Poster Analysis: Join The Army By Alfred Everett

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Join The Army In this poster made by artist Alfred Everett, the well-defined is to recruit American citizens into the army by creating an empathetic image which embraces the unity of family and patriotism. The child and wife appeal to the emotional side of the viewer. The poster is done in a subtle American flag color, the child’s one piece is a red-like color, the wife’s shirt is blue, and the background of the whole poster is an off white. The off white color makes the main focus of the poster, the reunited family, more prominent. The way the poster is drawn, the of white color in the background emphasizes the color of their clothing and the bold lettering on the top and bottom of the poster. The focal points of the poster are the family…show more content…
Looking at the man, his army suit is what catches the eye. Everett includes the army suit to evoke feelings of patriotism in the mind of the reader. Looking closer at the man’s body, Everett incorporates a helmet around his neck. The helmet doesn’t match the mans suit so it makes it seems like the helmet of a fallen enemy. This complements the mood of patriotism because it conjures feelings of victory. At the center of the mans body is the wife’s hand, and she’s holding a cross next to his heart. During the World War I era, the leading religion was Christianity. The ideal life was to have a united Christian family. By including the cross Everett adds to the patriotism element of the…show more content…
When looking at the poster the family is the most eye grabbing element and each member has a distinct color they embody. The child in a red one piece and the wife is wearing a blue dress with a white collar. Red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag; they can found throughout the poster. Under the family, there are three strips of color; red, white, and blue. World War I included a copious amount of countries, some of the more significant one’s being France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom. So the presence of colors distinguishing between each country was important. Citizens of every country felt pride in their country and the colors embodied what they stood for. Even though the United Kingdom’s flag is the same color way, the “red, white, and blue” became synonymous with the United States. The skin color of the family is also significant due to the fact that during the era of World War I, the Jim Crow laws were in full effect. The Jim Crow laws separated the nation on the grounds of color in which the “colored” were given the short end of the stick. At the time, being white made you more of an American and to most people, a person could only be American if they’re white. The colors in the poster play into the patriotic element by including all the colors of the American flag and by having a white

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