In this first writing assignment, I chose a photograph from a specific selection of online photo galleries, and analyzed it in order to find the specific argument it conveys to its audience. In addition to uncovering the argument, we were asked to support it by expressing which photographic elements (i.e. coloration, cropping, framing, etc.) are used in its communication. Lastly, we sought out which rhetorical technique or techniques were used in the photograph to aid in the transmission of our argument to the audience. I found this particular assignment to be a more interesting extension of the work I had done in my high school English classes. We had many writing assignments, but they all consisted of analyzing literary works that were chosen respectively by my high school English teachers. These assignments became very tedious and frankly, boring, but they did assist me in my writing for this photograph analysis project.
Three drafts, including the following, were written – two of them edited by my peers – in hopes that the argument being presented in my writing came across effectively and was supported by real facts and research incorporated by myself. The background research of the photograph was included to introduce the context of the photo to the reader and set him or her up emotionally for the rest of the post. From my first draft to my final, not many dramatic changes were made. A few small changes were made, however, to improve the flow of my writing and strengthen the communication of my argument.
In the introductory paragraph, I reworded the first sentence to eliminate awkwardness and to open my post with a strong introduction. Specifically, I changed the second part of the sentence from, “more of which many of us would be able to bear” to, “more than most of us could bear,” when speaking of the violence and hatred the people of Rwanda have experienced. This small change makes the first sentence much less wordy and confusing and more to the point. In my second introductory paragraph, I wrote about the photo essay project given to the children of the Imbabazi Orphanage, but I did not mention the name of the project. I included its name, “Through the Eyes of Children,” in my writing in order to make it more real to my audience and give further background information. In my paragraph beginning, “Fishing by Twagira…,” I wrote heavily in the first person, speaking about my analysis of the photograph: “I have analyzed this photograph very similarly to the way in which I have analyzed literary works in the past,” but in my peer reviews and in my own rereading, I found that this use of first person narrative writing was not compatible with the style of analytical writing this assignment had me partake in. I rewrote this entire paragraph to give it a more professional aesthetic for my readers to experience, further strengthening my communication of the argument of the photo I selected. Lastly, in the paragraph analyzing the photo’s vectors of attention, I initially and mistakenly wrote about the effects of the horizon on the photograph, saying that in relation to the shoreline, it “pull[s] our eyes to the center.” I eliminated all mention of the function of the horizon, realizing that vectors of attention are only created by the figures in the photograph.
Overall, I am satisfied with the revisions I have made to create my final draft. It turned out quite well and effectively explains and support the argument I found within the photograph I selected.
Links:
Second Draft
First Draft
Statement of Purpose
Final Draft:
The people of the republic of Rwanda, located in central Africa, have seen extreme hatred and violence; more than most of us could bear. Families and friends torn apart, homes destroyed, hundreds of thousands of lives stolen, the Rwandan Genocide greatly affected the lives of the people living in the small country. Beginning in April of the year 1994, warfare erupted across Rwanda. The two ethnic groups that make up the country, the Hutu and the Tutsi, went up in arms against each other. As a result, a number of Hutu extremists murdered and wiped out approximately 800, 000 Tutsi people and moderate Hutus over the course of only about 100 days. To express the magnitude of this genocide, the Imbabazi Orphanage website states, “Never before in history has there been an extermination of human life on such a scale in such a short period of time.” As a result of this mass “extermination,” more than 95, 000 children were left without parents. A woman named Roz Carr discovered this disheartening reality and started up the Imbabazi Orphanage; Imbabazi meaning, “a place where you will receive all the love and care a mother would give.”
