“The Road West”: The Road of Hope by Samantha Mosley

“The Road West”: The Road of Hope, by Samantha Mosley

“The Road West”: The Road of Hope

In 1938 during the Great Depression, the image “The Road West” was taken by Dorothea Lange. In this photo, the West is a symbol of hope for the families suffering in the depression; unlike the East, which was at the root of the problems during the Great Depression. This is because when related to the American Dream, it is the vacant desert of infinite possibilities for a fresh start. The lack of color is important in keeping the tone serious, just as the times were. The long, continuous road is also a symbol of hope because of the everlasting potential that the West offers. Although this photo may seem very dark and solemn, the endless road represents the endless hope and optimism that the families needed in order to get through the hard times of the Great Depression because the vanishing point leads to the West, a symbol of the American Dream and the solution for the families.

The Great Depression was caused by the stock market crash of 1929. This had such a nationwide effect because this was the end of the decade known as the “Roaring Twenties” which were filled with extravagance and wealth. During the “Roaring Twenties,” everyone was just living the good life and enjoying everything in excess. So when the stock market fell through, families lost their way of life and had to make a drastic readjustment very quickly. This left the families with decisions as to where they were going to earn money to support them. This photo can be taken literally as an option for the families, that they can just pick up everything and move westward.

Dorothea Lange is very famous for her photographs from the 1930s. She accurately recorded the troubling times that most of America was encountering. She was able to capture the pain and suffering of the Great Depression as it was happening. This picture is titled “The Road West” and it positions the West as a sort of beacon of hope. The first thing that I visualized was the road as the light at the end of the tunnel. This analysis may seem odd at first, but when you think of poverty and suffering, a short and easy recovery is not expected. So the long road makes sense. This long road is leading to hope because the stock market crash occurred in New York, which is in the East and the epitome of city life. The opposite of this is the West, which is bare and new territory to those who have been living in the East and feeling the major effects of the crash. The West is the symbol of hope because it is a sort of fresh start as opposed to the East, which has been lived on since before America was it’s own nation. The West was a place for opportunity because it was great for farming and families were able to turn to that profession and enroll the help of their children.

One of the first things that I noticed about this photo is that it is in black and white. It set the tone for my view; knowing that it was taken during the Great Depression proved the tone to be serious. Now I am pretty sure that there were no colored photos during that time, but if there were, I am not so sure that this photo would be in color. This coloring shows the dismal attitude of this time period. The black and white contrast can also relate to the people from the time period. People were either really affected by the stock market crash or they were not so much. Obviously those who were not affected as much were the very wealthy. This relation is very black and white, either yes or no. Dark usually symbolizes bad and light symbolizes good, which is the case for this picture. The dark sides of the desert show that this relates to those that are dealing with the depression. The road is very light in comparison to the desert ground so it demonstrates the ground as hope and the people that are not affected by the depression.

The road leads into a vanishing point that leads you to believe that the road, as well as the desert, is never-ending. These two details are a sign of hope. Many families went west in the hopes to start over and get away from the city. The desert is just vastness of land. That land is just waiting to be settled on and new life to be started. The desert can be used to make new homes and new ways of life. This made me relate this time to when families first immigrated to the United States because of the American Dream. People’s views of the American Dream were that they were coming to a land of opportunity. When people started to immigrate to America, they came to start fresh. That is what many of the poor families wished to do during the Great Depression so they could survive. I relate this to the boundless road and desert because it shows all of the opportunity to start over fresh. This land looks like it has not been settled yet so it can be described as a blank slate. There can also be a view of endless possibilities for the future.

In contrast, this image can be analyzed in a more pessimistic manner. For someone who is more pessimistic in his or her viewing may look at the long road as a never-ending road to recovery; meaning that there will be no recovery. This analysis is understandable but the title emphasizes the idea that the West is a symbol of hope for the families. Another reason as to why this image can be viewed negatively is because it is in black and white and an empty desert. Those would normally seem very sad and depressing, but not for this image. The black and white effect was vital to keep the tone not sad or depressing, but serious. Another reason why this image can be seen as negative is that at the horizon, there is nothing out there. It looks like just nothing, that this road is just leading to nothing but emptiness and may seem that those who take this road are worse off than where they were before they left.

