An Analysis of a Porcelain Doll
This is another example of a doll played with by children in Greenbelt
during the Depression. It is far more elegant than the other dolls that I
analyzed - this one is made of porcelain, which is far more expensive
than plastic. It is a figure of a young girls face, with milky skin and
blondish hair, as well as blue eyes. She is really not complex. As far as
the significance of the artifact, it functions within the Depression in a
sort of contradictory way. It seems a bit luxurious given the other
artifacts okayed with by children. My guess is that this head and torso
would have been made into a doll by a mother, which would have been a
special gift to her daughter. As far as Greenbelt goes, this fits in in
two ways. First, it is typical of the gender based toys accepted in
Greenbelt - and in modern America. It also represents the bias towards
white people in toys - still prevalent in modern American.
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