"Why Don't Ye Shoot

"Why Don't Ye Shoot

The item I chose is an etching that depicts a scene in which there seems to be a conflict between a man and a woman. The man is pointing a gun at the woman and she can be seen saying “Why Don’t Ye Shoot”. Louis Loeb, a famous American artist, etched this item. The audience of this etching seems to be the average everyday person. This scene seems to provide insight at what life could have been like in the 1890’s. This etching reminds me of how I imagined life to be like after reading Maggie; A Girl of the Street. The idea of confrontation was familiar in both works an example from Stephen Crane’s work is when Jimmie says “ When I catch dat Riley kid I’ll break ‘is face”(Crane pg.9). This kind of violent thinking is seen in the etching when the woman says, “ Why don’t ye shoot” when a gun is pointed in her face (Century, pg. 168). Another connection that led me to see a similarity between Maggie: A girl of the Streets and this etching is in the way the people seem to talk. It seems as though it comes from instinct instead of being well thought out. I also feel as though this etching shows how people of the 1890’s think. It brings the idea of naturalism in works we have read this semester. In works with naturalism people were pessimistic and reacted to the environment more than planning ahead and thinking things through. Characters in these types of works were also characterized as animalistic. In Crane’s work this is depicted by infants who “played or fought with other infants or sat stupidly in the way of vehicles”( Crane pg.7). In this work the infants are being depicted as animals probably a stay cat. In the etching I chose I see the people as having animalistic qualities as well. For example the women seems to be the “alpha male” and the other two men are cowering in fear, this depiction makes me think of the typical actions of a dog.

The Century- Louis Loeb

Loeb, Louis. "Why Don't Ye Shoot." The Century XLVII (June 1894): 168. Print.

The Century

November 3, 2015

Brandon Desintonio-Perez

1890's