The 1940s was a time of a mournful war, intense politics, and impactful stories. On the day of February 23, in 1945, a photograph was taken that expressed the underlying meaning of true passion, resilience, and honorable motivation of the American soldiers. The Battle of Iwo Jima lasted 36 days, which was a little over a month, from February 19, 1945 to March 26, 1945. In 36 days, there were nearly twenty-six thousand US casualties, and about seven thousand Americans soldiers had been killed in action. Almost all Japanese soldiers were killed out of the twenty-two thousand that had been fighting. When the American soldiers reached the top of the hill six of the soldiers decided to raise the American flag to show victory. Joe Rosenthal quickly snapped the photograph that later became known as “Raising of the Flag”. This picture was more than a simplistic snapshot. It brought people together, by connecting society during a time of war.  This effortless black and white photo expressed a story of the real world, while also forcing the American people to understand the incredible courage of the land of the free.  The exceptional visual rhetoric of gaze, focus and cropping allow for the audience to understand a deeper message. In today’s modern world, The American people go to bed every night hoping that the sacrifices that are made throughout the day are worth it. The immense feeling of hoping takes control of society by reminding them American people that they are all in it together. With this in mind, the visual rhetoric strategies were used in order to relay the message of rising to the top even when the ground is smothered in deep red blood.  

The first visual rhetoric that can be taken away from this photograph is gaze. The soldiers within this photo are completely focused on raising the American Flag for all to see. This total and absolute focus showed the audience the passion and love the soldiers had for their country. In addition to uplifting the flag, they were completely unaware of the photographer capturing the picture. Despite the raging battle going on all over the island this deed of raising the flag was deemed important enough to divert these men’s attention from the fighting itself. This act represents great pride and love of one’s home country. Although they were within a war zone, their passion pushed them through the hardship, and gave them the drive to raise the American flag for their country.  The Island of Iwo Jima had a harsh and rough terrain. There was volcanic ash and rock covering every inch of the ground, creating a rugged battlefield and scenery. The audience can see the intense concentration that is dedicated solely on the flag, and not on the intimidating environment around them. It creates a humble appeal that is immediately taken away for the people. The fact that the soldiers were not observing anything else demonstrates authentic passion for the flag. The audience is able to understand that even in the bloodiest battle in Marine History, nothing else mattered to the soldiers other than the victory of raising the american flag. The passion of the United States drove these men, and gave them the internal force to uplift the flag.

Focus was also used in order to clearly convey the message in the picture. The main mission of the focus was to help to draw the audience into specific aspects of the image. Within the image, the foreground is of the soldiers raising the American Flag. By having the main point of the image directly in the front, it automatically pulls the audience’s center of attention on the soldiers. Not only are the men and flag present, but also that of debris. This helps draw attention to the flag positioned in the center of the page and leads into the feeling of power. The audience can see the struggle of putting up the heavy flag, due to the fact that it is taking six men to raise it upright. They can also see the multitude of debris across the ground, showing the struggle the Americans went through to get that position. The persistence to raise the flag amongst the hardship shows the audience the amount of spirit that the soldiers of our country have. It is a soldier’s best quality to show strength through weakness. Although the audience can infer that many gave their life up for the country, the dominance shown through the image makes it appear as if the battle did not take a toll on them. In fact, it can also be inferred that those marines and Navy corpsman wanted and they make our country look solid. The soldiers were willing to put it all out on the line in order to accomplish their mission, showing sincere stability. 

Another visual rhetoric strategy that was presented in this picture is cropping out the outside details and solely showing the detail within. This caused the audience to miss the additional information of the scene that can add to the overall importance of the photo. All that can be distinguished from the hill is that they are standing on is the man-made debris of broken equipment and barbed wire as well as some rough rocky terrain from the mountain itself. However, it also allows for the audience to observe a more specifically smaller portion of the image and gives the ability to analyze a particular part rather than the whole picture itself. The graphic image taken in Iwo Jima has close to no background or outside view. It is specifically focusing on the soldiers, meaning there is no outside information for the audience to use to analyze the picture. This forces the audience to only use what they see to gather their emotions. Although the picture of the American’s raising the flag during this crucial time is a very powerful image, however at a quick glance there not much that could be drawn by simply looking at the picture. There could have been a better impact on the audience if there was more expressive details that could be gathered. Iwo Jima was a war zone, and the Americans had to fight their way to the top of the mountain in order to establish that as a base. This is a picture showing the power and importance of the American Marines. The flag was raised during World War II after mount Suribachi was taken during the battle at Iwo Jima and from this become a popular iconic image throughout American history, as real and as devastating as it was, outside of this image were dead soldiers, bomb craters, and bloody grounds. If the audience were to see these outside factors it would have brought the feeling of heartache and virtuous motivation for the marines and navy corpsman. With more details, the audience would have noticed more that the raising the flag was for their lost comrades and a symbol of victory and defeat over the Japanese. By showing the audience the outside aspect of the image it would have shown that even during a very hard fought battle of war, there is still peace and support.

Visual rhetoric allows for a detailed and precise picture to communicate with humanity, as well as, allowing the world to view this particular captivating scene. Although people see the atrocities of war, they can never fully experience it. Through the visual rhetoric of gaze, focus, and cropping, the photograph expressed the deliverance of the six-soldier’s courage, passion, and motivation. Society is persuaded to view and conceive a certain way based on what they see and how others act. This image is so much more than capturing a moment in history but rather represents the potential of our country for the future. This image is an extraordinary representation of America’s struggle to victory during World War II. The picture’s greatest aspects portray struggle, patriotism, and victory. The photo also represents loss and defeat but how positive aspects outweigh those negatives. The photograph is so influential it has been reproduced more than any other photograph in history. When we see this image we do not only see Americans raising the flag atop the mountain peak, but we see pride in our nation and ourselves reflecting back on us. With this in mind, the picture taken on February 23, 1945 was taken without account as to what it would signify.
