Final answer:
The essay portrays the hardship of migrant workers in Florida during the Great Depression, exemplified by Florence Thompson's family. The photograph 'Migrant Mother' serves as an emblematic call for government aid. Migrant workers faced exploitation and displacement, highlighting the devastating reach of the era's economic crisis.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Plight of Migrant Workers in Florida During the Great Depression
As the nation grapples with the Great Depression, Florida's migrant workers face tribulations insurmountable for the faint of heart. Fields that once promised a modest living now offer nothing but despair. Florence Thompson, a mother of seven, encapsulates the nation's struggle. Their story is one of thousands, tentative hopes dashed by a freezing rain that destroyed the pea crop they had hoped to harvest. Photographer Dorothea Lange captured the family's plight, her photograph, 'Migrant Mother', standing as a stark reminder of these harsh times alongside literary works such as Steinbeck's 'Grapes of Wrath'. The image that became a push for government aid and reform—to alleviate the hardships that so many Americans were enduring.
Moreover, migrant workers, many of whom fled the devastating Dust Bowl, found little respite in Florida's fields. They were maligned and exploited, their desperate need for work turning them into pawns in a market flooded with displaced laborers. The very fabric of rural communities across America is fraying as prices plummet and farms are lost to foreclosure, a testament to the depth of the Great Depression's impact.