Also, the road and desert illustrate that the road to recovery is not a smooth one, in both the literal and metaphorical senses. If you look close enough, there are rocks on the road and all over the desert ground. The rocks will make the trip very rough and difficult. They represent the obstacles that the families will encounter as they leave to a new place. Every trip will have obstacles, no matter if someone moved by choice or if someone had to move in order to survive. This adds to the long trip that is ahead of the families, but the families are willing to go through it because of their hopefulness that they will get through these troubling times.

The lines of the road are very direct and just lead your eye straight to the center, reinforcing the endless road visual. Again, this contributes to the hope and optimism because it relates to the light at the end of the tunnel comparison. In the background, there is nothing except for wide-open space. The line of the horizon is also very straight. All of these straight lines are supporting the seriousness of this photo. If there were curvy lines instead, the photo would get a more whimsical or even quirky viewpoint. But this image is supposed to be related to the suffering of the families who are in search of hope.

All things considered, “The Road West” proved the optimism that was needed to get through the Great Depression. The long road that led to the West confirms the symbol of hope through the idea of the light at the end of the tunnel. The black and white nature and the straight lines keep the importance of these times evident. Therefore, this photo can be related to the hard times that our nation is currently undergoing, the “Great Recession.” America’s economy is in horrible shape and the optimism from this Great Depression can be inspiration for the optimism that is needed now. Times have changed since the Great Depression. There is no longer a concrete symbol or representation for the American Dream. The “Great Recession” will have to depend on the optimism of the people. With that said, obviously, this photo is not the best example as a symbol of hope and optimism for our current issues because the West has been lived on for many, many years now. So it is not typically thought of when thinking of fresh start. Yet, the idea is the same, the long road as the light at the end of the tunnel and the hope that these hard times will come to a close.

[Image of a lonely highway NOT SHOWN]

“The Road West”: The Road of Hope - assignment

ENC 1101 Paper 2

This paper will be a visual analysis essay. You can analyze the image of your choosing, with the only restriction being that it cannot be an advertisement. The paper should be 5-7 pages, and the image and any necessary short description (artist, year, etc.) will count as ½ page. Your essay will need to be organized around an argumentative thesis backed up with evidence from the image. You can use outside sources for issues of context if you like, but I don't want you consulting any sources that actually analyze the image in question. That work should be your own thoughts. You'll want to consider all of our visual analysis vocabulary as you begin (placement, color, gaze, lines, POV, etc.) though you need not address all those areas in your essay. Only cover the ones most applicable to your image and argument. You'll also want to think about the kind of argument the image is making, and whether or not it is effective. Is it logical? Pathetic? Ethical? Some combination of the three? How do you know?

“The Road West”: The Road of Hope - Draft 1

Visual Analysis

The image “The Road West” is a photograph taken by Dorothea Lange in 1938. The late 1930s were an especially rough time because of the stock market crash. That time was known as the Great Depression. This photo shows the optimism and the hope that the families had in order to get through these hard times.

The road leads into a vanishing point that leaves you to believe that the road is never ending. The desert also gives off the idea that it is never ending. These two details are a sign of hope. Many families went west in the hopes to start over and get away from the city. This made me relate this time to when families first immigrated to the United States because of the American Dream. When people started to immigrate to America, they came to start fresh. That is what many of the poor families wished to do during the Great Depression so they could survive. I relate this to the boundless road and desert because it shows all of the opportunity to start over fresh. This land looks like it has not been settled yet so it can be described as a blank slate. There can also be a view of endless possibilities for the future.

The lines of the road are very direct and just lead your eye straight to the center reinforcing the endless road visual. Again, this contributes to the hope and optimism of the photo. In the background there is nothing except for wide-open space. The line of the horizon is also very straight. All of these straight lines are supporting the seriousness of this photo. If there were curvy lines instead, the photo would get a more whimsical or even quirky viewpoint. But this image is supposed to be related to the suffering of the families who are in search of hope.

“The Road West”: The Road of Hope - Draft 2

“The Road West”

In 1938 during the Great Depression, the image “The Road West” was taken by Dorothea Lange. Although this photo may seem very dark and solemn, the endless road represents the endless hope and optimism that the families needed in order to get through the hard times of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was caused by the stock market crash of 1929. This had such a nationwide effect because this was the end of the decade known as the “Roaring Twenties” which were filled with extravagance and wealth. During the “Roaring Twenties,” everyone was just living the good life and enjoying everything in excess. So when the stock market fell through, families lost their way of life and had to make a drastic readjustment very quickly. This left the families with decisions as to where they were going to earn money to support them. This photo can be taken literally as an option for the families, that they can just pick up everything and move westward.

