Kelvin Chan
Journal 4
English D394 (Prof. Scanlan)
September 30, 2015
Favorite Picture
My favorite picture from the six is “Riveters attaching a beam” by Lewis Wickes Hine. This picture is the one that’s the most interesting in my opinion and is the one that caught my attention above the rest. These four men were working so dangerously. They all were high above with no safety equipment attached and one simple mistake could mean the end of everything. This must have been one of the most dangerous jobs back then and probably still is now. In addition, they all look like they are working hard and carefully to finish this skyscraper building. Building is like a kind of art. All it takes is one mistake to ruin everything. But one mistake here could have caused a hazardous area. However, they must have done a good job because we never heard of this building that these men and many more built have any problems.
But the thing that makes me think is that these men are putting their lives on the line just for money. As we can definitely see from the building in the background that they are probably, well up in the air. Just what were these men thinking while working? Day after day, they had to climb all the way back up just to work. How did these men gain the courage to work this hard and were there any other safer jobs these men could have done? But these brave, hardworking men in the picture are the ones that caught my interest.
Kelvin,
I am impressed on how you interpreted the picture in such a detailed way and explaining the thought the photographer had to put into it. You gave background information about the time period which help explain the photograph and why it is in black and white. Kevin, you telling the reader what caught your eye about the picture gave it more life. You made us readers think about the time period it was taken in and why would they do what. Personally I think they did it for the simple reason that they had to make good money even if it cost their own lives. Your interest caught my interest and the way you wrote about it was great.
Regards,
Joseph Floyd
There’s a sort of “unsung hero” type of thing when buildings are at play, especially large ones. Since they’re literally the back bone of the entire operation, it really shows how hard the workers had to perform their job, else they’ll be responsible for the deaths of hundreds. A morbid thought, don’t you think? Mainly because the company that was hired to build it would be in trouble, but the workers are really the one holding all the “weight” of the building.
I’m bad at puns, I’m sorry.