An Argument Against the Censorship of The Grapes of Wrath
Censorship as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is the system or practice of censoring books, movies, letters, etc. (“Censorship”). Former Supreme Court Justice, Louis D. Brandeis once said, “Fear of serious injury alone cannot justify oppression of free speech and assembly, Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears” (Louis D. Brandeis). The Grapes of Wrath, a story about a displaced family moving to California because of the Dust Bowl in hopes of finding a better life, has been a hot topic since it was published in 1939. Many people and organizations have attempted and succeeded to censor or ban the book.
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In addition, there was the accusations by Steinbeck in the novel that the farmers had falsely lured workers to the area in promise of a job, resulting in a beneficial surplus of migrants into the area and forcing labor costs down (Lingo), brought anger to many farmers and people that lived in California. In reality, Steinbeck did not want to whitewash the farmer part in the novel, he wanted them to take the blame for the poor conditions of the migrant farmers and their treatment (Varriano). Steinbeck felt that the farmers looked down on the migrant farmers, calling them “a peon class” (Lingo), whom they could degrade and were taking advantage of the displacement of the migrants. While farmers in the area insisted that there was a shortage of labor, evidence shows that there was a high surplus of worker (Lingo). With no doubt most were taken advantage by the farmers in the community. Since a majority were homeless, hungry, and with most having families to feed, they were eager to accept any wage (Lingo). This ensured that the farmer was able to pay the lowest possible wage to the migrant workers that they hired. Be that as it may, Steinbeck’s novel is still a work of fiction and there were only fictionalized conditions and characters. Both sides can concede that there were harsh conditions for the migrants, but for the farmers and the community, that accepted, although not warmly, so many
That is the way censorship is brought up in the book. Today, however, it affects more than just books. It is used in movies, TV, news, magazines, and the Internet. Words, obscenity, and some vulgar things can be kept from the viewing audience. They can keep certain people, those seventeen and younger from seeing movies, TV, or Internet sites. In the book one character makes a point of saying, “ignorance is fatal.”
One of the main themes of the novel Fahrenheit 451 is censorship. Censorship is n: the action of a censor esp. in stopping the transmission or publication of matter considered objectionable. That is, of course, according to the guys over at Merriam-Webster.
Directed by John Ford and based off of John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath (1940) stars Henry Fonda as Tom Joad who migrates to California with his family during the Great Depression.
Stereotyping, brought on by the existence of a class system, has many positive effects in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. This class system, made up of migrants and affluent people, is present due to the fact that many of the affluent people stereotype the migrants as poor, uneducated, and easily agitated human beings. Thus, this sets a boundary between the educated individuals and migrants. At first, most migrants ignore the effects stereotyping has on them. But towards the end of their journeys to California, the migrants’ rage that had been gradually building up inside lets out and the migrants take action. The effects are more positive as the migrants strive for an education, receive sympathy, and calmly deal with conflicts.
Ray Bradbury establishes the theme of self censorship in many ways. He uses books, to help convey the level of censorship. At one point in the story Beatty is explaining to Montag that “It didn’t come from the government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick.” The censorship in the story, wasn't from the government, the members of society censored themselves. They began an evolution, making censorship the focal point.
In this novel Steinbeck set forth with the intention of raising awareness to the general public of the difficulties and injustices these migrants faced during this period in time. It exposed the methods of the California farmer to use the migrants in order to lower their costs and make their profit margin higher. How they starved and cheated the poor, working man, in order to keep him desperate for food and too weak to protest. Above all, it showed everyone that these “damn Okies” were all simply men, women and children, no different from anyone else, just poorer. They were human beings with feelings and not the uncivilized beasts they were portrayed as at the time. Steinbeck portrays the “Okies” in a way no one before him had, and also managed to keep their story true to life. He did this by mainly using dialect, and wrote the “Okie” dialect just as it was spoken, breaking the lines of proper grammar and spelling. If he was concerned with such things it would have ruined the personality of the characters. His unique writing style to capture the atmosphere of these people and the era is evident in this excerpt from his book:
In Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family represents the thousands of migrant families who came to the west with the fantasy of obtaining a peaceful life after the Dust Bowl. Conversely they are faced with something resembling the epitome of human cruelty. Business owners and Californians do what they can to keep the Oklahoma families from breaching the invisible line that divides the privileged and the poor. This line, which only exists in the mind, causes people to loose their sense of humanity. The following quote describes the attitude of the wealthy: “And in the little towns pity for the sodden men changed to anger” (Steinbeck 434).
