Analyzing Dorothea Lange's 'Ghost Child'

In the 1930’s, The Great Depression inadvertently constructed a colossal socio economic boundary that separated the classes of rich and poor within America. Thousands of jobless migrants took a treacherous exodus to California looking for a livelihood, but instead they found prejudice for being poor. A select group of wealthy natives saw them as less than human, destitute homeless attempting to scrounge for work at each and every corner of the state. For the prejudice instilled on them by the natives, migrants were treated like the dirt they slept on. Something had to be done. The California Government hired photographers like Dorothea Lange to document the plight of the dilapidated in order to produce attention towards the migrants. The plan worked, her stunning photographs made gave previously unknown migrants federal aid. She had
Dorothea Lange’s emotionally charged photos depict migrants that become relatable to the viewer because of their congenial qualities. Her masterful command of the camera helps focus our attention on what she wants us to specifically observe within the photo in order to provide context as to what the migrants were experiencing. Lange uses contrast to elucidate the intensity of emotions that the subject is feeling in order to stimulate the same sort of emotions within the viewer. Her photo, “Ghost Child”, exemplifies the intensity of emotions within the migrants. On a superficial level, the photo depicts a migrant girl with tattered clothes standing against a crumpled metal wall, glaring into the camera. That glare she gives as she tilts her head towards the camera is the most striking part of the picture, and Lange makes us focus on it by contrasting her bright pale