In the portrait The Modern Samson, the illustrator, William Balfour Ker, uses certain aspects such as lighting, perspective, and interposition to depict an issue of the time, which was working conditions in factories. In 1906, when this portrait was published, there was a movement of artist known as Muckrakers, who were famous for depicting the harsh realities of large-scale production. In their works they showed unsanitary practices such as workers laboring with out shoes on debris-covered floors, and animals being slaughtered and stored on these same floors to be later packaged and sent out to consumers. The purpose of these works was to persuade the viewers/readers that these conditions are dangerous and unsanitary and should be changed. I believe that this idea was the bases of this illustration by William Balfour Ker.

The Modern Samson is a depiction of a man who is bound and blindfolded in what seems to be a basement or some other secret room in a building. We can assume this based off of the lighting that is used by Balfour Ker in the piece. The portrait is so darkly shaded that it is hard to see all the full details of the room that you would like to see. This type of lighting is typically true in basements, because they usually do not have windows being that they are underground or are some storage space of the building where light is not regularly needed. This sense of being underground or in darkness, suggest that the action that takes place in this room is not meant to be seen by others, since things that are frowned upon are typically done in the dark where it cannot physically be seen. Another aspect of the lighting that helps contribute to the secrecy is the door in the far upper right corner of the drawing that is shedding light into the room. However, instead of this light holding the secret, this light is showing the secret. By opening the door and letting light into the room, it is portraying that this issue, the working conditions of factories of that time, was something that needed to be public knowledge. This is like the illustrators way of saying "Hey! Look at this! Look at what is going on!" Although, not only does the lighting show the secret being kept, but it also shows that there were people who already knew what was going on and they were trying to keep it a secret. We can assume this by the light that comes in through the door showing four well-dressed men sitting and observing the man perform hard labor, and also the three aristocratically dressed ladies in the doorway peaking in. Not only are they peaking in but also the woman in the front of the ladies is holding up a finger to her lips as if to hush the other women.  This suggest that they have known about the secret and are not going to say anything either because they know telling could in turn harm them, or they approve. Another thing suggested by the women and men shown by the light, is that they are the wealthy individuals. Based on the way they are dressed, you can tell that they have money, but also they are looking on as an authority figured, like the CEO or owner of a company would on the workers of their factory. This shows that the people who are behind this are the heads of the company and that they know what is going on and they also approve of the action. 

Another interesting aspect of this photograph is the perspective at which it is shown. The main focus of the picture is the man who is performing the hard labor. By having him in the center of the photograph it is placing him as the focus of the painting because he is largest and the first thing we see when we look at the drawing. It can be assumed that he is placed in the center because William Balfour Ker wanted the main focus of this piece to be the issue of the labor conditions and not the others in the background. The man is also placed at eye level to the viewer of the piece, and it is if we are standing on the treadmill with him. With us standing in the same place as him, it buts us on his level and makes it easier to feel empathy for him rather than the others in the background. Also for the majority of people in 1906 they would have been considered in the position of the man on the treadmill, because a majority of the population was at the same social and economical standing as him. Since by perspective and position we are already able to relate with him, it is then easier to feel empathy for the man on the treadmill. From the positioning of the man's body we can tell that he is in a lot of pain or exerting a lot of physical labor. He has his head tilted up and his torso leaning forward with his hands tied behind his back. This position shows that he is having to use a lot of strength to do what ever it is that he is in charge of doing, which in relation to the others who are sitting slouched and comfortably on the sidelines. This further gives us empathy for him because he is the one doing all the work and performing all the labor. He also seems to be in the position of a slave to the other men, which based on general human morals and connotations of slavery we know that this is an action that is not supported. So the purpose of this picture and then man pulling the treadmill is to make us feel angry and abused by the factory systems of the time, to make us realize that maybe we are being taken advantage of. 

William Balfour Ker also tries to relate the picture to his intended audience be the title of the photo, The Modern Samson. Samson is a biblical character who was supposedly sent by god to return the Israelites from the ways of the Philistines. However, he was captured by the Philistines and was blinded and imprisoned to do physical work for the rest of his life. In the picture the man is imprisoned in a dark room, and also blinded by a blindfold doing hard manual labor with machines and other industrial objects. This shows him as a Samson-like character, hence the title The Modern Samson. This aspect helps Balfour Ker reach out to his audience because the majority of the people of the time were Christians so they would be able to relate to the story, and understand that this was a man who was sent to do good but ended up being imprisoned by the enemy, which in this case are the wealthy factory owners. This further makes the audience realize that they are in a submissive position, and typically that is not a position people enjoy being in. 

This picture drawn by William Balfour Ker portrays the issue of factory conditions in 1906 through his use of perspective, lighting, and positioning. With all of these aspects combined, the audience is made to feel submissive and angry that this secret was kept from them especially since the issue is directly affecting them. 

Balfour Ker, William. The Modern Samson. 1906. New York. The Carolina Reader: for English 101. Ed. USC Department of English. Plymouth, MI: Hayden McNeil, 2014. 329. Print
