Comparing Let Us Now Praise Famous Men and An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion

Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.

Taking photographs may seem simple, but being a photographer is more than browsing through the viewfinder and pushing the exposure button. A photographer needs to know how to analyze the scene, speak in words that language cannot, and reach to the souls of people through a picture. During the Great Depression, many photographers captured the scenes of poverty and grief. However, there was only one photographer that truly captured the souls of Americans. According to Roy Stryker, Dorothea Lange "had the most sensitivity and the most rapport with people" (Stryker and Wood 41). Dorothea Lange was a phenomenal photographer that seized the hearts of people during the 1930s and beyond, and greatly affected the times of the Great Depression.

The life of a migrant worker in the 1930s were very depressing one. The Great Depression cause many workers to move from place to place for jobs. Most of these migrant workers are alone with no friends or family and unable to trust people. Some Just like George and Lennie from the book Of Mice Of Men travel together. Of Mice and Men is a story about two men the The Great Depression

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

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 became a well-known photographer with pictures of the Dust Bowl. According to Garland 2003 her photography obtained government relief for Dust Bowl migrants because she “visually demonstrated the hunger, poverty, hardship, and the plight of the migrants.”

The Great Depression was a time of poverty, unemployment, stress, frustration, and of course depression. During that era, many had known and heard about the depression. It wasn’t until a photojournalist, Dorothea Lange, had taken the pictures of a defeated worn out mother, that people had an accurate visual of the Depression. The picture was known as the Migrant Mother. Seeing it with their eyes, many saw a new different perspective of that era.

Dorothea Lange was an important figure in American history during the Great Depression. Dorothea Lange is famous for her photographs that captured all the pain and suffering people were going through. These feelings and conflict were hidden or not known but with her photographs it soon came to the public's attention. She had said, “We unearthed and discovered what had been neglected… or not known.” This quotes explains what her intentions were for these pictures.

The famous photographer Walker Evans’s depiction of life and the people during the Depression of the 1930s is Devastating, Inferior, and Vulnerable. For instance, the person on the left reading the newspaper seems to be devastated, whilst the other two are sleeping. They all seem to appear that they had just got laid off by the company or the company went bankrupt and everyone lost their jobs. Since the time frame that this took place in was the 1930s, this was very common in society in that era of time. A perfect example of being infuriated is the two men on the left and right side of the picture, sitting there frustrated. The man on the left has a depressing look on his face to be sitting there not doing anything but reading a paper, while the man on the right looks completely done with everything and has a look of sorrow and remorse on his face. Suppose that the company never shut down. Then they would not be vulnerable to the cold weather and hardships they are currently going through at the moment.

Walker Evan’s depiction of life and the people during the Great Depression of the 1930’s is daunting, isolated, and fatigued. A reason why the picture “ South Street, New York” is daunting is because, the men look like they do not have jobs. A reason why it is isolated is because the men are separated, not talking or looking at each other. A reason that its fatigued is because the men are just sitting around, for instance, the man on the right seems to be reading a newspaper while his head is being held up with his hand, and one of them is sleeping. There seems to be a lock on the door, maybe the gentleman laying down in front of the doors work there, he could be waiting for it to open. The man on the left looks like he is exploring the magazine

Dorothea Lange’s pictures of the homeless during the Great Depression got the attention of the Federal Resettlement Administration. She began to work for them taking pictures and capturing the publics attention of the poor. She also worked for the US Farm Security Administration before World War Two. She investigated the conditions of farm workers in many Western states. Many of the people she photographed during this time had came to escape the “Dust Bowl” (a drought which devastated millions of acres of farm land in midwestern states).

Book Review There is many books written about the time of the Great Depression, however, “Dorothea Lange - A Life in Pictures” trumps many with an in depth look at one of the most important people of the era. This biography written by Laura Baskes Litwin was published by Enslow Publishers, Inc. in 2008 and is part of the “People to Know Today” series. The soul purpose of this book is to inform others of Dorothea’s life. I would recommend middle to high school aged kids to read this book if they are interested in either Dorothea Lange, or the Great Depression.

During the Great Depression everyone lost money, but the middle and lower classes were hit particularly hard, causing an increasing number of people to be in poverty. Millions of Americans lost their jobs as a result of the stock market crash and the national economy failing. Almost two thirds of Americans found themselves out of work for over a year, almost half without work for two years. In 1933, unemployment was at an all-time high at almost twenty-five percent. These factors resulted in the middle and lower class being forced to live on the bare necessities or in poverty. The photograph “People Living in Miserable Poverty, Elm Grove, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma” illustrates the struggles of many of these Americans, depicting a woman, a girl and a boy, presumably her children. The two children are wearing very old, dirty clothes, standing in front of a dilapidated house. No one in the picture has shoes. All of these details could represent the lives of many Americans living in extreme poverty during the Great Depression.

American Art during the Great Depression and before World War II sought to rebrand and rebuild a broken and desperate nation. In colonies around the country, artists banded together to study and support one another, and U.S. government programs of the WPA, FAP, and FSA provided opportunities for artists to create public works on a scale never seen before in this country. Like the LDS Church Welfare program begun at the same time, these art initiatives revived the individual’s dignity in the form of opportunity. The public, too, wanted new art that reflected the turmoil of the country. The nation was hurting, and from this crucible of suffering emerged a body of artwork that documented the common man and woman—rural and urban, North and South, the haves and the have-nots. Distinct from the romanticized landscapes of the frontier and portraits of wealthy Easterners that proceeded the period, this was art that mattered: it was aimed squarely to uplift and ennoble a battered public.

During Great Depression Dorothea Lange and John Steinbeck made a bing in pact by using their art. They showed the world, all the thing that people were going through that others didn't know. John with his great talent as a writer, taught and explained to other people things that were happening during those times.