Great Depression Picture

Dorothea Lange. Oklahoma migratory workers washing in a hot spring in the desert. Imperial Valley, California. March 1937. 

I think the photographer, Dorothea Lange, was trying to capture the reality of what the Great Depression caused people to do during desperate times. By reality, I mean that the Great Depression made people almost forget the new technologies and amenities that the 20th century had brought them. These people are bathing in a spring in the desert where they are working, and they may not have running water or a clean place to live because of unemployment and drought. This group of people moved to California from Oklahoma maybe because of the Dust Bowl and had no other choice. This is what some people in the USA faced during this time of financial crisis. It seems as if just when the standard of living was going up for many Americans earlier in the 20's, it all came crashing down during the 30's and things like showers and running water were not something that everyone was able to have anymore.