Images and Literature

At first thought I see pictures and images the most profound way of discovering meaning underneath what is first presented. I look at the pictures, but not just look; I read the picture also. When this is done and I begin to read texts about the pictures or related events I see an even deeper meaning to the picture and the text. When reading the picture I get to know the person as if I had known them for some time. Then reading the text the pictures start hitting the characters and I find matches between the characters and pictures. So for me I must say that the two medias of information are comparable. One is the other and I cannot understand the hidden meanings without both.

For instance picture 55 is my interpretation of Bigger. The man in the top left picture seems like the Bigger who was at first trapped by the white society. He secretly fears them even though he claims he does not. Also the upward chin and glaring eyes tell that he is overcoming the fear and feeling invincible because the whites think he's an ignorant black man. He appears to show an angered but scared faced, for he knows what is coming for him just the same as when Bigger argued with Gus in the pool bar. Bigger knew they'd pull they deal and was scared of Gus for that reason.

This identification repeats for me in picture 33 represents the white dress (who is Beloved) hugging Sethe in the novel. The woman in the picture is physically dead, but her representation is permanant. Her picture will stay forever. This is the same reason Beloved is dead, but her memory remained to live on.

As I said early, I cannot compare pictures and literature because they are as one to me. The examples presented show that "reading the pictures and seeing the book" is a good tactic in tackling the hidden meanings. It brings forward the identity of the characters in the book and tells a story in the picture. Using this tactic is a good way to try and bring both media together rather than separate them.

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