“Cleanliness”

The Picture I chose to discuss for this weeks forum was taken by none other than Dorothea Lange and is titled “Cleanliness” (See attached picture). This photograph shows the misery and desperation of a child, sitting next to a grownup laying down on the grass. Both the grownup and the child’s limbs are covered with flies, and the child appears to be soaking its legs in a bed pan. It is uncertain whether the child is a boy or a girl, as the style of the child’s hair could suggest either. Additionally, the child is wearing what appears to be a girls shirt (flowing frock). However, given the era and the knowledge that many families of the time lacked the funds for new or gender appropriate clothing for all of their children, it is difficult to ascertain the gender of the pictured child.

The reason this photo stood out to me is because I am a father of two young girls. Having a soft spot for children, I was immediately saddened to see such a young child sitting on the dry grass with flies covering their body. To see the leg of the grownup covered in flies, and making no effort to try and swat them away, suggests that the people in this photo have given up hope completely. What’s more, the look of misery and discomfort on the child’s face made me want to help (even though this picture was taken well before I was born). I imagine that a photo such as this would be highly effective towards garnishing support from the American people for New Deal programs. To see such a small child being negatively affected by the depression would be a powerful image for any to want to send financial support. Also, this image would absolutely necessitate the need for government programs to try and get the parents of this child back to work. Being that many of the Americans who would have viewed this photo were likely parents themselves, this photograph would have resonated with them. Perhaps seeing this would have sparked a sense of fear that this situation could happen to them and their children if action by the government was not taken.

Other observations from this photo found that both the grownup and the child are outside. The grass, as mentioned before, appears to be dry and the bright sunlight in the picture suggests that it could be hot outside (warm enough for insects). Since the grownup is lying down in the grass, it is inferred that is where the two sleep, which also suggests a lack of housing. The water in the bedpan down not appear to be clean, so it may suggest that the child’s access to clean drinking water may not be prevalent. Overall, this photo conveys a message of total desperation and misery. If Lange was determined to show the American people the severity of the depression, she absolutely captured it with this image.