In 1891, artist Thomas Kennington published a striking painting entitled "The Pinch of Poverty". The painting suggests, however, that Kennington sees the devastation of poverty as more than just a small "pinch". Indeed, his gloomy rendition of an impoverished England family is nothing short of honest and realistic: the faces of the mother and her two children appear very sullen and worn. Kennington makes no attempt to hide the true bleakness of the situation; the girl, clearly very young, appears to be selling flowers in order to provide what few meager wages she can for her family. I think what the painter is trying to get across to his audience about poverty is that it can affect anyone, both the very young (the two children and the infant) and the older (their mother). Nevertheless, through the use of his color scheme, I think the artist is also trying to say that there exists hope even among the very poor. While the painting, as a whole, is rather bleak and dreary, utilizing primarily colors like black, grey, and brown, splashes of color are seen in the flowers and the baby's blanket. This suggests that the artist believes there is a glimmer of hope in escaping poverty, perhaps through the next generation (the baby) or through making enough money to sustain a living (selling flowers). This belief in the existence of hope is also apparent in where the characters are placed; the mother and boy sit in front of an enclosed gate with their heads turned to the side, but the flower-girl steps forward, away from the gate and looking straight ahead. This suggests there is always a dissenter to the cruel cycle of poverty, one who will try and break free from its chains and create a better future for themselves.
My own opinion on poverty is that it is cyclical. Once born into it, it's incredibly difficult to escape. Born into a family with no money, an impoverished child's access to the education that could broaden their future is extremely limited. Subsequently, many poor children in third-world countries will never learn to read, write, or acquire the necessary job skills to find work; the jobs that do exist are handed off to those who have already obtained these skills. Thus, it becomes a tragically repeating cycle over the course of many generations: poverty breeds poverty, and wealth breeds more wealth.
Nice post. :) I would agree with you that poverty is cyclical. I think the artist is saying this as well by placing both an adult and children in the scene.
ReplyDeleteFor grammar, you should remember to match your nouns to the correct pronouns; singular nouns should have singular pronouns.
" Born into a family with no money, an impoverished child's [singular] access to the education that could broaden their [plural] future is extremely limited."