Studying these photos has engendered in me an incredulous bewilderment in response to the unspoken reality of the drastic human capabilities. The photos serve the nation as a reminder of the depths in which humans can sink, a depth as deep as Dante's hells below the earth surface near the fiery, scorching center. With the photos on the postcards for the masses to see, the inevitable reality is brought to our attention to remember these offensive depths. Amongst the pictures, a man named William Brown is a victim of the high racial tensions, fear, mistrust, desire, white supremacy, and control. The photo of Brown show him being burned in front of an amused crowd after he was hung from a lamppost, mutilated, and riddled with bullets. Despite the possiblity that he had actully molested a white girl, the crime did not warrent a severe punishment of being hung, mulitated, shot, and burned. I am digusted that people could committ an atrocious public display of violence in order to deal with tight racial tensions. The vicious act committed by these men is wrong, cruel, sadistic, and immoral, which reflects their mentality. A mentality not taught by the church or caring mothers but one that grows from their own wicked desires. Because of the unexcusable mentality, the men committed many sinful acts such as the lynching of William Brown. The acts were deemed necessary by their mentality but were sinful, erroneous, and immoral in reality. The photos clearly prove that humans can surrender to evil ways by responding to their destructive desires. However, we must succumb our devilish desires to live a life free of oppression. The photos remind us of their mentality, their path of destruction and violence. A reminder... a reminder of the depths of which men can sink.
As permanent evidence that can be etched into the mind's eye, photos provide the onlooker with reality which leaves no room for imagination. Without sparing the audience, a photo protrays all the gruesome details that words can not always express. Although a photo can be worth a thousand words, literature can provide a meaning that can not always be shown in a photo. Literature can present a situation with all the outlying circumstances in order to provide an understanding for the audience as in the novel,
Beloved. The novel is about a fugitive slave mother who tried to protect her child from slavery by commiting infanticide. Without knowing her story and seeing only a picture of the mother with a bloody axe, one would only acknowledge the violent act and not grave situation. Literature can provide an understanding of reality by presenting the situation which could be lost in a photograph. A historical account could be complete if one could have both a photographic and literary representation. With photos as evidence and literature as meaning, one can begin to understand the circumstances of reality of the past. However, both have important aspects to offer their audience without the company of the other. A photo and a piece of literature are important in not letting us forget the reality that surrounds us.
