was blamed for all the destruction that was caused. While looking at the painting I wondered why people blamed the volcano. It was as if there was no one else to blame so they blamed the volcano. Why are people always looking for someone or something to blame? Even if someone is innocent why are people trying to make them look guilty?.
When I was young, my mother would always tell me not to do anything that is wrong or unlawful. She would always say, "Bad things always happen to bad people, but if you stay on the right path of life nothing bad will happen to you." As a small child, I took this statement by my mother as truth, believing that I wouldn't get into trouble unless I did something I wasn't supposed to do. However, this isn't true in today's world. People want to blame other people for something that happened, instead of leaving it unsolved. In today's society there is a strong desire to find someone who is guilty, and since this desire is so strong, many times an innocent person is blamed. People don't care that the person is innocent; all they care about is the fact that someone has been found guilty.