The iconic and timeless “Migrant Mother” photograph taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936 during the time of the “Great Depression” captures the essence of an era marked by economic hardship and human resilience. This powerful image portrays the struggles faced by migrant families as the 1930s was a time period of economic turmoil characterized by widespread unemployment, agricultural collapse, and poverty (Curtis). During this period, migrant workers and their families were particularly vulnerable as they travelled from one part to the other part of the world in search of work, enduring difficult living conditions. This essay offers a comprehensive visual rhetorical analysis of Lange’s “Migrant Mother”, exploring its visual composition, emotional impact, historical context, and enduring significance as a representation of human resilience, human struggle during trying times, and empathy.
The “Migrant Mother” showcases the image of a worn and weathered mother “surrounded by her children” while she gazes into the distance with a mixture of determination and weariness. Her appearance and her gaze serve as a “poignant reminder” of the difficulties and challenges that migrant families faced during the time of the Great Depression. The image centers on Florence Owens Thompson huddling her little children close symbolizing the feelings of weariness, depression, resilience, and unity in the face of adversity. Lange’s deliberate framing of a careworn mother’s face invites viewers to empathize with the mother and her children, the subjects of the photograph, emphasizing their emotional burden and the weight of that weathered mother’s responsibilities.
Lange’s framing of migrants’ adversity through Florence Owens Thompson’s face contemplates the larger social issues at play as every line etched on her face tells a story of sacrifice and hardship yet an unwavering determination to provide the best for her family. Mother’s expressions also reflect a complex mix of pride, exhaustion, and a deep concern for the existence and well-being of her family, especially her little children who could not understand the adversities and difficulties of life they are forced to live in (Lucaites and Hariman). The photograph crystallizes the experiences of adverse situations that countless migrant families were forced to live in during the stark reality of the Great Depression to highlight the broader socioeconomic challenges of the trying times in the 1930s. The mother, the focal point, in the photograph represents the loss of an American in terms of economic, emotional, and determination aspects to reflect the time period marked by maternal sacrifice, economic hardship, and human dignity.
The visual composition of Lange’s “Migrant Mother” encapsulates Lange’s ability to convey emotion through imagery as the photograph captures universal human experiences of resilience and individual struggles in the face of adversity. The photograph is the visual testament of maternal instinct to raise awareness about how women are the most important subjects that play their part in withstanding the turmoil and storms against their families even though they are poor, tired, and exhausted themselves. Lange’s photograph is one of the most defining images as it not only captures the plight of a migrant mother and her vulnerable children, it also provides a compelling portrayal of human vulnerability and emotion at its core to tell a story of human struggles. The image detailing the representation of poverty through the ripped sleeve that exposes the mother’s forearm brings the viewers uncomfortably close to a female’s adversity in general and a mother’s struggle, in particular, to “survive” one of the direst and most challenging times of the collective history of America.
The black and white “Migrant Mother” photograph delves deep into the historical context of the plight of migrant families resonating with viewers of the image on a deeply emotional and psychological level. The idea depicted in the photograph is highly charged emotionally as on one hand the mother photographed in the image is poverty-torn reflecting the weariness and on the other hand she is enthusiastic reflecting the “joy of being reunited” with her loved ones. The photograph is a prominent representation of high-key emotions representing a kind of “emotional release” that comes with grief as well as the relaxation accompanying symbol of courage and endurance evident through the mother’s facial expressions. The black and white photograph reflecting the colors of life stands as a poignant reminder of the invincible and unbeatable spirit during the times of human struggle in American history.
Moreover, the photograph Lange captured shows the mother quite literally holding the “emotional weight” of her family, both of her children beside her and one sleeping in her exhausted arms, shows the “explicit representation of poverty” that brings the surviving family close to their mother, the sole strength of their poverty-stricken home. Delving deep into the visual rhetoric of the image, the mother’s face is the focal point of the photograph while two of her children stand beside her but turn their faces away to her sides. Mother in the “Migrant Mother” stares off-camera while rips in her sleeves and deep lines that “pinch her forehead” explicitly depict how she survives in dire situations. She also gives hope to the striving people who endured the Great Depression through her weary eyes and wrinkled face reflecting that she and her family survived and managed to live their life while having an unwavering determination in her eyes to provide for her family (Curtis).
In capturing this intimate moment, one aspect that reflects the void in the photograph is the absence of a husband or father figure who is supposed to do his fatherly duties as the traditional family provider. However, the void of a father figure is filled in by a mother as a symbol of endurance and resilience which inspires and motivates Americans in a way that words simply could not. The absence of males, the preconceived pillar of strength in American society, and the presence of a female as a mother, the entity who secures her peripheral position in a society where men are the central figure, serve as a classic image of perseverance and strength. This idea symbolizes the hopelessness and difficulties endured by so many Americans and people around the United States during the Great Depression. The taut composition of Lange’s photograph excludes all unnecessary information even the father or the husband but focuses on the most essential information, the mother and the children, emphasizing the desperation and vulnerability of the most vulnerable constituents of the society (Naidu).
In conclusion, Lange’s defining image of a poor and alone “Migrant Mother” in ragged clothing whose face tells a story of hardship and adversity that she and her family went through contributes to a significant shift in public perception that showcases women as a weak social entity. The photograph urges viewers to recognize the dignity of individuals and humanity above all through the power of visual storytelling about people facing economic adversity during the time of the Depression. Lange’s “Migrant Mother” extends a deep impact on the broad audience accompanying the sense of loss as well as resilience through the symbols of etched lines of anxiety on the mother’s face and the sense of unity while Thompson huddles her children close, hiding their faces behind her shoulders. The face etched with weariness and anxiety reflects not just the hopelessness but also a visual plea to end the poverty and desperation that comes with it for the survival of self and motherhood. In a nutshell, reflecting on the visual rhetoric of “Migrant Mother” underscores the power of visual storytelling to pay tribute to the resilience of the human spirit connecting viewers of the photograph with the lived experiences of those who existed before us in the collective history, transcending time and space.
Works Cited
Curtis, James C. “Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, and the Culture of the Great Depression.” Winterthur Portfolio, vol. 21, no. 1, 1986, pp. 1–20.
Lucaites, John Louis, and Robert Hariman. “Visual Rhetoric, Photojournalism, and Democratic Public Culture.” Rhetoric Review, vol. 20, no. 1/2, 2001, pp. 37–42.
Naidu, Maheshvari. “Migrant Mothers: Raising Children in Migrant Space.” The Oriental Anthropologist, vol. 13, no. 1, 2013, pp. 35–53.
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