WP1: Prewriting 3

The photograph is of “Beecher Street School, whose student body consists of half Americans of Italian descent and half of Americans of Polish descent, Southington, Conn.” This information was pertinent when I first analyzed the photograph so that I was able to determine what kind of people are in the photo and what their purpose is. However, I soon realized that just looking at the people and making assumptions based on whatever information I have previously required is not enough.

In researching the background of Italian and Polish immigration, I found interesting similarities and differences in why each group of people came to the United States and how each group has found a place in the country. Starting with Italy, I found that the majority of the Italian emigrants that would come to the U.S. would come between the years of 1870 and 1920. The country of Italy was unified by this time but life in Italy had not corrected itself. Poverty and violence were everyday things and the promise of America that had spread in Europe was welcomed by Italians. Similarly, in this time period Polish emigrants were also arriving in America to escape economic difficulties. However, during the 40s and 50s-in which time the photograph is taken-people were emigrating from Poland for political refuge due to the Soviet takeover of the country.

Looking at the reasons for why certain groups of people emigrate from a country is important because in turn it has a lot to do with how they establish their lives and communities in the new country. Italian immigrants came to America to set up a new life and they wanted to become a part of America while still retaining their Italian heritage. Parents wanted their children to go to American schools and to establish themselves as strong individuals in the American culture. Italians also established themselves in the industrial world and created a successful name for themselves. Likewise, Polish immigrants also wanted to establish a new and better life for themselves. Most already knew English and adapted to American life.

This has changed my perception of the photograph in the aspects of the children, the signs they are holding up, and also the girl in the patriotic outfit. The children are at an American school, yet the school is comprised of only Italian and Polish students. The signs take on a different meaning to me, because they show how the Italian and Polish people are trying to assimilate into the American culture that, at the time of 1942 that the picture was taken, was focused on the war that the country was in. Likewise, the girl in the middle is also becoming a part of the American culture because of the outfit she is wearing that is patriotic in every way.

I also learned more about the May Day celebration, which I originally thought was the religious holiday that honors Mary. However, upon further research, I found that because the picture includes that the May Day crowning is of a queen and a king, the celebration is actually just May Day that began as a celebration of International Worker’s day, although it is not celebrated that way in the United States. This information was very interesting to me because of the number of Italian and Polish immigrants that were workers in the United States. This changes the reason for the celebration and why a simple celebration of Spring would be important to the Italian and Polish children at the school on Beecher Street.

Works Cited

Library of Congress (2004). Immigration...Italian. Retrieved 16 February 2010 from Library of Congress: http://memory.loc.gov/learn//features/immig/italian.html

Grocholska, Julitta (1998). Polish Immigration to the U.S. Retrieved 16 February 2010 from Polonia Today: http://www.poloniatoday.com/immigration1.htm

Chase, Eric (). The Brief Origins of May Day. Retrieved 16 February 2010 from International Workers of the World: http://www.iww.org/projects/mayday/origins.shtml

WP1: Pre-Writing 2

In the “Beecher Street School” photograph, the photographer Fenno Jacobs’ choice to take the picture without posing the individuals or requiring them to look at the camera has several effects. For the most part, the vectors of attention are all in the direction of the side of the photograph. The one exception is the boy in the blue striped shirt who seems to be looking either at the camera or a bit to the side; it is difficult to tell just where his eyes are looking exactly. The children in the back row who are looking off to the side are also aligned in a row which draws the eye to look at each individual in an ordered, linear fashion, starting from the little boy. This is an appeal to pathos because it creates a feeling of curiosity and interest in what is going on that is not seen. The eye wants to continue on to look at the side of the photograph that is not really there in order to find out what has the attention of all these people. This is brought about even more so because the girl sitting in the chair, separated from the others, is also looking in this direction.

What Jacobs decided to allow the audience to be able to view also creates an appeal to the pathos of curiosity and interest. The framing of the photograph is specific as to how many people are seen and it is interesting that the picture skims the tops of the children’s heads when there is so much space at the bottom of just showing the gravel road or street. Jacobs may have done this to display the setting of the photo so the audience is not left guessing where the children are standing watching the crowning. Also, the picture is framed in a way that both signs advertising "Breakfast and Lunch" and "Victory Gardens" are displayed in their entirety. This is conducive to showing a part of the lives of the students and their place in their community at their elementary school. However, the boy is partially cut off and one can only infer that there are more children standing next to him because of the crowd that is behind him.

The vectors of attention and the fact that the line of children continues beyond the framing of the photograph contribute to the feeling of curiosity of what is going on that someone looking at the photograph would feel. This also contributes to the mood of the photograph that the children are waiting restlessly and excitedly for something to happen in this celebration of the crowning that they are witness to. The coloration of the photograph also adds to this mood. The hues that are the most noticeable are the reds, blues, whites, and yellows because they are the brightest and mostly saturated. All of these are colors that naturally induce an excited and happy feeling. The bright blues and yellows on the signs make them stand out particularly even though they are behind the girl who is wearing an outfit of three of the aforementioned colors all located in one area. This brings special attention to this girl and her purpose as the singled out child sitting in the chair.