Story Of The Migrant Mother Analysis

In the article, “Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, and the Culture of the Great Depression” by James C. Curtis, we understand what it takes to get the perfect photo to represent a message. Dorothea Lange became very popular during her time and is known especially for her photo, Migrant Mother, which documents life during the Great Depression. James C. Curtis does a good job explaining the artistic decisions to this most famous shot and how many different steps Lange took in order to really create a powerful message depicting life in poverty.

While many photos in You Have Seen Their Faces depict life in the south in negative light, there are a few photos that contradict this sentiment. While reading the book I found many photos that placed their subjects in a positive light and most of them happened to center around motherhood. These images portrayed the mothers as strong and determined in the face of adversity.

The author uses words like “worn, weather-beaten women, a look of desperation on her face” to evoke what the photo was like. Document A talks about the reason for why Lange wanted to photograph the mother from her point of view and also is presented with the reason for the photographs to be taken. The document doesn't clearly state a correct side or personal opinion on the photograph. It also doesn't give much information of the Migrant Mother herself as is does of Dorothea Lange. As a result of the photos, it created a negative connotation of the era.

To begin with, Lange helped perceive the poor living conditions of the 1900’s through her photo of the migrant mother and three children. For instance, Lange with her photo of the migrant mother helped raise awareness, for the federal government gave the pea pickers camp, where the migrant mother had been distinguished, “twenty thousand pounds of food”. (Starr 48) The photo of the unfortunate pea pickers helped people realize how hopeless they really were. This creating a willingness to help. Showing Lange's photography ability to create empathy through a simple photo. In addition, the mother was so desperate for help that when the picture was taking place, “there she sat in the lean-to-tent” motionless. (Starr 47) The migrant mother was so

Catherine Angel’s Bessie and Nadine (2000) is a toned gelatin silver print on paper. The photographer, Catherine Angel, is currently a professor for the Department of Art at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, but most importantly, she is a mother. In fact, her daughters are the subjects shown in this photograph. Catherine Angel is experienced in Black and White Large Format Photography, Mixed Media Collage, Handmade Books and Color works. Her work has been exhibited in more than 400 exhibits. In this black and white photograph, Bessie and Nadine, there are two young girls of color are interlocked in fetal position within a dirt hole in the ground. There is grass on the rim of the photograph and a scarce amount of living plants around this

Within the excerpt, “Harvest Gypsies,” Steinbeck describes the effects of the wretched living conditions of migrant families. Similarly, Dorothea Lange, Kevin Starr, and Steinbeck use rhetoric and imagery to evoke empathy from their audiences. For instance, in paragraph twenty the text states, “He will die in a very short time. The older children may survive. Four nights ago the mother had a baby in the tent, on the dirty carpet. It was born dead, which was just as well because she could not have fed it at the breast; her own diet will not produce milk.” Unlike the rest of the excerpt, this paragraph is placed in future tense. Steinbeck presents uses repetition when stating his fact. He claims to know that the mother will not produce enough milk to feed her child and the child will die. The emphasis that Steinbeck puts on the family’s loss makes me feel empathetic towards all the families in the camp who went through a similar tragedy. Steinbeck uses imagery when describing the living conditions of a family in the camp. In paragraph four the text states, “The tent is full of flies clinging to the apple box that is the dinner table, buzzing about the foul clothes of the children, particularly the baby...” Steinbeck is capable of painting the reader a picture without using any adjectives. The image he paints makes me feel compassion for all the families in the camp who had to

Her most well know piece Migrant Mother which was of Florence Owens Thompson. The photograph shows a worn out mother with her two children's heads in her shoulders, and a baby in her lap.

