Rockwell's "The Runaway"

Norman Rockwell's "The Runaway" shows a boy, a policeman, and a waiter all having a good time in a diner in the 50s. The painting is set during World War II with all of the problems going on in America at this time the painting completely overlooks them. The little boy has run away and been picked up by the policeman. The boy is completely oblivious to all of the big problems in the world and is just trying to have a good time. The three people are all trying to run away from either their small problems or larger problems symbolizing America in this time period. 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 they are.