Blog Post 8: Pre-writing assignment 1

This photo was taken on the Marcella Plantation in Mileston, Mississippi around the time of September 1939. As you may know, the Great Depression occurred during the years of 1929 to 1939, and World War II took place from 1939 to 1945. This was a rather difficult time for society, especially to families with children since they were stuck right in the middle of the two tragedies. Mileston, Mississippi is located a little bit west from the center of Mississippi and is found in Holmes County.

In this photo there are two adults, a woman and a man, and a child that appears to be a boy. It seems that the three of them could be a family or perhaps friends at the least. Since they are on a plantation, I assume they are most likely of the working class. Their clothing also sort of gives away that they are of working class. They are wearing more grungy types of clothing than what might regularly been seen on the street. If this is a family, they probably live a lifestyle of poverty and make it by day to day. The reason I think this is because if they are of the working class, and are just barely coming out of the depression, there is not going to be a lot of money.

The landscaping is neat, because of it being a plantation, with a line of trees in the far background. There are currently crops planted in the plantation so they only activities which occur there are harvesting or tending to the plants. You may notice that there is also a dirt road in which the three people are walking on. During this specific time period, this road was probably mostly used for transporting back and forth from locations, either by foot or car. Children may have also took part in playing on the dirt roads as well.

There is minimal architecture in this photo, a house and a small shed or barn of some sort. The house in the background seems to look descent in size, maybe numerous people live there or a large family, and there also appears to be a car or two. The house itself, in my opinion, most likely belongs to the plantation owner and is being either passed on their way home, or approached to start a days work. Since this could very well be a family, the child is probably present because both parents were in need of work, so the child had no choice but to tag along.

When I look at this photo, the first thing that I notice is the family, especially the little boy because he is looking towards the camera. It also makes me wonder though, who is taking the photo? Perhaps another family member. Secondly, I focus in on the small shed, then the house. The background, and landscaping is what I notice, or focus in on, last. It’s hard to take into perspective what the two adult in the photo are feeling. They do not seem to show despair, but more of being proud.