Photo Analysis

Houses in the Negro section of Eutaw, Alabama

Source: Library of Congress

In this photo, the things that stick out to me the most are the grass, the lack of clouds, the dark shadows, the power lines, and the inhabitants that look to be resting outside of their homes, but out of the sunlight,

I thought this photo somewhat represents my vision of Maycomb because it exudes a lethargic vibe, which is what I was looking for based on this quote from page 6 in the soft cover edition of To Kill A Mockingbird:

"Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town, when I first knew it.

People moved slowly then...A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer."

When I first saw this picture, it reminded me of when I had nothing to do on an afternoon when the power lines were cut, I didn't live in a shack, mind you, but this photo gives me the same feeling as the one I had during those powerless afternoons: sleepiness.

Setting personal feelings aside, I have some connections to make between the text in page 6 (which will be what I base my analysis upon for most of this blog post) and this picture.

"...grass grew on the sidewalks..."

In this picture, there seems to be no sidewalk, but that may be because it has been completely overrun by grass, which in turn may be due to this being the Negro section of the neighborhood. There may also be a "Negro section" in Maycomb--I think this because Calpurnia goes to a colored church (p. 100 soft cover), suggesting that segregation was in effect in Maycomb. And, knowing the conditions in which Negroes were usually put in, it's possible that the grass in this photo was growing before there were inhabitants in the land. It is also possible that it is simply the effect of neglect, although I would not like to believe that since I took such a long time typing my theory up.

I'm kidding.

"Somehow, it was hotter then; a black dog suffered on a summer's day..."

The time of day during which the picture was taken was likely at noon, since the shadows are pronounced and seem to come from overhead. Since noon is usually very hot, more so without clouds to block the sun's light, it makes sense that there are people relaxing under a roof.

But one of the questions that came to my mind when I saw this was, "Why are they outside their houses? Even the person that I can barely make out in the distance seems to be by the door, so they must be doing the same thing. What is it, exactly?" My mind wandered back to my science classes, and I remembered that clear weather usually brings a light breeze. So then these people probably went outside, feeling a breeze blowing through the windows. It should be better than feeling uncomfortably warm in the house.

To explain the presence of power lines, I questioned if power lines existed during 1933. To me, power lines seemed more of a technology discovered in the 1950s. Don't ask me why I think that, since I don't know why myself, either. But I digress.

I did a bit of research and discovered that power lines have existed for practical use since as far back as 1837, meaning it is possible that Maycomb had power lines. It becomes more likely as Atticus goes to answer a ringing phone and returns to say that it was Eula May (p. 86 soft cover). The paragraph after describes Eula's occupation, which was in short Maycomb's leading telephone operator. Since telephones require electricity to run, it is safe to say that Maycomb has power lines.

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I typed a lot, I guess. Hopefully it isn't too confusing.

Theme

The last book I finished, The Titan's Curse, had the theme of sacrifice.

While the book has a very humorous tone, it is rather serious as well. Ask a fangirl about Zoë Nightshade's or Bianca di Angelo's death and they'll go on a rant while crying.

Speaking of those deaths, those are the main reason why I think a theme of this book is sacrifice.

All of the heroes in the quest were uncertain about their fate, which is a terrible feeling if you think about it. Even more so when the prophecy that caused this quest to begin states that two people on the quest will die, one in the desert and one by a parent's hand. It's a rather serious thing, which is easily masked by the humor and sarcasm in Percy's narration.

In the Hephaestus's Junkyard, which is located in a desert, the heroes were told not to touch anything.

"Things get thrown away here for a reason."

While some of the heroes picked up a few things, apparently it's okay as long as you don't hold anything for too long. Once Bianca stole an action figure, she sealed her fate as a metal giant activated. To save the other heroes on the quest, she sacrificed herself by going into the giant to mess with its controls. Unfortunately, the giant collapsed, perhaps due to her lack of knowledge on mechanics, and she lost her life.

Zoë was a different case. As more things were revealed through the story, along with a few foreshadowings, it became evident that she knew all along that she was going to be killed by her father, Atlas. She essentially sacrificed herself by going on the quest.

There are a few more hints of sacrifice aside from the deaths of certain people. For example, the skin of a Nemean Lion, which was the same as a Kevlar vest, except multiple times stronger and lighter. Percy wore it for most of the story, and in San Francisco he sacrificed it to his father in order to let his friend Grover transport the Opheotaurus all the way back to New York safely.