The purpose of the present text is to describe the picture from the left side of page 513 and to make some connections with something I have been studying at school so far.

First of all you can notice that the picture is black and white. From the heading you can read it was taken in 1945 at the end of World War 2. It shows an outdoor scene set in a busy and probably American street. In the foreground you can see a couple kissing passionately , while in the background you can recognize many other people watching the protagonists.  The man in the middle is hugging his lady and kissing her in the centre of the street under anyone’s eyes. He is wearing a black uniform with a white cap, while the lady has a total-white look. Considering the colour of their skin the man is quite darker. This point suggests me the idea of difference: the two people could have different social backgrounds or different habits, and this has always been an hot issue.

 Considering the relationship between two somehow different people, what comes to my mind is the novel Normal People by Sally Rooney. It is a post modern novel about an up and down relationship between two very different adolescents: Marianne, who is wealthy but unpopular, and Connel, who is a very good looking guy. Through the story you can reflect about how can two so different people fall in love and become essential the one for the other.

Going on, a connection by contrast  that comes to my mind is with Eveline by James Joyce. I can juxtappose the reunion of the couple in the picture with the separation between Eveline and her love. Whyle in the photo the two people are kissing passionately after a long time spent away the one from the other, in the short story Eveline, a young lady, decides to separate from her love and doesn’t shows o feel any passion in her relationship.

Last but not least, the photo reminds me about a very famous painting who is The Kiss by Francesco Hayez. I can notice some similarities between the position of the kissing couple, but in a different setting. A noticeable difference is that while in the photo the kiss is under everyone’s eyes, in the painting it is secret and hide.