Like the portraits of two young men at marches in support of the Vietnam War, Arbus again visits a public event – in this case a parade – but chooses to photograph a single person rather than document the crowds at the event. But if she hadn’t told us in the title that the man was at a parade event, we wouldn’t be able to tell – there are no signs of the festivities in this quiet image and, although Fifth Avenue is New York’s busiest street, the pavement behind him is empty of people. He holds his hat gravely against his chest, presumably as a sign of respect, but for what cause we cannot know, inviting the viewer to imagine the crowd that is passing behind Arbus’s back.