She soon opened up her own portrait studio. She was very successful in her studio and she even established a group of friends for the first time in her life. In 1920, she married Maynard Dixon who was twenty years older then her. She became one of the most popular portrait photographers in San Francisco. When she went on a trip to Arizona, she took pictures outside of her studio for the first time. This was where she first encountered people who were swallowed in poverty, hopelessness, and humiliation. She soon came to a realization. Dorothea Lange said, "It suddenly came to me that what I had to do was take pictures and concentrate upon people – only people – all kinds of people, people who paid me and people who didn't" (Sufrin 78). In the late 1920's, she had two sons. It was hard for her to juggle being a mother, wife, and a photographer, so her children were often boarded out. As the Great Depression slowly approached, tensions grew in her marriage with Dixon.

The United States experienced both the Great Depression and harsh weather conditions during the 1930’s causing Americans to suffer through extreme hardship and impoverishment. Many of the migrant farmers were bankrupt, destitute, and struggled to survive. Photographer and photojournalist, Dorothea Lange, captured the dangerous conditions migrant workers and their families endured through her photograph, Migrant Mother. The photograph not only displays a woman and children suffering, but also reveals the determination and willpower the woman had to provide for her family.

It represents a majority of ills that afflicted 18th, 19th, and early 20th century America. Through this photograph, one can appreciate how far America has come as a nation in terms of having the capacity to resolve the issues that plagued American society. Further, through this photograph, one can tell how the suffering faced by migrants who came in as slaves played a huge role in creating a better American society.

Although immigrant women play a big role in America’s society and economy, they have been constantly mistreated and looked down upon throughout history. Not only do they face the burden of the stratifications that their gender entails but they also struggle to adopt the American culture and norms. America was viewed as the land of opportunities and economic prosperity, a perspective that draws in many immigrant women who were willing to leave their families and possessions to come to this foreign country in hopes of a better life. In America, they faced many challenges as they not only had to work long hours but also took care of their families and do housework as well. They struggled to make a standard living out of low wage jobs and assimilating into America’s society. Today, the treatment of immigrant women has improved greatly as they have stood together and fought for their rights. Immigrant women have built communities and held strikes for better pay and treatment. Although America has made great strides in improving treatment of immigrant women, there is still social injustice. Immigrant women have come a long way from the first time they entered America until now, but their stories are often left untold and omitted from American history.

There is a old saying that says your eyes are they key to your soul, that saying must have came to the mind of this photographer when he say the eyes of this young lady. Even if she wasn't holding a cigarette, seeing only this girls eyes would be enough to make the most prideful of men cry their eyes out. Here eyes haunt anyone who looks at them and will make you feel sorry for her even without knowing any context around this story. The reason photographs become so iconic in our society is because you are able to capture a hole seen from one event in time, even if that event was from one hundred years ago, and still be able to have people feel so contented to this event. This photo can mean something different for every eye that sees it but the main message the author was trying to convey by taking this photo is a loss of youth and innocence.

Marisela Martinez Short, my Mother, is an emigrant from Guadalajara Mexico. Marisela was born on May 27th 1976, currently she is thirty nine years old. She immigrated to America when she was sixteen years old in 1992. I chose to interview Marisela because I find her story and the way her life changed dramatically very interesting.

To begin with, description is utilized to show that pictures are worth more than words. In Lange’s image, the woman looks exhausted and the children seem saddened. Viewers of the image see this by their facial expressions. For instance, two of the children are looking away from the photographer and the woman has no smile on her face. Moreover, onlookers observe how people lived during the Great Depression in the west coast. Viewers of the image see this by their clothing. For example, the woman and children are wearing tattered, dirty clothing. The overall picture represents what people went through during the Great Depression without ever telling the audience it was taken during this

Dorothea Lange is an experienced photographer, born on the 26th day of March 1895. Her works have been a source of insight for many people and this has proved very effective to contemporary photographers. There are many works that this woman did during her time and it is important to acknowledge them. Migrant Mother is one of these works and the applause that it has gotten from the viewers clearly portrays expertness at its best. The photo revolves around the life and family of one Florence Owens Williams and was taken in 1936 in California Florida. Going through the various elements of this photograph is effective in ensuring that one understands the deep concepts that revolve around it.