Life — September 29, 1921 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Aspiration" - Analysis The image shows a photograph titled "Aspiration" depicting two figures: a woman at a window looking outward, and a man in shadow below. The composition suggests longing or yearning. The page also contains "The American Language (Samples)" — definitions of colloquial terms like "Drama," "Congress," "Flapper," and "Oil" — and a poem titled "The Landlord Doth Make Cowards of Us All" by Constance Murray Greene. The poem satirizes landlords and tenant hardships: complaints about moving, maintenance issues, cold rooms, and poor living conditions. The satire critiques both landlord indifference and tenants' resignation to accepting poor housing rather than confronting exploitation. Without a date visible, the precise historical context remains unclear.