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	Reflection of Poverty in America Chang W. Lee’s illustrative photograph for The New York Times can be found in the September 29, 2002 article, In Trenches of a War on Unyielding Poverty by John W. Fountain. One can focus on the main compositional element, the Daniel’s family. The wooden dresser frame creates a picture frame within the photograph, directing the viewer’s eyes to see it first. The reflection is the Daniels’ family who live in Pembroke Township, Illinois, “which officially has 2,784 residents, more than 90 percent of them African American.” The reflection also can be a metaphoric representation of the majority of the residents of Pembroke Township, Illinois who live in poverty. The composition of the photograph is an old dresser mirror, which contains the reflection of Ms. Daniels and her children. The mirror‘s reflective surface contains more light, which makes the colors seem brighter and makes it stands out as the predominant foreground element. In contrast, the background does not contain as much light as the foreground and falls back into the distance. The background imagery consists of trinkets surrounding the mirror reflection that support the content of the main elements. These objects on the dresser are trinkets such as bottles, cups and makeup that help move the viewer’s eye around the image and into the content of the mirror. The reflection in the mirror is cooler and brighter in color and it lights up the bedroom area around the family. The color and contents of the photograph are a hodge-podge of colors and possessions, which supports the concept that the Daniel’s family lives in poverty. This mismatch of color reflects an impoverished lifestyle because people who are poor usually do not have consistency or stability in their income, family relationships, or even appearance. The patchwork of color and objects looks like a handmade quilt, often called a “crazy quilt” because it does not follow a pattern. The Daniel’s family, on the other hand follows an income and social pattern because of Ms. Daniel’s limited education, number of children born out of wedlock, and community status of Pembroke Township, Illinois. The Williams’ family is an African American family consisting of a mother, “LaChier Daniels, and her five children: two boys and three girls.” Their family represents one of many who live in poverty and the numbers are increasing from last year. “They make up one of the many 32.9 million Americans who live in poverty and 11.7 million of them are under the age of eighteen.” The number of Americans in poverty has increased for the first time in eight years, according to recent census figures. The 2001 Census Bureau's report showed that the weakening economy had begun to affect large segments of the population in all areas, class levels, and cultural groups. For the largely black population of Pembroke, the report was a reflection of the rising poverty levels. Pembroke is a rural part of the country where poverty is overlooked, because most people think that poor families are found in urban sprawl. In rural working towns, life is halted by the lack of education, transportation, jobs, childcare, health care, geographic isolation, and most importantly the cycle of hopelessness. Ms. Daniels’ room is a hodgepodge of colors and textures. The light forces its way through the sixties styled patterned curtains and one sees the shrine of a dresser mirror adorned in her important trinkets. Her curtains and belongings appear to be second-hand items, which means they were probably donated or passed down to her either by the Church or her family, which is the reason they are out of fashion. The dresser mirror is old because the image has a smudged white coating and does not appear to be as clear as a new mirror. The edge of the mirror is lined with school pictures and Polaroids of her friends or family. Polaroids are a cheap fast way of taking pictures and usually give the photograph a distorted quality, just like the reflection in the mirror. On the mirror to the far right are photographs of individuals dressed in gold graduation uniforms and we can assume that the mother has an appreciation or respect for a higher education. Ms. Daniel’s day is spent caring for her children and trying to work odd jobs to pay for them, so she not afford real valuables. She doesn’t take any time out for herself but she collects old bottles, cups, glasses, and candles instead of antiques. On top of her dresser to the far right is a pile of paperback romance novels and next to it is a plastic toy robot, probably left there from one of her children. All on the top of her bureau are cosmetics and pictures containing memories of her family and a Hallmark card. One can imagine Ms. Daniels tucking in her children at night, lighting the candles on the dresser and reading the romance novels like she is studying for the bar exam. Her reading gives her a false sense of hope that takes her to a place where the fathers of her children did not leave her fending for herself and the welfare of her children. The novels are an escape from her poverty stricken life. In the mirror we see Ms. Daniels, mouth open looking as though she is telling her children to get dressed for school. To the far left of the photograph is a pile of folded laundry, some bedding that the children used from the previous night. Clothes and socks are on her faded floral bed cover, hand-me downs from her older children or friends. Traditionally in poorer communities, clothes are passed down from child to child, because new clothing is costly. Most families are more concerned with feeding their families and making sure they are not sick. Her dress is simple and plain, a large t-shirt and her hair neatly pulled back from her round face. To the left of her is an old radio, the only electronic device in her room. Her son closest to her looks forward into the window that has been covered with a wrinkled yellow sheet. Ms. Daniel’s covers her windows to keep the heat from escaping the decrepit shack that she rents. To the left of her son is his sister, adorned in braids and her pink shirt and overalls looking at her mother. To the left, and further in the distance, another brother is sticking his right arm behind the makeshift yellow curtain. He wears only his underwear and is sitting on a makeshift bed. Ms. Daniels has five children and not enough bedrooms in her house for all the children, so some of them may sleep in her room. “In 1999, more than half the families with children under 5 were below the poverty level and unemployment was more than five times the rate for the state of Illinois.” Ms. Daniels and her children follow this grim and predictable statistic. “In the Pembroke Consolidated School District, 98 percent of students are so poor they qualify for free lunch. In 1999, average per capita income was $9,642, compared with $21,587 nationally and $23,104 statewide. Ms. Daniels is a high school dropout who grew up in Pembroke, Illinois and has worked off and on in her 29 years, mostly at temporary factory jobs. She receives a monthly allotment of food stamps of $450 from the state government but no cash grant.” Under the 1996 U.S. welfare overhaul, able-bodied adults must seek employment. Ms. Daniels is able-bodied and willing to work but she has no car. “There is no major metro system in Pembroke, so the townspeople don’t have any form of public transportation.” Such is life in Pembroke, a rural community an hour's drive south of Chicago where some still live in crumbling shacks with caked-dirt floors and no running water. “There is no natural gas pipeline, and mostly sand and gravel roads where many still rely on well water. There are half a dozen liquor stores and scores of churches. There is no bank, supermarket, police force, barbershop, gas station, pharmacy or hope.” Looking again at the photograph, we see snapshots of a golden graduation around the mirror possibly from a few years ago when “Ms. Daniels went back to school to get her G.E.D.” Goals that are remembered in flimsy memories surround their reflection in the mirror that has seen the worst times. A dresser adorned in trinkets and photographs, acting as a shrine that we hope her children will see. Works Cited Fountain, John W. “In Trenches of a War on Unyielding Poverty.” New York Times on the Web: 29 September 2002. <http://www.nytimes.com Dalaker, Joseph and Proctor, Bernadette, D. “Poverty in the United States: 2001.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2002