Books are banned for many reasons but more times than not it is because of the sensitive information found within the novel that agitates the reader. As long as people have been able to develop their own opinions, others have sought to prevent them from sharing. At some point in time, every idea has ultimately become objectionable to someone. The most frequently challenged and most visible targets of such objection are the very books found in classrooms and public libraries. These controversial novels teach lessons that sometimes can be very sensitive to some but there is much more to challenged books than a controversial topic. What lies within these pages is a wealth of knowledge, such as new perspectives for readers, twisting plots, and expressions that are found nowhere else. For example, To Kill A Mockingbird, contains references to rape, racial content, and profanity that have caused many to challenge the novel in the first place. The book was banned from countless
Censorship has been a big part of the world’s history and especially America’s history. One of the most quoted amendments to the United States constitution is the first amendment; “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...” This amendment guaranteeing free speech, press, and religion is still heavily debated and contested today. Censorship, as a challenge to free speech and press has been allowed many times and has been heavily debated itself. Many people censor for many different reasons and in many different forms. Censorship itself is not always a bad thing and has in some cases been used for protection of the general population.
The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) defines censorship as: “The removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational materials… of images, ideas, and information…on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in light of standards applied by the censor” (Miner 1998). In schools there are three types of censorship, one type is a “parent who doesn’t want their child to read a particular book. Another is a parent, teacher, administrator, or school board member who argues that no one in the class, or school should read the book in dispute. Lastly, there is censorship that involves someone who is part of an organized campaign, whether of a local or national group, and who goes in ready for a fight and wants to make a broader political point” (Miner 1998). Although there are many others ways that a piece of literature could get censored, most censored works are asked to be removed from classrooms and school libraries.
John Steinbeck does not portray migrant farm worker life accurately in Of Mice and Men. Housing, daily wages, and social interaction were very different in reality. This paper will demonstrate those differences by comparing the fictional work of Steinbeck to his non-fictional account of the time, The Harvest Gypsies.
Steinbeck's intercalary chapters in The Grapes of Wrath have nothing to do with the Joads or other characters of the novel, but help describe the story in different terms. They are similar to poems, offering different viewpoints of the migration, and clarifying parts of the story that the reader might not understand. An excellent example of this use can be seen in chapter 21, where an examination of the attitudes of migrant Okies and the residents of California reveals the changing nature of land ownership among the changing population of California and gives greater meaning to the fierce hostility that the Joads meet in California.
Censorship, as defined in the dictionary, is, in the case of a book, to take out things thought to be objectionable. Censorship is far more than that. This mere word prohibits us from all things
One of the most argued topics throughout history is the conflict of law versus morality. It is hoped that law and morality would work together hand in hand. Unfortunately, there are many instances where law is corrupted and subdues morality. Even in the modern age injustices caused by the law seems like a common occurrence. Literary figures like John Steinbeck and Mark Twain believed that it was important to remain devoted to one's morality, or find new morals when law is corrupted. Through Twain and Steinbeck's most influential works Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Grapes of Wrath clearly show the authors' view on the significance of morality. Examples in the novels include the depiction of suffering caused by the law, the idea of
John Steinbeck wrote the The Grapes of Wrath in 1939 to rouse its readers against those who were responsible for keeping the American people in poverty. The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of the Joad family, migrant farmers from Oklahoma traveling to California in search of an illusion of prosperity. The novel's strong stance stirred up much controversy, as it was often called Communist propaganda, and banned from schools due to its vulgar language. However, Steinbeck's novel is considered to be his greatest work. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and later became an Academy Award winning movie in 1940. The novel and the movie are both considered to be wonderful masterpieces, epitomizing the art of filmmaking and novel-writing.