Dorothea Lange is very famous for her photographs from the 1930s. She accurately recorded the troubling times that most of America was encountering. She was able to capture the pain and suffering of the Great Depression as it was happening. This picture is titled “The Road West,” and it positions the west as a sort of beacon of hope. The first thing that I visualized was the road as the light at the end of the tunnel. This analysis may seem odd at first, but when you think of poverty and suffering, a short and easy recovery is not expected. So the long road makes sense. This long road is leading to hope because the stock market crash occurred in New York, which is in the east and the epitome of city life. The opposite of this is the West, which is bare and new territory to those who have been living in the East and feeling the major effects of the crash. The West is the symbol of hope because it is a sort of fresh start as opposed to the East, which has been lived on since before America was it’s own nation. The West was a place for opportunity because it was great for farming and families were able to turn to that profession and enroll the help of their children.

One of the first things that I noticed about this photo is that it is in black and white. It set the tone for my view; knowing that it was taken during the Great Depression, proved the tone to be serious. Now I am pretty sure that there were no colored photos during that time, but if there were, I am not so sure that this photo would be in color. This coloring shows the dismal attitude of this time period. The black and white contrast can also relate to the people from the time period. People were either really affected y the stock market crash or they were not so much. Obviously those who were not affected as much were the very wealthy. This relation is very black and white, either yes or no. Dark usually symbolizes bad and light symbolizes good, which is the case for this picture. The dark sides of the desert show that this relates to those that are dealing with the depression. The road is very light in comparison to the desert ground so it demonstrates the ground as hope and the people that are not affected by the depression.

The road leads into a vanishing point that leaves you to believe that the road is never-ending. The desert also gives off the idea that it is never-ending. These two details area sign of hope. Many families went west in the hopes to start over and get away from the city. This made me relate this time to when families first immigrated to the United States because of the American Dream. When people started to immigrate to America, they came to start fresh. That is what many of the poor families wished to do during the Great Depression so they could survive. I relate this to the boundless road and desert because it shows all of the opportunity to start fresh. This land looks like it has not been settled yet so it can be described as a blank slate. There can also be a view of endless possibilities for the future.

In contrast, this image can be analyzed in a more pessimistic manner. For someone who is more pessimistic in his or her viewing may look at the long road as a never-ending road to recovery; meaning that there will be no recovery. This analysis is understandable but the title emphasizes the idea that the West is a symbol of hope for the families. Another reason as to why image can be viewed negatively is because it is in black and white and an empty desert. Those would normally seem very sad and depressing, but not for this image. The black and white effect was vital to keep the tone not sad or depressing, but serious. Another reason why this image can be seen as negative is that at the horizon, there is nothing out there. It looks like just nothing. That this road is just leading to nothing but emptiness and may seem that those who take this road are worse off than where they were before they left.

Also, the road and desert illustrate that the road to recovery is not a smooth one, in the literal and metaphorical senses. If you look close enough, there are rocks on the road and all over the desert ground. The rocks will make the trip very rough and difficult. They represent the obstacles that the families will encounter as they leave to a new place. Every trip will have obstacles, no matter if someone moved by choice or if someone had to move in order to survive. This adds to the long trip that is ahead of the families, but the families are willing to go through it because of their hopefulness that they have.

The lines of the road are very direct and just lead your eye straight to the center, reinforcing the endless road visual. Again, this contributes to the hope and optimism because it relates to the light at the end of the tunnel comparison. In the background there is nothing except for wide-open space. The line of the horizon is also very straight. All of these straight lines are supporting the seriousness of this photo. If there were curvy lines instead, the photo would get a more whimsical or even quirky viewpoint. But this image is supposed to be related to the suffering of the families who are in search of hope.

Therefore, this photo can be related to the hard times that our nation is currently undergoing. America’s economy is in horrible shape and the optimism from this Great Depression can be inspiration for the optimism that is needed now. Obviously, this photo is not the best example as a symbol of hope and optimism that is needed now. Obviously, this photo is not the best example as a symbol of hope and optimism because the West has been lived on for many, many years now so it is not typically thought of when thinking of fresh start. But, the idea that is the same, the light at the en