count that day lost

In the picture we can see a little boy sitting at the time of sunset while he looks at the horizon and seems to be reflecting and currently being lost in his thoughts. Although when looking at the picture you can’t precisely and truly know the emotions he currently feels and if they are positive or negative, we feel and imagine that he just had an incredible time. He ends the day by sitting at the seashore and observing the beautiful sunset while running through all the exciting things he has done today in his head. This really is a beautiful picture which in our opinions captures perfectly the joyful part of childhood.

Here we have a picture where we can see an older woman being helped to get out of her car by a lady. Besides this being a very nice act of kindness and consideration on behalf of the woman’s side, one thing about this picture that makes it great are the smiles. She could have helped her without smiling and being in a joyful mood, but it makes such a big difference. We believe that as great as it is helping other people and doing good deeds, an important part of it is doing it with a smile and with a real desire to help.

The first picture we chose for the second stanza is one of a man once again staying near the beach at the time of sunset, in the first picture we described the boy as happy and peaceful, whereas in this picture the emotions that are portrayed and the atmosphere is completely different, we can see that the main hue and dominant colors of the scene are more blue, cold and they represent a more melancholy, upset and depressed aura for the picture. We can infer that the man is sitting deep in his own thoughts, depressed, may be regretting something.

In this picture we chose you can see a man, minding his own business, watching the television and having a great time while his wife is busy doing house chores. If he had noticed her and cared for his surroundings he would have seen her struggle and he could have helped her. Despite it being a very small act that to him may seem insignificant, it’s usually the small things that you do which can make a difference in someone’s day.

Stanza 1, Connecting the pictures to the poem :

In the case of both the pictures we chose there is a direct conection with the first stanza of the poem.

In the first picture we can relate to the very beginning of the poem as we see a child looking at the sunset, reflecting about his day and enjoying life. Just like Goerge Eliot said: “If you sit down at set of sun, And count the acts that you have done”. 

In the second picture where the lady is helping the elder woman while wearing a cheerful smile we can see the similarity to the “One self-denying deed” and “One glance most kind” that Eliot was talking about.

Stanza 2, Connecting the pictures to the poem :

The two pictures that we chose connect to the second stanza in different ways.

The first picture conveys the idea of a lost day. “Then count that day as worse then lost”, said George Elliot, we can see someone sitting in the evening and realizing that his day was wasted, he is trying to remember what he did today and when he notices he did nothing he regrets his decisions. 

The other picture reflects what has happened in the day before the evening, “You’ve nothing done that you can trace,That brought the sunshine to one face, No act most small, That helped some soul and nothing cost”. The man in the picture didn’t do anything to make the day worth it according to the author, he coulv’e helped his wife by doing something very minute but he decides to stay in his own world and does not a single good deed.