The Humble Roots of the American Dream
The American Dream is traditionally recalled as a time of exponential growth in a booming economy, with instantaneous wealth yielding gaudy cars and grandiose houses. Despite this classic vision, the reality for the majority of its holders is rooted in far humbler beginnings. For many, the American Dream was an unattainable ideal that slipped through immigrant fingers, passed women by and left children to fend for themselves, but for the resolute, these defining moments have stood the test of time as photographs captured by Lewis W. Hine and Arthur Rothstein.
Captured by the American artist Lewis W. Hine in 1905 and later printed on gelatin silver print in 1939, Italian Family, Ellis Island depicts a family of four anxiously waiting their …show more content…
3). Like Hine, Rothstein was known for his provocative photojournalism, highlighting what he believed to be the most dismal injustices of his time. In this particular piece, Rothstein displays a pregnant mother and three children peering through the doorway of their Arkansas home, presumably enduring the suffering brought upon by the Great Depression. Similar to Italian Family, Ellis Island, Rothstein’s photograph denotes emotion through its candid expression and monochrome palette. The absence of a father figure can be explained by the title of the picture–sharecroppers often worked long hours for a miniscule paycheck while their wives stayed home to raise the children (Wife and children). Although the overall feeling of Wife and Children of a Sharecropper is a dismal one, the story behind the printed image is undoubtedly much less forlorn. The wife appears to be clothed in a dress typical of the time and the children seem to be well fed, and while not an ideal one, the husband has found
The American Dream is traditionally recalled as a time of exponential growth in a booming economy, with instantaneous wealth yielding gaudy cars and grandiose houses. Despite this classic vision, the reality for the majority of its holders is rooted in far humbler beginnings. For many, the American Dream was an unattainable ideal that slipped through immigrant fingers, passed women by and left children to fend for themselves, but for the resolute, these defining moments have stood the test of time as photographs captured by Lewis W. Hine and Arthur Rothstein.
Captured by the American artist Lewis W. Hine in 1905 and later printed on gelatin silver print in 1939, Italian Family, Ellis Island depicts a family of four anxiously waiting their …show more content…
3). Like Hine, Rothstein was known for his provocative photojournalism, highlighting what he believed to be the most dismal injustices of his time. In this particular piece, Rothstein displays a pregnant mother and three children peering through the doorway of their Arkansas home, presumably enduring the suffering brought upon by the Great Depression. Similar to Italian Family, Ellis Island, Rothstein’s photograph denotes emotion through its candid expression and monochrome palette. The absence of a father figure can be explained by the title of the picture–sharecroppers often worked long hours for a miniscule paycheck while their wives stayed home to raise the children (Wife and children). Although the overall feeling of Wife and Children of a Sharecropper is a dismal one, the story behind the printed image is undoubtedly much less forlorn. The wife appears to be clothed in a dress typical of the time and the children seem to be well fed, and while not an ideal one, the husband has found