Hush-A-Bye-Baby

Interdependency - For Good or Ill

Again, one might read the subtle message of consequences for children if they do not behave properly into this 1990 illustration. On the other hand, one might see it as a pleasant and benign image of happy babies. This picture includes 5 babies, perhaps all of varying culture as indicated by their color, facial appearance, and through cultural clues. This culturally sensitive depiction is an inclusive one for children of all backgrounds. The illustration is calming and soft, almost billowy as if the leaves are made of cotton. The children rest within this soft leaf bed, drinking happily from bottles or playing in their cribs. One child appears African in descent, another Asian, a third could have European ties based on the bonnet she wears as well as her fair skin, while the fourth is unseen, tucked within the cradle. The last child is the most active, and herein lies the danger. It is this baby as seen in the top of the picture who is directly connected to the bough above with a ribbon tie. One other child seems to be secured with a rope, but none of the others are as clearly connected, although there are indications they are resting on various boughs. It is to this ribbon-tied cradle and child that the reader's eye gravitates. Because of her position on the top, she is precariously placed above the other four cradles. If this cradle breaks, it is likely to take out the other cradles, and they will all go tumbling toward the ground.

This illustration focuses on the interconnectedness of cultures in a seemingly positive way at first glance. It is, however, the precarious position of the top cradle that shows how one society's downfall could produce a chain reaction around the globe. It is here that the connections to King James might come again. It was James's greed that caused his ruin. In this illustration, the baby in the top cradle appears to be less content than the rest. She is reaching for a cradle below, perhaps for the pink toy one child fondles. She takes a great, unknowing risk by reaching outside of the cradle for something she wants. The cradle is beginning to tip, and the reader is meant to see the chain reaction which could befall the scene. The desire of the occupant of the top cradle could, therefore, be the ruin of them all. Could this be a comment on world society in general and the cause of cultural conflict and war?