Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck's Novel, "The Essay

Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck's novel, "The Grapes of Wrath," described the economic divide that existed in America during the Great Depression of the 1930's and the tragedies that occurred as a result. A native Californian, Steinbeck used his home state as the backdrop for a story of a family of migrant farm workers; derisively called "Okies" for their area of origin: Oklahoma. Devastated by a natural disaster commonly referred to as the "Dust Bowl," in the 1930's Oklahoma faced the worst drought in recent history and it's economy was all but destroyed. Like the protagonists in the story, hundreds of thousands of real families who faced eviction and ruin were forced to gather up their meager possessions and head off to somewhere else; hoping to find a better life. Many of these people traveled to California where rumors promised paradise and work, but unfortunately those who made the arduous journey found only more hardship and an unfair economic system that kept them in squalor. The troubles Steinbeck's fictional family faced, although originally brought on by a natural catastrophe, seem to be made worse as a result of the callousness of the wealthy toward them. The story was a criticism of a system of economics that allowed a few wealthy landowners to take advantage of scores of helpless, yet moral, people. It also described the uncertainty faced by those who made the long trip to California with nothing but the hope of a better future pushing them on. In addition, Steinbeck took great effort to described to the nation the horrendous suffering of millions of people and the sub-human conditions they were forced to endure as well as the indefatigable spirit of the common man who, even though faced with insurmountable suffering and abandonment by society, still carried on and as best they could. But the underlying theme of the entire story is the belief that society must be a place, not of competition between it's members, but where humans organize themselves in a manner to provide a decent life for everyone.

Growing up in California, John Steinbeck was fully aware of the relatively small group of wealthy landowners who, after stealing the land from the original Mexican owners, transformed the state into an agricultural paradise. Troubled by the unfairness of the system these wealthy landowners put in place, which was made worse by the Great Depression, Steinbeck wanted to expose the tremendous suffering of the migrant workers. As a writer for a local newspaper, Steinbeck had reported on the influx of immigrant farm workers and their lack of success at finding work; and as a result was well aware of the growing calamity that was being created. He wanted to expose this disaster to the entire nation and decided to use his talents to write about it. In researching this novel Steinbeck toured many migrant labor camps and personally witnessed the horrendous misery of migrant families. Both camps set up by the government, and "Hoovervilles," those which spontaneously formed, were the site of filth, hunger, and death and were vividly described by Steinbeck. This was detailed in the story when the Joads first arrived in California and were astonished to discover that it was not a nice place to live; while the landscape may have been nice, they found that migrants were not entitled to any of it. (Steinbeck 139)

Steinbeck's experiences touring these camps were put down in words as the tale of Tom Joad, who upon his release from prison found his family the victims of an economic disaster. Their farm had been repossessed by the bank, the family had been evicted from their farm, and were facing uncertain times. (Steinbeck 31-32) "Uncertainty" seemed to be a major theme that Steinbeck wanted to portray to the reader, the uncertainty of how a family could survive in a world where the normal routine of their life had been destroyed. This theme was exemplified in the seeming loss of faith experienced by the Jim Casy who, in the midst of the tremendous suffering he witnessed, left his flock and, like Jesus, went into the wilderness to seek guidance from the Lord. However, after much consideration, Casy came to the conclusion that he was completely ignorant of the concept of "holiness," and no longer felt that he could recognize it in the world. (Steinbeck 55) Casy lost the certainty of a man with faith, the certainty of daily routines and the certainty that the future would be better.Because of the radical change in lifestyle experienced by the victims of the "Oklahoma Dust Bowl," uncertainty became the situation in which the Joad family was forced to live with on a daily basis. Although they had faith that leaving Oklahoma for the promise of a better life in California would be successful, they had no idea of the hardships they would be forced to endure.

As it turned out for the family, California was no paradise and Tom and his family found themselves at the mercy of a system that exploited workers and maintained wealthy landowners; a system that was a manifestation of the theme of class struggle. Steinbeck's greatest arguments against this system that divided the people into those with great wealth and those who were poor and exploited were his vivid descriptions of the conditions faced by the migrant workers. Having visited many camps, Steinbeck was able to accurately describe the horrors faced by migrant workers to the rest of the American public. But it was his depiction of the social divide that existed between those who were well off and those who were poor was the most haunting and possibly the most controversial. "Okies" were thought of as "invaders" by the local Californians who claimed that they were dirty, brought diseases, and wanted to restrict them from sending their children to the local pubic schools. (Steinbeck 291) Portrayals like these as well as the personable characters made a connection with the reader so that they could sympathize with the poor migrant workers against the wealthy and selfish native Californians.

Even in the face of an unfair system, corrupt law officers, and daily starvation the spirit of the common people, their ability to continue to move forward and not simply give up on life was best symbolized by the struggle for labor rights. Jim Casy was an example of this kind of indomitable spirit and after loosing his faith as a preacher, he regained his faith in humanity by leading the struggle to organize the workers into a union. But fighting for the dignity of humanity proved be a costly enterprise when Casy was killed for trying. (Steinbeck 265) The death of Jim Casy was one of a number of tragic events that Steinbeck portrayed in his novel, beginning with the death of the family dog and continuing through the death of family members, the suffering of migrant workers, and eventually the death of Rose of Sharon's, stillborn child. But these tragic events did not mark the death of the family or their attempt to carry on in the face of adversity, instead they simply are endured. Even after witnessing the death of Jim Casy, and being a wanted fugitive himself, Tom Joad decided to carry on Casy's work and organize the migrants into a union. (Steinbeck 288) And when his mother reminded him that it was a thankless and dangerous job, Tom just laughed and joked about it. But this undefeatable spirit of the common man may be best exemplified at the end of the story when Rose of Sharon suffered the stillborn death of her child. After the tragic event she was still able to go forward and aid a stranger by nursing him with the milk intended for her dead child. (Steinbeck 313)

Finally, Steinbeck's descriptions of the various migrant camps had a duel effect on the American public, they not only exposed the terrible suffering endured by their fellow citizens, but they also demonstrated that society must become a place where man cares for his fellow man. For example, when the Joads arrive the Weedpatch camp Tom was astonished to discover that the camp was organized and operated by those who lived there. (Steinbeck 195) There was no outside interference, just the "central committee" and cops elected from within the camp. The campers themselves made the rules and lived by them in peace. The world may have forgotten them, but they could still take care of themselves and continue living. Many believe that this description revealed Steinbeck's underlying theme that society should be a place where individuals care for each other, rather than a place of competition. Competition among individuals led to the one-sided system that allowed Americans to be left to starve to death in the midst of an agricultural paradise. But the Weedpatch camp was a place where those forgotten by society built a new one where each person cared about the others and worked to provide.....