In 1943 Norman Rockwell painted an iconic image of Rosie the Riveter, which ended up becoming a symbolic piece for World War II and females across the country. Rosie represented a strong, brawn, woman that is capable of having a physically exhausting job just like all the men in our country. Rockwell created an idea that lead to multiple images of Rosie which use back round, physical features, clothing, and appliances to give us complex definition of Rosie the Riveter. Rosie the Riveter portrays a beautiful combination of a powerful, competent, feminine girl, while displaying a manly side to her that allows us to assume she is a fit for a physically enduring job. These paintings show us all of these elements because of minor details on Rosie and back round colors that depict a deeper meaning.

By looking at the two images of Rosie, it is easy to come to the conclusion that it is a female. She has physical features that give off a hint that she is clout, but yet she is still feminine. She is wearing rouge and lipstick, and also has a complexion to her face that leads us to believe that she is wearing some sort of make up. She is also shown eating a sandwich, which gives a domestic feel because eating and a sandwich can be linked to home. There is also a comedic side to the sandwich and women connection because women have jokingly been connected to making sandwiches for men, so it makes sense to believe that Rockwell threw that pun in there to mock those people. Rosie also has long curly read hair, which seems to be up in a bun, and she has a  very petite nose.  The image on the left has very soft facial features, as well as a painted fingernail. It is quite clear to see that Rosie the Riveter is a female, but a powerful one to say the least.

With all the connections and obvious details of Rosie that make her a woman, it is ironic that she seems to have more associations with a male figure. She has large, masculine arms, with some pretty enormous hands for what is suppose to be a girl. The picture on the right makes her seem very broad and her lower body seems unusually large. She is also flexing in one of the pictures, which is directly related to something a man does. In both images she also has her hair up to insinuate a male haircut and give off dike feeling. Rosie is dressed in male clothing, which seems to be really baggy and hard to fill. This part of the image stood out and it seemed to be a very symbolic piece of this painting. It gives us the feeling that filling in for men is a strenuous job and is not an easy thing to do for women, but it can be done. Rosie also seems to have male footwear on, some sort of loafers that are fit for a working environment. Another Comedic aspect of the right photo, that is concealed pretty well, but links Rosie directly with men in a vulgar way is the riveting gun on her lap. It is far-fetched, but very possible that the gun can be interpreted as male genitals on her. It is just another hidden connection to the masculine Rosie the Riveter. The combination of all these examples leads us to believe that Rosie was not accidentally rendered to resemble a male figure! 

The ultimate purpose of the invention of Rosie the Riveter was to get women to pick up the slack on the tough "manly jobs" because of the large number of male Americans in WWII. These pictures both have clear reasons and examples to show this notion of a working woman. The first and most obvious reason is the large riveter machine on Rosie's lap. Riveting is unquestionably a man's job and requires quite a bit of strength and durability, which is why Rockwell was a genius for picking that tool to represent her. Rosie also has her hair up in both pictures, and goggles on her head in the right image, while having a headband on the left image. It is normality for women to put their hair up when they are about to do some sort of manual labor and the goggles and headband are a clear give away for a working environment. Rosie's left hand is viewable in the left picture and has no wedding ring on it. This is important to show that Rosie is not dependent on a male figure. Her head is also tilted to the right and has a stubborn vibe to it because of its positioning. It is almost as if to recognize the fact that she is not going to listen to the stereotype of women and that she is going to do what needs to be done.  The Rosie on the right seems to have a bit of a dirty face, which is unconventional for a woman to have. On her left wrist is what seems to be a black sweatband or a brace for her wrist that tells us her job is one that takes a toll on her body! 

 Both back rounds of these photos unify the females across the country and have a motivational feel to them. The image on the left has a very plain and simple back round so that the viewers attention is 100% focused on the image of Rosie, and the back round also allows for the "We Can Do It!" phrase to not be interrupted! That phrase is a ginormous aspect to this picture because it uses "WE" to make sure that all women feel unified when reading it, and it makes them feel banded together as one! The color of this pictures back round has a significant feel to it as well, giving off a warm orange color which warms the soul and is symbolic of a rise of something new. The right images back round is a simple concept to grasp because it shows a simple American flag, and also comes with the feeling of unification. Its main purpose is almost the exact same as that of the left image, but it has more to it. The picture makes the viewer feel patriotic and served as motivation to get the woman to help their country and feel proud of what they are doing. Both of these images have different back rounds but essentially serve the same purpose, which is to unite and motivate the females across the United States.

