The Red Wheelbarrow Poem Analysis

The Great Depression was a severe economic catastrophe across the globe, impacting countless people. In the United States, citizens were especially impacted; in fact, the Great Depression is described as “the most debilitating and demoralizing economic decline in U.S. history” (“...and the New Deal: Introduction” 2000). Unemployment skyrocketed and many could not do so much as eat after the stock market crash of 1929 as most found themselves utterly penniless. This may have been the reality for every American citizen throughout the 1930s, but when it comes to farmers, there is a far different story. Following World War I, which ended in 1918, farmers found themselves in economic turmoil that lasted until and throughout The Great Depression. American farmers experienced a cycle of debt that stemmed from falling farm prices after the war and the need to purchase new machinery to sustain those farms, effectively giving farmers their own great depression for 20 years. Poets living during this time wrote of their tumultuous experiences as well as the experiences of others, and out of context, these poems might lose their meaning. Therefore, taking a cultural approach and analyzing the poem’s meaning based on the historical context will allow the reader to understand the poem itself at an elevated level, as well as its deeper meaning. William Carlos Williams lived through this time of economic turmoil for farmers, and his appreciation of their hard work even in light of their financial struggles is evident in his poem "The Red Wheelbarrow," published in 1923.

Farmers were one of the most deeply impacted populations during the Great Depression, however, their economic downfall truly began an entire decade earlier. Through the 1910s and World War I, farmers lived in a state of prosperity as they increased their production in order to fuel American forces during the war. This was heavily encouraged by the U.S. Government–in fact, many farmers took out loans to buy more land and invest in new equipment to increase production and yield more from their fields (Cameron). Following the war, however, U.S. exports began to lose demand and the prices for farmers’ commodities fell, but the rate at which farmers were working remained steady, and “overproduction and its impact on farm commodity prices reduced farm income for a decade before the Depression” (“...and the New Deal: Farmers” 2000). Farmers began to default on their loans and an estimated 60 out of every 1,000 farmers either lost their farms or filed for bankruptcy (Cameron). This colossal economic downfall effectively destroyed the livelihoods of farmers, though the reliance of the American people on these farmers remained just as strong. They were still responsible for feeding an entire nation while enduring these economic hardships in the midst of the Roaring 20s. Although the average American citizen lived in economic prosperity, the farmers they leaned on for everyday commodities did not have the same privilege.

At the same time, American farmers began to experience this severe depression, just south of the United States, thousands of others were also struggling. The long and strenuous Mexican Revolution spurred thousands of people to flee their homes and head north, toward the United States border. In fact, the number of Mexican immigrants recorded in the U.S. census tripled from 200,000 to 600,000 between 1910 and 1930 (“Hispanic History” 2020). These Latinx immigrants were in need of work, and many became laborers in either mining or agriculture. Quickly, these workers became a necessary, highly important, and integral part of the United States agriculture industry (Greene). This is shown in the Johnson-Reed Act, which set quotas on immigration–except in cases of Latinx Americans. They were excluded from these quotas solely due to their work in agriculture (Greene). These laborers became a staple of American agriculture in the span of just a few years, and they began to sustain the industry while the nation relied on them for their goods regardless of the fact that they were in the midst of such incredible economic strife.

In spite of the massive influx of Latinx immigration to the U.S. at this time, there were still countless Latinx people living in the United States. One of these people was the quite notable William Carlos Williams, a physician and a poet credited with being a pillar of the artistic modernism movement (“Williams, William Carlos” 2009). He was born and raised in Rutherford, New Jersey, but his mother and father were raised in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic respectively, giving him strong ethnic ties to Latin America (Herlihy-Mera). He was brought up in a bilingual household that took pride in its culture, Spanish being his first language, and Williams identified with those aspects of his life heavily well into adulthood. He was not fully fluent in English until he was a teenager, so he was heavily reliant on the Spanish language and the Latinx population around him to navigate the world until then (Herlihy-Mera). After learning the English language, however, Williams pursued his passions of medicine and writing with the very same vivacity. In 1923, he wrote and published a poem titled “The Red Wheelbarrow” (“Williams, William Carlos” 2009), that described a tranquil scene with no clear meaning at surface level. The speaker tells of a red wheelbarrow wet with rain, sitting beside a few white chickens. What is most notable, however, is that the speaker indicates that “so much depends / upon / a red wheel / barrow” (Williams). It is up to the reader to decipher exactly what it is that is relying on this red wheelbarrow–an inanimate object with the purpose of moving things quickly from one place to another. Was Williams truly referring to a wheelbarrow, or did it represent something else?

A wheelbarrow is a tool that is associated with a very specific group of people–farmers. Williams grew up in New Jersey, a state not well known for its farming, so it is only natural to wonder exactly what drove him to write this poem. This is a case where taking a cultural approach is incredibly enlightening: “The Red Wheelbarrow” was written in 1923, in the midst of the economic turmoil American farmers faced during the otherwise prosperous Roaring 20s. Not only that, but it was written during the earlier discussed Mexican Revolution that caused a massive influx in immigration from Latin America, and eventually resulted in the American agricultural industry relying heavily on its Latinx laborers to feed the nation despite their hardships. Given the United States’s overwhelming dependence on these Latinx farmers, the time in which the poem was written, and Williams’ substantial ties to his Hispanic heritage, it is reasonable to conclude that “The Red Wheelbarrow” is a love letter to the hard-working Latinx farmers of this time period. So much relies on the red wheelbarrow–every American citizen relies on it for its commodities like food and textiles. As the red wheelbarrow sits through storms and withstands the elements, it is still depended on by the world around it. Through this poem, Williams acknowledges and puts a spotlight on the Hispanic laborers of the United States, putting them on the pedestal that they deserved through their economic hardships; because in the face of disaster they continued to be depended on and pushed through to make goods available to citizens, even at their own expense.

Clearly, In his poem "The Red Wheelbarrow," William Carlos Williams expresses his admiration for the hard work of farmers despite their financial turmoil during the 1920s. The need for acknowledgment of Hispanic laborers is just as necessary as ever in today’s political climate, as countless Latinx workers are stereotyped as illegal immigrants and criminals. As of 2020, 18.7% of the United States population is Hispanic (“2020 Census…” 2021), as compared to having one of the highest labor force rates of participation in the nation: 66.3% (“Labor Force…” 2019). Additionally, more often than not Hispanic Americans are employed as essential workers while being paid minimum wage and are largely responsible for keeping the United States economy afloat today (“Labor Force…” 2019). William Carlos Williams clearly showed his true appreciation for the essential workers of his time, so it is crucial that as a society we give these laborers the acknowledgment and respect they deserve nearly a century after “The Red Wheelbarrow” was written.