old+Florentine+oak

Williams’s use of juxtaposition is visually captivating. He takes dissimilar images and places them together to form an idea that he finds intriguing. The faces of struggling citizens remind him of “old Florentine oak.” He chooses “Florentine oak” and not just any other oak because the faces of “our nonentities” are not native toAmerica; immigrants are new to America and gradually withering away due to the harsh labors of society. The knobby, gnarled texture of oak resembles the wrinkled, worn faces of the working class; they are old and experienced like oak. He speaks to the immigrants and honors them for their hard labor. Williams illustrates fragmented images. The images that “stir” him are the faces and their struggles.