The above picture is very famous because of its powerful
effect on the viewer. The man who is the focus of the photograph
is waiting in a line to get food, presumably for his family.
It is representative of the times, because the man is holding
a cup, typical to how someone who is begging, or asking for
a hand-out. This is ironic, because a lot of the people forced
to wait in bread lines were proud people who weren't accustomed
to accepting free give-aways. The man looks ashamed, as he
keeps his eyes down and the brim of his hat over his eyes.
There are countless other people waiting in line around the
old man, making it obvious that there was a major problem
because of the exorbitant amount of people trying to obtain
food. The symbolism of the men around the central figure is
a powerful and scary one. It appears that everyone has turned
their back on the old man, and nobody is willing to listen
to his problems or wants to help him at all. It is a scary
thought that all of those people, many hardworking and diligent
people could be left on their own without any way of feeding
themselves or making money. Lange has created a masterpiece,
it evokes a lot of sympathy for the old man and strikes fear
into all those who realize how dangerous the situation was
for everyone in the United States. |
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