Poster Analysis: Deliver Us From Evil

The poster, “Deliver us from evil,” was published in 1943 by the U.S National Treasury in an attempt to persuade civilians to buy war bonds in order to raise money for the war effort. The poster depicts the face of a child centered in the foreground of a Nazi swastika, on the top of the image a text is displayed, which reads, “Deliver us from evil.” On the bottom of the poster is a bold, blue text reading, “BUY WAR BONDS.” In the background lays an eerie dark gray smoke. Upon looking at the poster, “Deliver us from evil,” the viewer feels eerie with a dire need to help the child in the center and a sense of hatred is felt towards the enemy. The first aspect that we notice when looking at the poster is the color scheme. The black and white image conveys a feeling of desperation. Even the bold blue text at the bottom, which reads, “Buy

This drives the civilian to read the text. The statement “buy war bonds” is written on the bottom of the page. This statement draws the eye to it through its use of large, bold font which stretches across the page. It is also the only text on the page that uses all capital letters. These characteristics of the phrase cause the viewer to feel a sense of urgency it also seems demanding, as if to say buy war bonds now or the child will not be able to be saved. The phrase contains the only bright color of the poster which is blue. Its color stands out so much from the black and white that it is like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, or the answer to saving these people. The phrase, “Buy war bonds,” is also noticeably larger than the phrase, “Deliver us from evil,” and this establishes dominance over the “evil” stated. Since “Buy war bonds” is typed in blue, an American color, the statement makes the viewer feel like buying war bonds is the American thing to do and is essential to saving the young