Today, in American Studies, we looked at illustrations from various time periods of the character Jim from the book the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Through these pictures our class could catch a glimpse of how many people in the US felt about black people. We saw Jim turn from an ape like man with bats in the belfry hair in the 1920's to just a normal looking person that we see in today's books. The further along we got in history, the better representation Jim had in the illustrations.
This pattern of having a better reputation as time goes along is a very common one. For example Honest Abe did not have the highest acceptance rating while he was in office. but, looking back today, we view him as one of the best presidents in our history. And there was also Vincent van Gogh who was a starving artist with a tormented soul during his life, but today he is infamous for both his artwork and for cutting off his ear. And I can not forget about my favourite Christmas film, It's a Wonderful Life, which was a flop at the box office but a timeless classic now.
So basically, with time comes a new perspective. Our hindsight allows us to view things differently. And who knows, maybe someday this blog will be famous, but not until the future.
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