Good and Evil

When I look at this photograph I cant help to think that the roots are alive. Are these roots even attached to a tree? The roots are squirming intertwined with each other like a plague crawling over and under the earth. The vantage point of the photographer makes it look like these roots are slithering off of my computer screen slowly crawling over and under my skin. Like my body in a coffin filled with boa constrictors. I almost start to panic; gazing into this photograph makes me squirm in my seat. I am uncomfortable and almost want to look away, but I cant. Some sort of evil treacherous spell is pulling my eyes toward the photograph.  

I cannot help but think to myself why I think this photograph comes off as dark and daunting? It is the fact that the roots look like gigantic serpents sliding in and out of each other. The technique that makes it the most frightening is the placement of the darkness in the back of the photograph. This placement really makes the theme of the photograph eerie. The darkness follows the roots and to me darkness goes hand in hand with evil. It looks like the roots are engulfing the light leaving nothing but the unknown evil inside the darkness.  Without the flowers in the photograph there would be no light.

The flowers seem to be the only remaining parts of the light left but why? With darkness there has to be light. With good there has to be evil. It is the balance of nature…of life. The blood dripping off the spine of the roots seems to be from the battle between the light and the dark. It took me a long time to realize that the tops of the roots seem to be dripping blood. This is when I recognized the battle that is taking place in this nature scene. It is the same battle that takes place over and over again in history. It is the battle between good and evil…. Light and dark. 

Photography

Photo Analysis

The first thing that comes to my mind in Dorothea Lange’s beautiful photo is confrontation. Dorothea uses a direct approach for this reason. This straightforward photograph is not hiding anything. The man on the side of the photograph is the key element to the scene. He seems to be provoking the old man in the middle of the photograph. This confrontation is curiously and attentively viewed by a group of African American workers. The old man seems to be a plantation owner and the African American crew his workers. The old man is attempting to be dominant by standing up straight and putting his foot on the car almost to be staking him claim. This to me is like a stand off seen continuously thought nature between two males, the newcomer and the old dominant male. This appears to be the old mans territory and he seems threatened by the presence of the newcomer. In 1936 abolition against slavery and racism was in full force. In the south racism was running wild, although slavery was made illegal by the thirteenth amendment in 1865. African American people still were being treated extremely unfair.

I like to think that the man on the side of the photograph is standing up for the rights of the African American men in the background. What could he of said to the old man to make him react? Could he have been asking how much he pays his workers? Or how many hours they work a day? Who knows what the man said to the plantation owner. It is obvious from the old man’s discussed face that it did not make him happy. There probably is not much that makes this old man happy anymore. Except for money. The threat of abolition is in turn threatening his potential salary.  This photograph captures almost the exact moment where the words of the newcomer cut directly into the old man’s soul.

The workers see this moment and seem to be amused. The many hours or even years they have spent working for this old man they have never seen something disgruntle him so harshly. After getting yelled at for most of the day they finally get a break. They probably lollygagged to the stairs, like they do everyday, dreading the grueling work that still is to come with the rest of the day. Little did they know that this newcomer would bring them a bit of joy that they would of never of had happened otherwise. That is what makes this picture so amazing, the fact that the workers have to go trough the darkest most dreadful days reputedly until one day a man from no where brings them a little bit of light that they have deserved for years. 

Why I Write

I first started to write without any joy. The only type of writing that I attempted to do was for school. As school went on, I startred to not hate writing as much as all the rest of my classmates. It took until almost the last year of high school for me to finally find that I love to write. My junior and senior english teacher Mr. Bruno opened my eyes to literature. Dante, Jack Kerouac, Edgar Allen Poe, and Ernest Hemingway are only a few of the Authors that I had to read for class. I did not hate one minute of Mr. brunos class. I found the ideas and arguments of these author to be fascinating. Mr. Bruno reminded me of myself as well. Mr. Bruno like me was a very artistic guy. We love music, but could not play an instrument. We love art but we are not able to paint the picture in our head. It wasn't until after my first year of college that I finally decided to do something about it. I am becoming more passionate about writing everyday and im looking forward to making it part of my future. 





I write for school 



I write because of Mr. Bruno 


I write because it sounds better on paper 


I write for the hope that one day the whole world will hear my message


I write for reasons still to be found