"The Runaway" by Norman Rockwell

The simpler times that the 50s are often thought of as imply a carefree world in which adults wouldn't worry about what appears to be a child running away, yet in today's society we would be unnerved by this image because the police officer isn't taking any action to stop the boy. Rockwell displays, with this image, that older people are entranced in the idea that America is perfect; when, in fact, America has very many problems. Because the boy is young he is only familiar with the problems of America and hasn't been exposed to "classic America" like the policeman has. This lack of significant exposure to either side allows him not to be biased is able to recognize with his own judgement that America is not the same as it used to be. His realization of this causes him to want out of the bad situation. Rockwell's "The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950s - an emerging counter-culture that was not concerned with how things were in America but rather how things are.