Analysis Of The Migrant Mother By Dorothea Lange

The saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” cannot be demonstrated more thoroughly than during The Great Depression, a time when there were not a lot of words to be said. The photograph of the “Migrant Mother,” taken in this time period, The Great Depression, has inspired me want to dig deeper into Dorothea Lange’s experience during that time period. When I first saw the photograph of the “Migrant Mother,” I could not get the image out of my head because it tugged at my heart and it is something I have wanted to learn more about since we discussed Dorothea Lange in class. Dorothea Lange is a photographer known for her best work during the 1930s with the Farm Security Administration. Her career however did not start out like that. At

Dorothea had spent a long day capturing images and she was going back to print the images when she had drove past a sign that said, “Pea Picker’s Camp.” Dorothea continued to drive thinking she had enough photographs she did not need anymore. Something struck her that she could not resist and eventually she turned around saying, “I was following instinct, not reason” (Partridge, Lange 2). She stopped at the worn down camp and was intrigued by a mother and her seven children. Dorothea took her camera over to them and no one asked any questions. She captured only six images of this mother and her youngest children. The woman had told Dorothea that the freezing rain and sleet had ruined the pea crop. They did not have any work and they had to sell tires for food (Partridge, Lange 3). Dorothea had no idea what those images would do for her career, but she knew she had to show the world what those people in “Pea Picker’s Camp” were going through.

“After returning home, Lange altered the editor of a San Francisco newspaper to the plight of the workers at the camp, presenting him with two of her photos. The editor informed federal authorities and published an article that included Lange’s images. As a result, the government rushed a shipment of 20,000 lbs. of food to the camp” ("Migrant Mother,

She used her photography to impact people all over the United States. She did not like what she was seeing happen to her country and the people in it. Dorothea tried to use her passion of photography to make social and political changes in the United States. That did not necessarily happen, but she definitely made other people aware of what was really going on in her country. Dorothea Lange was the voice for those who were living on the streets, in migrant camps, traveling west, single women with young children, and others facing difficult times. Dorothea gave those people hope through her passion of photography and really getting to know them so she could make a difference in their lives. She was truly a unique person with a special talent who was set out to change the world through her lens. She will always be remembered for her most famous photograph the “Migrant