What immediately struck me in the photo depicting four small children in New Deal Photography (pg. 259) was the boy holding the bicycle. His face appears to have a slight smile, indicating that he is pleased in possessing the bicycle. After reading the caption “the oldest boy earned the money to buy his bicycle” (259), I was able to add that the boy’s hard work paid off, which is why his clothes appear to be dirty along with his boots. The caption also says that the boy is the oldest, in which I can infer that he is about ten years old, no later than twelve. While the boy seems to be proud, his sister to the left appears to be the complete opposite. She doesn’t have her eyes directed at the camera and doesn’t even have a smile on her face. Additionally, her clothes seem to be whiter in contrast to the boy’s and even her other sister to the right, implying that she may not work as much as the boy. However, perhaps the boy could do outside labor (which could explain his use for the bike and the money he got to get it), whereas his sister may work inside the house. Nevertheless, the fact that the girl, who appears to be the same age as the boy, holds the bike with both hands reveals that she may believe the bike may be hers, or at least her brother might share it with her, possibly because she might not have something to call her own. Also, the sister on the right holding the cat appears to be around six or seven years old, in which her eyes are directed towards the camera, but she is not smiling. This can suggest that the youngest sister may not be interested in the photographer at all enough to smile, but rather contain the innocence to be around a cat over her siblings. In other words, the youngest daughter may be too young to work and have the responsibility of taking care of the pet (which could explain her bare feet), hence, she could be possibly isolated from her older siblings as portrayed through her possession of a cat (in comparison to a bike), which gives her the innocence to play than work.
Meanwhile, other elements of this photograph were harder to perceive at first. One major detail was the youngest son in the background window on the right. He appears to be crying, possibly because he is not outside with his other siblings. This could be because he has nothing to call his own (in other words, nothing to hold and show off for the camera), or maybe he has something, but is jealous of the bike and cat and wants what his siblings have. Nevertheless, this made me think of why the boy wasn’t included in the caption, which states that there are only “three of the four Arnold children” (259), while he is clearly in the background. Perhaps one child is not part of the Arnold family, but not enough information is given to see which one it is. But even if all four children are part of the Arnold family, why wouldn’t the author state there are four children in the photo, as opposed to three. What is it about the boy that makes the author not include him in the photograph, even if he is not with his siblings? Nevertheless, the lack of detail in the open door in the background only adds to the impending mystery of the Arnold family. Also, the tools on the right and bucket on the left indicates that the family lives a rural lifestyle and does much farm work. Still, many questions arise from the photo on what does each child do in the family and what is their relationship with one another, as well as the parents’ role in the entire photo (i.e. where are they, what do they do). Overall, the photograph did give some material information on the family, but made me curious on the emotional background behind the family’s possessions.
