Italian Immigrants at Ellis Island
Photographs are some of the world’s most modern type of art. Anyone in today’s society can take a photo and post it online, but it requires an artist to tell a story within a photo. Lewis Hine is one such individual who relies on the medium to capture real-life moments of the past. This photograph is classified as documentary photography or social reform photography. It records how the world looks with a social and or environmental focus. Lewis Hine’s photograph, Italian Immigrants at Ellis Island, is an iconic image that captures an era in the Unites States, for his subjects represent the belief in the American
This image represents what is transpiring in the early 20th century of United States history. Italian immigrants were coming to America to pursue the freedoms they desired, like job opportunities. People were immigrating due to the poverty and wanting religious
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Hine makes sure the lighting highlights the family while blurring out the luggage in the background so you do not focus on what is unimportant. If the viewer looks closely at their faces of the immigrants the observer can see that they are scared and confused. by concentrating on the people, the viewer notices that they are not clean, which indicates their low social statuses. Therefore, meant they traveled to the United States in the lower bunks of the ship (“Liberty Ellis” para. 18.)
Lewis Hine’s Italian Immigrants at Ellis Island tells an emotional story of how everything was not easy coming to the United States. However, everyone had hope of starting over with their loved ones. This photo resonates with those who have dealt with immigration to the United States in the past, and it helped many others realize that they are no different than them. Despite all of the hardships many experienced, some of these people persevered because they believed in the American