A young girl with a fluffy teddy bear and a sugary lollipop in her hands looks up into a mirror to see an image of an older girl holding a lit cigarette and half empty bottle of alcohol staring back down at her. This black and white image is a sketch on paper, with no author’s name to claim it or a title to identify it. Although it is certainly not a highly regarded or advanced work of art, this image has many symbols that allow it to convey a unique message to each individual viewer.  There are numerous ways to interpret this image, and they vary greatly based on how the reader views the relationship between the little girl and the reflection in the mirror. By altering how we view their relationship, two main stories can be told with this image: a story of growing up and a story of caution.

By assuming that the little girl is looking at an older version of herself in the mirror, this image can be interpreted as telling the heartbreaking story of a girl growing up. The lollipop in the little girl’s left hand symbolizes the childlike innocence and happiness that the girl had when she was younger and has since lost. In the little girl’s right hand is a teddy bear, which is used to comfort children when they are sad or afraid. Now that the girl has grown up, she has had to find comfort in alcohol and cigarettes. The younger girl’s hair and outfit are very neat and well done, something a child does not normally do on their own. This shows how she had someone to take care of her and guide her when she was younger, but now that the girl is older and on her own she struggles to stay organized and in control. The older girl’s unkempt appearance represents this sense of being out of control and on her own. The older girl’s curly and messy hair also shows how there are so many possibilities and thoughts that are all entangled and messy in her mind, while the younger one’s straight hair shows how her path so far has been laid out for her and straightforward. Still focusing on appearances, it is obvious that the older girl also has much less clothing on than the younger version, and the older girl’s clothing is darker compared to the little one’s white dress. This shows how the older one feels more vulnerable and exposed in the world and how the little girl has a more pure and innocent quality. The true message of this interpretation is illustrated by how the older girl is looking down at the child with tears in her eyes. The older version remembers how it felt to be young and innocent and happy, and so she is mourning the loss of her childhood. In contrast, the little girl’s face is hidden, representing how the older girl is unsure about how her younger self would react to her now. 

Analyzing this image from the perspective that the little girl is looking at someone else in the mirror, some influential person like her mother, gives this image a very cautionary and tragic message of how children become like their role models. Lollipops taste delicious, but can cause tooth decay and cavities in the future. This symbolizes things that have short-term rewards, but long-term consequences, much like the cigarette the older girl is holding in the mirror. This reflection represents how the little girl sees the older one smoking, and is likely to do the same. Similarly, the little girl’s teddy bear is mirrored by the bottle. The little one sees how the older girl drinks to find comfort and peace, and is likely to turn to that behavior in the future as well. The message told by this interpretation is mostly supported by the fact that a mirror connects the two girls. The little girl is literally looking up at the older girl in the mirror, signifying how the little one sees herself becoming like the older. The older girl is looking down in sadness; she does not want the little girl to become like her. This is why the older girl’s appearance is very disheveled and messy, while the little girl is very well-groomed and cute in a little dress with her hair pulled back. It shows how even though the older girl is struggling to keep up her own appearance and keep her life in order, she is good to take care of the little one, to make sure she looks good and knows what she is supposed to do. 

This image is full of symbols, but it is simple enough to allow many different interpretations of it. The fact that the little girl is looking into the mirror and seeing the older girl reflected is significant because it gives perspective to how the little girl is feeling. This is also why the little girl’s face is not shown; it gives the reader the ability to assign different reactions and emotions to her based on how they want to interpret the image. Most significant to analyzing this image is assigning a relationship to the two girls. By determining the relationship between the two characters, very different stories are told. By looking at this image as a story of growing up, the two characters being the same person, the reader can see how we change as we mature. By looking at this as a cautionary tale, the characters as different people, the reader can gain a sense of how children see and imitate influential people in their lives. Though these two stories are two main ways to analyze this image, there are numerous interpretations based on what things the audience sees as significant.