Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima: History and Meaning
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
The Iconic Photograph
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. The photograph captures five U.S. Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
Popularity and Recognition
The image quickly gained immense popularity and was widely reprinted. Rosenthal received the Pulitzer Prize for Photography for this powerful image. It is considered one of the most significant war photographs in history and one of the most reproduced photographs worldwide.
The Men in the Photograph
Of the six men depicted in the photograph, three (Franklin Sousley, Harlon Block, and Michael Strank) were killed in action during the battle. The three survivors (John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, and Ira Hayes) became celebrities due to the photograph’s use in war propaganda.
The Marine Corps War Memorial
The photograph served as the inspiration for Felix de Weldon’s Marine Corps War Memorial, located near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The memorial stands as a tribute to the Marines who fought in World War II.
The Authorship of Lazarillo de Tormes
Early Speculations
When Lazarillo de Tormes was first published, Fray Juan de Ortega was the General of Jerónimos. He explained that the book appeared without an author’s name. However, there is no concrete evidence to support any claims about the author’s identity.
17th-Century Theories
In 1607, a catalog of Spanish writers (Clarorum Hispaniae Catalogus scriptorum) by Andres Valerio Taxandro suggested that Diego Hurtado de Mendoza wrote Lazarillo de Tormes. Other 17th-century authors also mentioned this possibility, but no conclusive evidence exists to support this claim.
The Erasmus Connection
In the late 19th century, Hispanist Alfred Morel-Fatio proposed that the author of Lazarillo belonged to the circle of Erasmus of Rotterdam, specifically the Valdés brothers. This theory has been further explored by Manuel J. Asensio and Rosa Navarro Durán, who found lexical similarities between Lazarillo and the writings of Alfonso de Valdés. However, these similarities are not definitive proof of authorship.
Other Potential Authors
Other scholars have suggested Sebastián de Horozco, Lope de Rueda, Pedro de Rua, and Francisco Cervantes de Salazar as potential authors. However, no definitive evidence has emerged to confirm any of these claims.
Genre and Structure
Lazarillo de Tormes is considered a Bildungsroman, a novel of self-formation. It has a seemingly simple structure but is actually quite complex. The narrative is presented as a letter to a person of higher social status, referred to as “your worship.” The protagonist, Lázaro, explains his life story and the events that led him to his current situation. The novel’s ending suggests that Lázaro may be involved in a scandalous relationship with the Archpriest of San Salvador’s wife.