The Migrant Mother

The Migrant Mother is an iconic photograph of just how devastating and widespread The Great Depression was. The photo was taken in 1936 by Dorothea Lange in California. The photo shows a mother and her children living no nothing more complex than an open-ended tent in a field. Dorothea asked no questions to the subject except her age. I believe that by not asking questions to the subject, the photographer has added the sense that this woman could be any mother, anywhere in the world. During the great depression this photograph had the effect of showing the world that this horrible economic period had such a huge toll on families; how they lived, how they earned money, what they did to pass the time.

Credit: Dorothea Lange, 1936

The look on the mother's face shows the fear she has about the future of her and her family. She looks as though she is thinking about how she can better the lives of her loved ones, how they can get back on their feet and start fresh.

Today the photograph shows us just how bad conditions were back then. In the economic conditions we are in it is very easy for us to say how unfortunate we are to have lost our jobs and to maybe be living on employment insurance but the fact of the matter is that The Great Depression was so much worse and the governments weren't set up to be able to handle the number of unemployed. I sometimes wonder how today's workers would adapt, if at all, to conditions similar to The Great Depression.

Works Cited:

"The Migrant Mother." Photograph. Library of Congress. Dorothea Lange. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Web. 16 Oct 2011.