TKAM Photo Analysis

Sheffield, Alabama (Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)) Prefabricated home (1942, June)

    The first thing I notice when looking at this picture is the simplicity of the home. Now I see houses filled with trees and bushes but this house is simple with just trees surrounding it. I also notice the family outside. They are spending time with their children. I think that this was a more common at the time especially in the area's climate. People would spend more time outside and that was where they would be in their free time. I think that this may have been taken for the family's memories. It's not the traditional family photo but it is one. I wonder why they chose to take this photograph. Was it for entertainment? Was it meaningful to them?

     This photograph reminded me of what Maycomb County in Alabama may have looked like. Maycomb is described as an, "old town." The house isn't big, it's very small and casual. It's surroundings are plain. The story says, "People moved slowly then. They ambled across the square, shuffled in and out of the stores around it, took their time about everything. A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer." This quote gives me the idea that Maycomb is a very laid back place. Here is a picture of a family outside their home just spending time together. Another thing the book says is, "There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb county." Since there was nothing to do, it gave people time to spend with their family while the other half worked.