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Dorothea Lange: The Great Depression

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The great depression was the most severe economic downturn in history. It occurred in the 1930’s due to the crash of the stock market, also known as Black Tuesday. The crash effected everyone around the country at all social levels. Construction was halted, farms and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell. The effects of the depression lasted up until the beginning of World War II. Photographer Dorothea Lange became famous during this era due to her humanization of the depression. Her collection on photos were of various families that the depression effected and it showed in her photos and it allowed people to see how others were living and the struggles they were facing. One of her most famous pictures taken during this time was “The Migrant …show more content…

Two of her children cling to each of her shoulders facing away from the camera. The dirt on their faces suggests they have no home and have been traveling through harsh outdoors to find a home and a job. The very basics of the picture don’t tell us much. Just that these people were suffering during the depression, so we can conclude that she took the picture just to show the effects of the depression right? As that would not be a wrong answer it is not all the picture tells us or is meant to …show more content…

Many families suffered in more than one way and that is what the migrant mother is about. The picture contains specific details that we overlook. Where is her husband, the children's father? He is nowhere to be found in the picture he most likely dies from TB or strays off to find work, She is on her own. There is no help, no protection yet her children hide in her arms hoping for her to keep them safe and alive. Their clothes are ratted and they are covered in dirt. Recourses that were once common were now a luxury that no one could afford or even access. We know her age to be 32 but look at her she looks of a woman in her late 40’s. The struggles were drowning her in stress and aging her. Her worried expression seems to confirm what we know about the depression. Things weren’t going to get better for a long

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