In 1751 William Hogarth engraved a black and white picture “Gin Lane”. His purpose for this picture was to expose the alcoholism that was happening in England’s cities towards the poverty-stricken crowd and to also support the Gin Act, “which limited the sale of cheap gin.”(320) “By the middle of the seventeenth century, gin had become one of the most destructive forces in urban England.”(320) Because gin was sold at basically pennies and formed cheaply it was easier for the poor to purchase. “Gin had become popular with the [needy] because it offered a false solution.” Each person who drank gin was so consumed by their addiction that their problems they were facing were hidden temporarily. In the picture it is easy to consider that the