This orphanage, located in Rwanda, is dedicated to giving life back to the Rwandan people; with a strong focus on its children. Along with treating them with the love and respect essential to their emotional development, different activities are incorporated into their daily lives to keep the children happy, involved, and active in the community. One activity organized by the leaders of the Imbabazi Orphanage was a photo essay project called "Through the Eyes of Children." The children and adolescents of the orphanage were given cameras and told to take pictures of their surroundings and of their daily lives in general. I found this particular text in the online gallery of these photographs. I selected a photo from a young man named Twagira’s collection. Reading his biography, he seems very joyous and full of life, but still burdened by the pain he has been through. I feel that many of the photos in his collection tell this same story – including this one in particular.
Fishing by Twagira is one of the more powerful photos in his gallery. This picture expresses that, while the children of the Imbabazi Orphanage are incontestably small in comparison to the struggles they face, they are still significant, in control, and able to overcome their hardships with love and support from the people who care for them. This ability to overcome the struggles in their lives is expressed in an appeal to pathos through elements such as coloration, vectors of attention, and framing of the photograph.The saturation of the hues found in this photo are very full, immediately compelling the viewer to engage himself in the photo while invoking further interest in it from the viewer. While sharpening the landscape and figures within the photograph, the use of high saturation also sharpens, if you will, the emotion of sorrow that is being felt by the viewer. He is still sorrowful, but the hard mood of the highly saturated hues helps the viewer to emote a certain level of determined hopefulness. He is troubled, but wants to further investigate the photograph in a search for contentment. The hues found in this picture are all pretty much the same – different variations of grays, browns, and whites. It is almost difficult to distinguish and separate the sky from the sea, and the sea from the shore. Though the hues themselves are seemingly bleak and make the viewer feel a bit blasé about the photograph, the photo is in fact very bright, and this brightness instills in the viewer this feeling of conflicting emotion. To apply this observation to a real world aspect of this photo, perhaps the men would rather be engaging in a task other than fishing. Unfortunately for them, this task is necessary for survival and needs to be carried out, so they decide to just make the best of it. In addition, the way in which the waves on the sea are recognizably shadowed and defined evokes within the viewer a darker and more complicated emotion. This shadowing of the waves and the melancholy, dark gray hue of the water work to create this dismal emotion in the viewer. The hues alone would spark a level of disinterest in the viewer, but the high saturation, brightness, and use of shadowing found in the photograph bring about some strong emotions in the viewer, and might even compel them to create their own scenarios about the two men and their current situation at sea.
Furthermore, the vectors of attention in the photograph are utilized to further create an appeal to pathos within the viewer. The two figures in the photograph are standing near their small boat waiting to catch fish. These men are not looking at the camera. In fact, they are looking in the opposite direction towards the horizon, so we as viewers are not able to see their faces. This provides the viewer with the perspective of an outsider and creates curiosity within the viewer about what exactly is going on in this photograph and between the two men. To further speak about the men in this picture, I drew the conclusion that they are close friends – perhaps even relatives – based on their body language, vectors of attention toward each other, and the context in which they are spending their time. Two men fishing would hopefully be familiar with each other; otherwise, those long, drab periods of time while fish are not being active could be considerably awkward.Lastly, the framing of this photo is really what makes it. Twagira wanted to take a picture of the two men fishing, but he instead captured the entire landscape, making the two men seem small and insignificant while at the same time, through the use of coloration and vectors of attention, the most important aspects of the photo. The photograph is framed just perfectly so that the sea looks endless from all angles apart from the shoreline in the foreground. The emotion developed here is one of loneliness and even of insignificance.
This vast, open-looking sea, along with the manipulation of somber hues and the unusual function of vectors of attention, all come together to express to us as the viewers what I believe Twagira as the photographer and collector of the text wanted to convey to us through his photo. He understands that in comparison to the conflict, warfare, and heartache the people of Rwanda have faced, they are undoubtedly small. Their significance in the Republic, however, is still great. They are continuing to grow as a people, and will still continue to grow through time and help and support from one another.Works Cited
Jendry, Bob. "Imbabazi Orphanage - Rwanda". The Imbabazi Orphanage. 16 Feb 2010.
"The History Place: Genocide in the 20th Century". The History Place. 24 February 2010.
