Pulitzer Prize Winning Photography
This Pulitzer Prize winninng photo was taken by Deanne Fitzmaurice 
Before I knew the story behind this photo, I found it to be very powerful. The look on the girl’s face is very memorable. They are enraptured by the actions of the boy seated above them. It is very much like a storytelling. The boy doing the speaking seems to have been disfigured by something but the girls don’t seem to notice one bit. To me this seems like there’s a much deeper connection that the boy is making with his audience.
Now that I’ve read the story behind the photo, let me relate it to you. The boy is Saleh. He was severely injured by an explosion in Iraq. Through international efforts he was brought to America with his father. During his recovery he began going to classes at an elementary school. Saleh is in the storyteller’s chair sharing stories of Iraq that fascinate the other children in the class making them overlook his disfigurement. This sort of acceptance back into a normal situation is what the story is really about.
This photo emodies most of the story. The photo shows that the boy has been injured and some of the distance this has created between him and other people. However the photo also shows the girls who have discovered the person behind the injuries. Finding a way to live and overcome these injuries and re-assimilate into normal life is what the story is all about.
