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.
I enjoyed reading your blog because I felt like I received a life story of this family and learned about how they went about during The Great Depression. The first thing that I noticed while looking at this photo was the young son looking at his father and holding his fathers finger. This is main source of lighting in this picture and to me this is the center focus of the photo. It appears to me that everyone else is in a shadow and the father is in sunlight to show that he is strong and is never going to give up on his family, and to show that he is holding his sons finger. This photo is very powerful, and shows the struggles that families went through during this time period.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to second Annie's claim that I felt like I was being told a story in your post. By first contextualizing the image before analyzing it, you set up a framework for the narrative---one that was necessary for it to make sense. Eric's calculations here help to focus our perception of this family's poverty. Reading your post, I can definitely see the resiliency you describe in spite of these hardships.
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