When I initially was asked to look at the 2 works of the media one day in my English class, ideas immediately started churning in my mind. I had never seen the painting by Norman Rockwell about Ruby Bridges before; however, the political cartoon on Betsy DeVos rang a bell. I had often heard her name from my mother, who is an elementary public-school teacher, and I would also often hear her disappointment in DeVos’s appointment as Secretary of Education. As the class proceeded, I learned that this political cartoon was meant to mimic a painting that depicted a huge historic moment in our nation’s segregated past. The bitter thoughts I had at an initial glance deepened into deeper dislike. I questioned the artist of the political cartoon and his values. I also questioned our nation’s integrity.

Our class ended and yet these ideas simmered in my mind for the rest of the day. My anger dissipated, and the following class allowed me to hear my classmate’s thoughts on these two pieces of media. I learned that different people had different perspectives on what the two works of media meant to them and what both author’s purposes were. With these newfound ideas in mind, and as a few more days proceeded, I decided against writing an overly harsh essay. Although the result was still a very critical analysis of both works, it was much more mitigated than what I felt initially.

        While drafting the essay, I made sure to analyze both pieces of media equally, although the political cartoon captivated most of my attention. After a thorough analysis, I calmly explained my feelings toward the subject matter. After a quick peer workshop on these drafts in class, I fixed up some of my sentences that were unclear such that an audience would not have been able to understand where I was coming from accurately.

        One characteristic in my literary narrative that I really wanted to stand out was my stance on the subject matter. With that goal in mind from the beginning, and with some help from my peers, I was able to use phrases and words in a way that flowed and coherently illuminated my thoughts to the reader. Although writing an essay on a mere painting and political cartoon seemed daunting at first, his assignment really helped me understand how a picture is worth more than a thousand words, quite literally.