Soldier Photo by James Nachtwey Presentation by Evan Charfauros

Background Information This photo taken in the Lubero district of Congo in 2008, showing a young citizen and a guerrilla fighter. During this time, a war was raging in Congo.

Character The girl is very small and young, and appears to almost be hiding. This is to emphasize her innocence. The guerrilla fighter with the gun is there to represent the country’s violence.

Color The photograph is entirely black and white, which creates a somber mood. The mood reflects the seriousness of the girl’s situation.

Light The left side of the picture, closest to the girl, is lighter than the other. This represents the purity and innocence of the girl.

Angle The scene is depicted from a place close to the ground, near the girl’s point of view, where we cannot even see the soldier’s face. This is to draw attention to the youth and innocence of the girl; she isn’t old enough to understand or deserve the violence in her home country.

Proportion The girl is behind a corner; and her section of wall appears much smaller than the soldier’s. This is meant to show how the violence is threatening to envelop her everyday life and her innocence.

Placement There are two windows in the wall, each partly cropped out of the photo. Their placement shows how escape is out of the girl’s reach- - she is stuck in her unhappy life with no way out.

Setting Again, the windows-- they are very small; too small for anyone to fit through. This adds to the “inescapable” idea. The brick wall and the ground both seem to be extremely rocky and uneven, which parallels the hardships of life in Congo.

CCLAPPS Analysis Character: There are two characters in the photo; the young girl and the guerrilla fighter. The girl is very small and obviously is quite young. She appears to be almost hiding from the soldier around the corner, and has an upset or afraid expression on her face. The girl represents innocence-- she is meant to portray all Congo citizens that are caught in the crossfire of the war, especially the young ones. The soldier carries a gun and is dressed in a militaristic uniform. He is meant to portray the violence wracking Congo and destroying the lives of the innocents. We also cannot see his entire body, which alludes to the uncertainty and fear that accompanies danger. Note that the soldier is NOT meant to personify “evil” or anything like that; he is in fact a guerrilla fighter intent on protecting the innocent citizens. He personifies violence, which is still destructive even when it’s for a good cause. Color: The entire picture is in black and white (and grey), which shows how sad and miserable the country’s situation is. If bright colors had been included, it would have made the mood happier or more passionate, but the drab black and white dulls the mood. Light: If one looks closely, one can see that the light on the building is brighter on the girl’s side of the wall than it is on the man’s side of the wall. This symbolizes the purity and innocence of the girl, and the taintedness and sorrow that accompanies the violence of the soldier. Angle: The camera angle is from low to the ground, around the girl’s eye level. From here the top half of the soldier is not visible. This shows that the young girl and all the young children in Congo do not fully understand the true extent of the violence and how much it affects them, and this idea adds to their innocence. The innocent of Congo also do not deserve the violence that is ruining their lives, because they are too young to have done anything bad that would make them deserve this. Proportion: From the camera’s point of view, it appears that the girl’s side of the wall is smaller than the man’s side of the wall. If the girl’s side represents innocence and the man’s side represents violence, a metaphor emerges. The violence is slowly taking over the innocence, destroying it as it becomes more and more prevalent in the innocent person’s life.

CCLAPPS Analysis Placement: The windows in the wall are high off the ground compared to the girl, and are partly cut out of the picture. Even though these windows actually lead into a building, a window is often a symbol for freedom or escape. The girl is trapped in her desperate situation and the escape is out of her reach, “cut off” from her just as the windows are cut off from the whole picture. Also, the window closer to the ground (and therefore easier for the girl to reach) is on the man’s side, and the girl would have to go through him to reach it. This shows how the violence is causing the misery-- it’s what’s blocking her freedom. Setting: To elaborate on the significance of the windows: both windows are incredibly small-- too tight for the girl to ever fit through, meaning that the escape mentioned above will never be reached. Even as the girl grows older and tall enough to reach the windows, she will never be able to fit through. This is a metaphor for how even if the war in Congo ends, the girl will still be scarred by the violence of her youth, and she can never truly escape back to her blissful, innocent self. Other parts of the setting include the brick wall and the ground, both of which are very uneven and rocky. This is a metaphor for everyday life in Congo at the time, which is as bumpy and precarious as the wall and ground. All the danger in the girl’s environment leads to a life that’s difficult to navigate without hurting oneself, as opposed to a “smooth ride.” This is why the wall and ground are rough instead of smooth.