Final Exam: Voting in the Dark

Natural Disasters have always rattled our nation. I remember the devastation of Hurricane Katrina when I was younger and much more recently, Hurricane Sandy. When searching for my artifact, I came across this image that I think represents the media’s view on the superstorm. I believe that this photograph is an important contemporary American artifact because it portrays the theme of resilience. 

This picture shows a woman in New York preparing to vote but there is no power so the Election Official is using a headlamp to see the ballots. It is important to note that the woman is elderly in the picture because oftentimes, the elderly are seen as weak. Instead, this woman is coming out to vote even though she may face hardships because of the storm. Another interesting detail is the light that only appears to shine on the emergency ballots. To me, this represents the true importance of having a voice even in times of disaster. I think the caption below is also worth examining. It says, “Election Official Christina Fox uses a headlamp to illuminate emergency ballots and check voters in while shivering in the dark on Nov. 6, 2012 in Yorktown, N.Y.” The use of the word “shivering” makes the viewer feel pain for these people and also shows that they are pushing through.

This image reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut's explanation of the redemptive arc in his short story titled “Here is a Lesson in Creative Writing”. He explains, “[The story]: Somebody gets into trouble, gets out of it again. It’s not accidental that the line ends up higher than where it began”(Vonnegut 349). In the case of Hurricane Sandy, I believe this can be used as a model to understand the reaction of the American public. This story would go:People on the East Coast were affected, there were power outages, damage, and death but the media is portraying the positive end by showing that the people are resilient by coming out to vote. In other words, their voices are not being silenced by the storm. In the picture, the elderly woman provides an “encouraging ending” to the public because of her perseverance.

Another connection I saw was to William James story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omalas”. In the story, the main question is if a society should give up the happiness of one for the happiness of others. Of the one unhappiness, “They all know it is there, all the people of Omalas. Some of them have come to see it,others are content merely to know it is there(James 282). To me, this can be interpreted as the American public (happiness) and those affected by Sandy(unhappiness). Many people donated money to aid them yet what more could have been done? Americans may think this is not my problem. The woman sitting at the table checking in voters exemplifies the idea of helping out and she has walked away from Omalas.

This image can be further explained by Molly Klare’s blogpost titled “The Nation by Storm” She writes,” I would say an American value is to tough things out…Americans in general are hardheaded. Ever since people came to America and had to make it on their own, they have been making it anyway they could”.The people who continued to go out to vote in areas affected by Sandy are “toughing things out” and want to show that they are resilient. The media goes out of its way to show positive problem solving through this picture rather than continuing to focus on pictures of the wreckage that is usually associated with the storm.