A Theme in the Work of Two Authors, Arthur Miller and John Steinbeck: Work and its Relationship to Human Dignity and American Values

Arthur Miller and John Steinbeck were both great writers of their times and are renowned today as ingenious authors. Both of their works that have been considered masterpieces by both critics and readers nationwide, were written on the simple issues of work, its relationship to both human rights and dignity, and common American values. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman concerns one man’s warped view of the American dream and how he causes his family to suffer by forcing them to give into his delusions. Miller accuses the modern American Dream as being solely rooted in materialism that has distorted the personal truth and moral visions of the original American Dream expressed by the Founding Fathers. John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath tells in detail the struggle of one family as they are forced to leave their Oklahoma home and join the thousands who travel to the promised land of California in search of a job. The Grapes of Wrath provides sharp criticism to the agricultural and consumer systems that effected how the migrant workers were treated. These two novels were written in completely different time periods. However, they both highlight the importance of fortitude, leadership, and family dynamics. Steinbeck‘s view of work was that it was a means of physical survival and a spiritual necessity. The Joad family does whatever they can to survive, even if it means leaving home and going to an unknown part of the country. Miller believes work determines one’s social status and barely pays the bills for modern appliances in the consumer-driven world that the Lomans live in. The Lomans and Joads are similar b...

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...ays build character. Another common American value established in this book is loyalty. Tom Joad remains loyal to his family and helps them through many of their struggles. Jim Casy continues to be devoted to the Joad family as they make their journey across the country to California. He even gives his life for those that he is organizing into unions. This is a sacrifice similar to that of Jesus Christ, with whom he shares initials with. A shift in social structure occurs among the migrant workers. They realize that they share the same burdens and dreams and unite. When they set up camps together, they support each other and try to share their supplies. “In the evening a strange thing happened: the twenty families became on family, the children were the children of all. The loss of home became one loss, and the golden time in the West became one dream.” (pg 193)