Allie
Singer
Dr.
Doolen & Mr. Parmer
ENG
191
27
January 2014
All in a Day’s Work
When thinking about the Great
Depression, the first thought that usually comes to mind is that it was, with
loss of a better word, depressing. The “Migrant Mother” photograph immediately
comes to mind, and I always think how awful life must have been. However, after
examining Arthur Rothstein’s collection of photographs of tenant farmers from
Gees Bend, Alabama, I was surprised to find that the people in his photographs
did not appear utterly distraught as I had expected them to. The photograph I
chose is entitled “Pat Bendolph, one of the tenants at Gees Bend, Alabama.” At
first glance this photograph seems simple, but after examining it more closely,
the subject of the photo represents the tenants of Gees Bend that worked hard
and were happy with their lives despite the obstacles they faced.
Pat Bendolph is the sole person in the
photograph, and what I first noticed was that he is smiling. During the Great
Depression, you would not expect to see many smiling faces; therefore his grin
would not give any hint that this was taken during that time period. The photo
takes place in Gees Bend, Alabama, and he is standing in a field. It can be
inferred that he has been working from the clothes he is wearing, and that he
is an older man. An important detail that I did not take note of at first was
that he is holding the straps of his overalls as if he has just finished a hard
day of work.
The focus and mood of the photograph are
also revealing. Bendolph is in full focus, while the field behind him is out of
focus, making him the focal point of the photograph. When looking at the
photograph, I imagine Bendolph walking back from a long day of work, happy to
be going home. The mood of the photograph has an almost cheerful tone, as if
Bendolph was telling a story or a joke. This could be a man with many problems,
but his smile reveals that he is making the best out of what he has. For this
reason, this photograph is different from previous pictures and documents that
have shaped my opinions and understanding about what life was like during the
Great Depression. I believe that Rothstein’s goal of this photograph was to
reveal through Bendolph, that the people of Gees Bend did not allow their
tribulations to keep them from having a positive outlook on their lives.
Allie,
ReplyDeleteI feel you are very right by assuming this man just had a hard day’s work. He has on worn out clothes, a hat to protect him from the sun, and he standing in a position that reveals his exhaustion. But as you stated, he does not look upset. He does not look angry at the long day’s labor he just completed. He looks positive and happy. I feel like this really demonstrates how the Gee’s Bend residents did not let the Great Depression time period get them down. It shows that they took what they had, worked and were resourceful, and created the contentedness they portray in some of the photographs by Arthur Rothstein.
Allie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your outlook on this photograph. I agree with what you said about Pat being the focal point and that he looks happy. He clothes are like a symbol to me, they are worn out and its like a symbol of all the people worn out by the Great Depression. However, his smile is the positive attitude of all the town folk in Gees Bend. He looks very calm and relieved, and doesn't look the least bit affected by the Great Depression whatsoever. I think Arthur Rothstein does a great job over portraying a sense of hope in his photographs, because the Tenant Farmers of Gees Bend, AL never appear to be upset or in a state of sulking. It's as though he reveals the light in a dark tunnel for these people.
-Kayla
I enjoyed reading how Allie's assumptions about the Great Depression were challenged by this image. The subject's smile and body language are important elements to make us think about, especially since nothing else in this photo is in focus. Allie does a good job using specific elements of the photo to support her narrative of a man returning home after a hard day of work, and his optimism during a trying period of American history.
ReplyDelete