The photograph Migrant Mother was optimistic but at the same time depicted the sadness and deprivation going on in the United States. Iversen Margaret stated that photographs that characterize, but also generalize include the texture of our experiences of the world, punctuated as it is with holes leading don to the unconscious (Iversen, 2004, p 55-57). The reason why her photographs were depicted in that manner were because it is what she saw in her world. She wanted to call attention to the subjects that represented what she felt. She wanted to call attention to them as worthier that the conditions they were in while calling for Americans to the incompleteness of American Democracy. How democracy had failed them and need to answer to the
Immigration is a heavy topic to address, but the authors of these articles have a way of putting a human face to these stories that help make the article more personal and understandable. In the article “In Trek North, First Lure Is Mexico’s Other Line,” the author talks about the story of an immigrant woman who lost her leg while on her way to America. The author begins to explain that the immigrant woman was trying to find work in America so she could support her four year old daughter back home. Archibold, author of “In Trek North, First Lure Is Mexico’s Other Line,” says, “[the woman] made it to Mexico and onto the train. But after it departed there were cries of “Migra!” — the immigration police — and a scramble that sent her tumbling under the train,” (Archibold 36.) The woman lost her leg, but all she could think about was staying alive for her four year old daughter. This story that archibold plants in the reader’s mind lets the reader understand the reason for why immigrants are so resilient into coming to America. The author for “The Heartache of an Immigrant Family” did the same thing as archibold. Sonia Nazario, author of “The Heartache of an Immigrant Family,” began to tell the story of Lourdes and her children. Sonia explains that, “Lourdes Pineda was the single mother of a 5-year-old
This picture taken by Barbara Davidson in Los Angeles on December 29,2010 depicts the true reality of the environment that the people in Los Angeles were living in. The photo informs audiences that many families were victims caught in the crossfire of the gang violence that erupted within the city. The victim in this picture is a young man still in high school shot and killed walking home after a shopping trip. The photographer uses pathos and appeals to the audience emotions by showing the sorrow and pain left behind by these acts of violence and complete disregard to human life and those affected in the aftermath. The context of this photo can be political and cultural in that the suspect of this picture was an undocumented immigrant teenager
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.
Each year, thousands of Central American immigrants embark on a dangerous journey from Mexico to the United States. Many of these migrants include young children searching for their mothers who abandoned them. In Enrique’s Journey, former Los Angeles Times reporter, Sonia Nazario, recounts the compelling story of Enrique, a young Honduran boy desperate to reunite with his mother. Thanks to her thorough reporting, Nazario gives readers a vivid and detailed account of the hardships faced by these migrant children.
You Have Seen Their Faces by Margaret Bourke-White and Erskine Caldwell is a photo documentary of life in the South during the Great Depression. After reading You Have Seen Their Faces along with critiques of it by Rabinowitz and Snyder, I found myself more interested in the topic of how motherhood was depicted in the book. Rabinowitz brought up that middle class women felt the need to regulate the poor women because they weren 't feminine enough or motherly enough which is the main attitude involved in slumming. By observing Margaret Bourke-White’s photos I found two distinct classes of these types of images: positive and negative. I was curious as to the deeper meanings behind these two classes of photos and what this meant about Bourke-White’s perspective of her subjects. Another point of interest is how and if the captions of these photos of mothers cause the images to be interpreted differently.
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
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
The Red Umbrella, by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Migration Photograph, by José Hernández-Claire both represent the subject of family separation. The authors of these two texts use different and similar techniques to help portray the subject.
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.
The Red Umbrella, By Christina Diaz Gonzalez and MIgration Photograph by Jose Hernandez Claire both poetry the subject of Immigration. They show how immigration affects families. The authors of this text and image uses some similar techniques to portray this subject, but they also use very different techniques to express their feeling about how immigration affects families.
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.
"Prospective Immigrants Please Note", a poem by Adrienne Rich, helps one to ponder on the dual perspective, with the mother culture and the American ideals. Rich 's essential goal is for one to remember their families and
Ellis Island was the gateway to America; the mass of immigrant’s were the subjects for his photographs. It is amazing that Hine was able to capture such powerful photographs considering the equipment and subject matter. Hine even commented on how it was a struggle at first to work the outdated equipment around the chaos of Ellis Island. “The camera was a modified box type with no swingback and when one wanted to make a vertical composition after doing a horizontal, he had to unscrew the box and turn it down onto its side.” Even though it was a struggle Lewis Hine’s photographs of Ellis Island capture a tender moment that most photographers could not capture. I find it amazing that Hine was able to talk people into stopping and allowing him to take their photo. With the people he stopped he was very good at capturing the drama of the scene. This can be seen in his photograph titled Italian family looking for lost baggage (1905 figure 1) This photograph like most of Hines’s from Ellis Island shows the uncertainty that immigrants experienced. The mother’s face in this image is what draws me in the most. The look of fear and strength within her face is so powerful. The composition of the photo keeps you moving though out the image and brings you back to the mother’s face. Another powerful photo from Ellis Island is Italian Madonna (1905 figure 2). The connection between mother and child is beautiful in this image. The relief on
Because immigrant parents could not afford to keep their babies, they were abandoned to the street where there was “not one instance of even a well-dressed infant having been picked up…” (Riis, 68). With majority of the abandoned infants coming from such poor conditions and left in even worse, those in the upper and middle class became horrified with the circumstances immigrants were living in when they came to America. Because very few men could not find jobs and women were culturally forbidden (with their native culture) to work, many women worked as “nurses” for abandoned babies, possibly even ones they may have left themselves (Riis,
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.