Dorothea Lange: A Photographer Essay

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

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.”

Her passion for teaching became an actuality when she met her second cousin, Edward Bang, at a family party. Bang was fourteen years older than Dorothea, but it was love at first sight. He told Dorothea that if she wanted to being teaching, she should start a "little dame school", where young girls were taught in private because they weren't able to attend public schools. Bang found her a location where she could begin to teach, and therefore he was able to continually visit and accompany her. From that day on, Dorothea was forever grateful to Edward for making her dream an actual reality. (<a href="http://www.psych.org/pnews/98-10-16/hx.html">http://www.psych.org/pnews/98-10-16/hx.html</a>)

Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother is a photograph that documents a moment of distress within American history. The image works as a visual representation of suffering for those who were lucky enough not to live within the Dust Bowl region. To many it is uncertain if Lange’s image became an American Icon because of the struggle it presented or because of the eye capturing composition of it. However, with this image came forth the issue of a photos validity after photo manipulation, as Lange edited the image by removing the thumb of the mother who was a large subject. Despite the slight manipulation in Migrant Mother, the photograph still presents the situation truthfully, making the photograph function as both a work of art and a historical document.

Photography is everywhere in this World today. Advancements throughout the 1930’s where emotions were extremely impacted, helped to set the base for future advancements and ideas that would lie ahead for generations to come. The impact that photography had on the United States during the Great Depression in a time of dire struggle was unlike any other. This movement was able to document images that may never be able to be matched again in its uniqueness and emotional

Known as an American philanthropist and reformer, Dorothea Dix transformed living conditions in prisons and established institutions for the mentally insane in 20 states, as well as Canada (“DIX”). Through her crusade for fair treatment of the mentally insane, Dorothea Dix exemplifies the ideals of her time – to protect the rights of all human beings, no matter their age, race, or mental capacity.

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.

Do you know what Dorothea Dix did to make this world a better place? Dorothea Dix assured the lives of the Union Army and the mentally ill, through hard-work and overcoming obstacles. As a kind and thoughtful person, Dix reserved a portion of her life towards the mentally ill. With time, another door opened leading her to another accomplishment, being Superintendent of Nurses. As superintendent, Dix chose and trained many nursed to assist her and take their job as seriously as she did.Over a course of time, Dorothea Dix showed that women could fulfill the duty of many difficult tasks.

On March 28, 1841, Dorothea Dix was invited to teach a Sunday class at East Cambridge, Massachusetts women 's jail. The invitation was at the right time because Dix have already heard how horrible the conditions and treaments of the mentally ill were in Massachusetts, it was just not justified. After her class she toured the jail and was appalled by what she had discovered. The innocent, guilty, and the mentally ill were combined in the unsanitary, crowded, cells of the East Cambridge jail. In addition, a keeper in the jail stated that the prisoners did not need heat or ventilation because they did not need it. With a strong character and high morality of Dorothea Dix, she immediately took action that led to the betterment of the

Famous photographs of The Great Depression era taken by photographers such as Rothstein and Post Walcott, are now part of history and help many understand what it would have been like to experience The Great Depresssion. Photographers like Rothstein and Post Walcott began to take many different photgraphs in different places to try and depict how the United States was during The Great Depression era, photographs taken during this that are now widely known and have been seen by many through the ages. Many photographs taken were of Gee’s Bend, Alabama which portrayed life in a community made up of mostly african americans. There is wide variety of photographs taken at Gee’s Bend during different years, which can showsome substantial differences

New photographers and journalists began to document imagery of everyday life and the hardship through the Dustbowl and The Great Depression. A famous photographer is Dorothea Lange. One picture that is famous by her is called "Migrant Mother," showed a gaunt young widow holding her three daughters, her careworn face suggesting that hope was running out. Dorothea Lange was working under Working under Roy Stryker, primarily under the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a small group of talented photographers, including Walker Evans, Marion Post Wolcott, John Vachon, Russell Lee, and Arthur Rothstein, documented the human, natural, and economic devastation of the region in photographs printed in federal publications as well as in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines. Another famous documentor portraying the world around us was John Steinbeck. He wrote a set of newspaper articles that year depicting in similar terms what Dorothea Lange’s photographs show. (Gregory,

Born in 1802, Dorothea Dix played an important role in changing the ways people thought about patients who were mentally-ill and handicapped. These patients had always been cast-off as “being punished by God”. She believed that that people of such standing would do better by being treated with love and caring rather than being put aside. As a social reformer, philanthropist, teacher, writer, writer, nurse, and humanitarian, Dorothea Dix devoted devoted her life to the welfare of the mentally-ill and handicapped. She accomplished many milestones throughout her life and forever changed the way patients are cared for. She was a pioneer in her time, taking on challenges that no other women would dare dream of tackling.

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).

Everything seemed new to her. She began to paint for a living. Most women of her time did not work, but relied on their husbands for support. She rarely missed her children and only visited them once the entire summer. Edna felt alone.

Florence in the photograph portrays the real effects that the depression of 1929 had on people in the United States. The real intention