A painting I saw just now gave me some insight into a possible symbolic, or metaphorical meaning of cigarettes. It was a
painting of three black women working in a field (probably slaves), but one of
the silhouettes of the women was cut out, and on the frame of the painting a
new figure, of one of the women, assumingly, was sitting dangling her legs
while she smoked a cigarette; in essence taking a break from work; a cigarette
break. Maybe even a “Fuck it” break, and
that was how I thought to myself that maybe cigarettes are symbolic of the “fuck
it” attitude. (bad for your health,
socially undesirable, expensive, but fuck it, I’m going to have one.)
