Cotton
Cotton becomes an ironic symbol for the deprivation and poverty of the tenant farmers forming the core of the photographic center and essay of the book. Every other crop and every other bit of farm-related labor is related directly to the daily sustenance of life, whereas the cotton that is picked is not something actually used, but is what provides them their meagre income to allow the other crops to be grown. Because so much of their lives is directed toward making as much off the cotton as possible, they have no time to pursue anything else.
Art
The opening text section becomes an almost stream-of-consciousness rhapsody on the relationship between human events capable of producing profound emotional response and the art that is later produced that speaks to these events. This is the opening section of what becomes really a two-part symbol that might perhaps be better described as a unified metaphor. Uncomfortable with the linkage between event and artistic representation, Agee ultimately seems resigned to the idea that art is process of mediating meaning that cannot be effective communicated through other standard discourse.
The Tenant Farmer
A common criticism of the book is that three tenant farmers that make up the heart of it are not distinguishable enough or are not made individual enough by the author to allow them to be recognized as fully fleshed out characters. Another way of looking at this decision is that the photographic images which commences the volume fairly accomplishes the job of giving them flesh, blood and soul. The text, by contrast, serves to transform them collectively into a symbol for the failure of the system to address the needs and offers genuine alternatives for families caught in a persistent cycle of economic bondage.
The Creatures in the Night
The text comes to an end with the author reflecting upon the night he and the photographer were sitting outdoors and hear the call of some unknown animal—probably a fox. And the call of the first critter was answered by a second. At which point there was a prolonged silence. Then the second creature repeats the exact same sound. And another silence so long that they were on the verge of assuming the first would never respond back and then, suddenly, it does. Agee reflects upon his ability to transform that poem into a poem or a piece of music or some kind art and agrees that at his best or in the hands of another, the fullness of that moment could be captured, but ultimately declares it too useless an idea for him to attempt. The creatures become symbolic of the nature of communication as being difficult when conducted between two like creatures while commenting also upon the idea of art as a means of mediating the incommunicable.
The Photographs
Upon initial publication, the photographic album of the tenant farmers were merely part of the documentary record. Although not published until five years after the images were actually taken, most people seeing them could immediately identify with the overall tone of the deprivation and sacrifice of the period even if they had never been within a thousand miles of such rural living conditions. Over time, however, the documentary record has transformed into one of the iconic symbolic records of the Great Depression alongside those of Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee.
