During the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, hundreds of thousands of unemployed Americans moved to the west in a desperate attempt to find work. These “people fleeing the terror behind them,” as John Steinbeck poignantly describes them in The Grapes of Wrath, were largely ignored by the unaffected American public. Under the Resettlement Administration, Dorothea Lange sought to draw attention to the plight of these fleeing people through her expressive photographs. Lange's photo “Migrant Woman with Five Children” shocked its viewers with its stark depiction of the destitute and disturbing existence of a migrant family. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The article focuses on the off-center mother, expressing the oppressed nature of the country. One can immediately notice the subject's flabby arms on either side, the slight bump, and the dirty dress, serving as a reminder of the arduous journey she endured. Additionally, upon examining the mother's face, the viewer finds the melancholy concern familiar from Lange's other works, as seen in "Migrant Mother" or "Migrant Family on Road." Since these are all candid shots, viewed collectively, the viewer understands how the Great Depression created a universally disastrous situation for America. As the sun sets in the west behind the mother, she squints directly at the camera, a confrontational technique Lange uses to capture the viewer's attention. Perhaps deliberately, Lange leaves out the father in this photo to make the mother the only adult. Already tired and beaten, the situation becomes more concerning as the viewer begins to examine the children. The five children in the shot each exponentialize the sympathy that the viewer feels for the family simply by their presence. When Lange photographed "Migrant Mother," she deliberately left out most of Florence Thompson's seven children so as not to infer the empathy viewers felt for the stressed mother. In this photo, conversely, Lange shows how difficult the situation is for the single mother who has to take care of all the children. Lange uses depth to disperse the children throughout the shot and also to guide the subject's gaze toward the background. Although the first girl the viewer notices is looking directly at the camera, as is her mother, her face suggests a look of playfulness rather than concern. Despite her dusty dress and dirty face, the girl's small smile conveys the resilience of childhood innocence, imploring viewers to sympathize with the family. This same concept is seen in the boy kneeling on the ground, playing with a piece of wood. In the Depression era, America can certainly empathize with kids who are just trying to make the best of things. The gaze then passes from the boy to the two remaining girls, whose faces are hidden. This creates a form of anonymity for the children, as if to say: “these could be your children too”. The boy in the background holding a broom further suggests how few things the family has, as no possessions are visible except for the clothes on the family's backs and the car pointed towards them. 'west. Lange shows how important the journey is to the lives of migrants through the automobile posed in the background. Through the use of contrast and depth, the car becomes one of the last things the viewer notices. The position of the car in the background.