Drought refugees from Oklahoma looking for work in the pea fields of California. Near San Jose Mission

In this picture is a family with serious facial expressions that give off the impression that they are not very happy and do not know what to expect next. It appears that all of their belongings are packed up in their car and the family is on a journey to a new place that does not offer much happiness. This looks like a young family by the physical appearance of the mother and her young kids. At first I thought it was a family with a single mother, but then I noticed the hand on the right side of the picture on the car, which leads me to believe that there is also a father making a long trip with his family. Since they have so many belongings packed into the car and their clothes do not look tattered they probably have not yet experienced some of the hardships of the Great Depression like some other families. Also in the back of the picture there is a sign with the word “pioneer”, which could be referring to the many other families that are also moving in the hopes of looking for jobs.

The lighting seems to be more focused on the car and the items packed on it. The faces are hard to see because the light is shining on them. It is like they are looking into the distance for what their future might hold, but because they are squinting so much because of the sun it could symbolize that the future is hard to see. By the photographer positioning herself in front and slightly to the side, it allows the viewer to get a glimpse of what the travelers might be feelings and have experienced. I think it is interesting that she chose to not include everyone in the picture. Since I did not notice the other person I felt a lot of sympathy for the family because I believed that she was a single mother with three young kids. The mood seems to be serious and unknowing. Each member is taking in the atmosphere and not making any steps towards unpacking. From this picture I can learn that there was a lot of uncertainty during this time, and even though not everyone was completely poor, there was still a lot of questioning and unhappiness in the people.

Texas Tenant Farmer

         Based on the title of this image taken in 1935, this tenant and family moved from Texas to California to work at a migrant camp during peach season. What made the couple move to California was financial distress and the only way to find work was to travel elsewhere. All was well in the beginning of the relationship, because in 1927 the tenant made $7000 in cotton. In 1928 the couple broke even. 1929 was when a shift in their financials began to take a toll as the tenant went in the hole. 1930 didn't help as the tenant's financial hole was dug a little deeper. As 1931 came around the couple lost everything and in 1932 they hit the road. 1935 the tenant began his work as a fruit tramp in California. A fruit tramp is a migratory itinerant who follows the seasonal harvesting of fruit and as stated earlier, it was peach season.

          As I look at the photo, I notice the children are at a very young age. In relation to the years of their financial collapse, the couple were still raising kids. Their family grew, but their financials did not. At least one or two of kids were born around the time when the couple made $7000. Not knowing what the future held for the two, they continued to bring children to the world. The child that is holding his father's finger was most likely born before or around when the couple lost everything and hit the road. The mother holding the youngest child must have gave birth before the man worked as a fruit tramp. 

          Fatigued and covered in filth from work, the man's expression shows an understanding of what he has to do every single day. As the provider of the family, the tenant must work to provide for his family and his long days at work shows as he makes the attempt to reach for his child. With work being an uncertainty in these times, the father must look to his children as his motivation to continue to put in work day in and day out. As the children grow up, they look at their father to be a role model and a symbol during this grave time for America. Knowing not to quit and having reasons to work, the kids and family will eventually see better times.

          

Hard Work Will Eventually Pay Off

In the photograph below, taken by Dorothea Lange in 1937 it shows an eighteen-year-old young woman pictured with her son. The first thing I noticed about this photo is the mother looking down at her son, which is the center focus point of the image.  The boy is young and is sitting at his mother’s feet. The woman is resting her head on her hand looking down at him. It appears to me that the mother is resting her head because she is exhausted from her long day as a migrant farm worker in California. It seems that the mother is thinking to herself because she is biting her lip and her eyes are nearly shut. I believe she is looking down at her son while she is thinking to remind herself that her hard work on a migrant farm will one day pay off and she will be able to give her child a better life.  

The next thing that I noticed is the mother and her son are sitting in a shadow cast that is coming off from their dirty old tent.  There are stains on the outer part of the tent and it looks like their shelter is falling apart. I noticed that the tent had the name Fresno stamped on it, which would mean they were living in a tent community in Fresno, California.  I would not normally notice the shadow but I believe that it is a very important part of this photo. The mother and son are in a shadow that I believe represents the darkness and depression of their lives. There is sunlight around the mother and son that symbolizes optimism. I also noticed the mother and her son’s appearance. Their clothes seem to be very wrinkled and tattered, their shoes are worn and the boy’s face is very dirty.  She appears to have worked very hard and she hopes that their living conditions will improve and they will have a real chance at a better life.  

The photograph is taken from the vantage point of being directly across from the subjects.  This makes me feel that Lange has great empathy towards these people because she is putting herself at their level.  I believe Lange wants you to see the desperation and exhaustion in this woman’s eyes that gives a deeper understanding of her suffering and the struggles faced by American’s in the 1930’s. 

Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California.

In the image it appears that the mother is looking into the field trying to make out something miles and miles apart. However, the children appear to have their faces turn in as if they are protecting their eyes from something evil. The first thing that I notice is the mother’s forehead with the wrinkles of what seems to be concern. The setting that the woman and children are in appears to be some type of handmade shelter due to the wooden long in front of the mother and children. The family is arranged as if the mother is mentally protecting the young children. What is interesting to me is that the woman’s hand is up to her face but not necessarily resting. This lack of resting means to me that although it is a rough economic time she is not going to give up on providing for her young boys both physically and mentally. The light in this photograph is not directed toward her or the boys but simply down low in the photograph as if the family is hiding in the shadows as in protection from the harmful things in the world. This photo appears to be shot at the same angle as the subject. Although the photographer makes the woman the center of the subject, viewers are soon to realize that she is simply the rock that supports the two boys. Two questions I have for my group mates are: What is a vantage point? What do you think is in the mothers lap? The mood of this photograph appears to be sad at first glance but with some investigation viewers understand that this photograph accurately documents the mentality of the Great Depression. What I learned from this image is that although this is a time of economic depression that lead to mental depression in many cases that families are capable of maintaining a family unit by mentally supporting each other. Lange learned from the woman in the photograph that the woman and boys were living off frozen vegetables and birds that they two boys killed. Simply knowing this you can learn that the mother of the boys taught them that they should provide for their family to the best of their ability regardless of economic stability.  From my previous experience with the Great Depression, this image did not teach me something new about the Great Depression but the image did remind me of the strength of the bond between mother and son.