Diana Faz-Aguirre

Diana Faz-Aguirre

                        Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother. c.1936. Gelatin silver print.

        Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother. This photograph shows a family, possibly a single mother suffering from being poor, but also demonstrates the determination of a mother to do her best to care for her children and to endure through difficult times.

        The families clothing alone suggest their poverty. The mother is wearing a damaged grey shirt with torn sleeves that appear to only extend as far as her elbows. The children’s clothing don’t look any better. The baby lies in a wrapped blanket or coat that looks dirty, it’s not the kind of blanket/coat anyone should want a baby wrapped in. only one sleeve of the clothing is worn by the blonde-haired toddler that’s leaning on the mothers left shoulder is viable, but reveling two small holes or dark patches of dirt, and the bottom sleeve also seems to be slashed. The child leaning on the mothers other shoulder is wearing a coat that hangs loosely off their shoulder, suggesting that the coat is a lot bigger than the child’s small frame. It also appears to have been a long time since this family’s had a shower or their clothing washed. The smudges around the baby’s mouth and its dark eyelids are very noticeable. The blonde child to the mothers left appears to have a streak of dirt or possibly a bruise on their left arm. The family is clearing suffering from being poor, but this photograph also suggest that the mother is doing her absolute best to take care of her children during the difficult time they are experiencing.

        The mother is responsible for the survival and well-being of her children, and it is clear that she is doing her best to provide for them. The composition of the figures in the photograph suggest the mother’s importance. The mother is the center of the photograph, just as she is the rock of her family. The two children resting against their mother, leaning towards her and laying their heads on her suggest that they are turning to their mother for support, warmth and comfort. The two children also have “bowl” haircuts suggesting by the shape of their hair. The mother who also cares for her baby, who is resting peacefully in the mothers lap as she holds him close against her body. Seeing by the way her shirt is open in the front also may suggest that she just fed the smaller baby that is now sleeping. The mother is poor, and the whole family is suffering, but the mother is trying her best to hold it together.