The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

388 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Causes and effects of westernization

The migrant situation of the 1930’s as depicted in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath was caused by many diverse factors. It started with an extremely dreadful drought, known as the Dust Bowl, which swept through the mid-west. The gluttonous landowners and the multitudes of fliers that they passed out made the situation even worse. To top off all of that the nation was going through a terrible depression. At this time the whole nation was changing as a whole. These few main factors led to one of the most widespread waves of migrant workers this country has ever seen.

All of these problems began when the horrific drought called the Dust Bowl tore through the mid-west. Nearly all of the crops perished. The farmers were then forced off of the land they were raised on because the owners of the land couldn’t make any money off of it anymore. Without food to feed their families or money to buy food they were starving. The only answer they could find was the fliers that advertised work in the west.

The leading cause of the migrant situation was the flood of fliers pouring in from California. The western landowners passed out more fliers than they needed jobs to be filled. When the workers arrived they had to work for little pay. They had no choice because there were many other people willing to work for less. When all of the work was done the local police and landowners would kick the migrants out of town. Thus, keeping the cycle going.

Finally, at this time the whole nation was in a progressively changing. Everyone from the truck driver to the waitress in the restaurant was involved in the change. Everyone was moving from only worrying about himself or herself to worrying about the whole. They realized that they had to band together and help each other out to survive.

Show More
Related

  • Viva La Causa Summary

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the strike for higher wages began, migrant workers worked in very horrible conditions. Men, women, and children would work on these farms for only a dollar an hour. The

    Read More

  • What Caused The Dust Bowl?

    2377 Words  | 5 Pages

    One of America’s most beloved books is John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. The book portrays a family, the Joads, who leave Oklahoma and move to California in search of a more prosperous life. Steinbeck’s book garnered acclaim both from critics and from the American public. The story struck a chord with the American people because Steinbeck truly captured the angst and heartbreak of those directly impacted by the Dust Bowl disaster. To truly comprehend the havoc the Dust Bowl wreaked, one must first understand how and why the Dust Bowl took place and who it affected the most. The Dust Bowl was the result of a conglomeration of weather, falling crop prices, and government policies.

    Read More

  • The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is considered a classic novel by many in the literary field. The trials and tribulations of the Joad family and other migrants is told throughout this novel. In order to gain a perspective into the lives of "Oakies", Steinbeck uses themes and language of the troubling times of the Great Depression. Some of these aspects are critiqued because of their vulgarity and adult nature. In some places, The Grapes of Wrath has been edited or banned. These challenges undermine Steinbeck's attempts to add reality to the novel and are unjustified.

    Read More

  • Causes And Effects Of The Dust Bowl

    1383 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Dust Bowl had ruined any chance of farmers in those regions being able to farm, because of that they were forced to relocate to be able to survive. This created what is known as the Dust Bowl Migration. During the 1930’s and 1940’s these people decided to travel west to California in search of work. However, they did not receive the welcoming they might have

    Read More

  • The Dust Bowl in John Steinbeck´s The Grapes of Wrath

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Steinbeck’s acclaimed novel, The Grapes of Wrath, embodies his generation’s horrific tragedy. John Steinbeck’s writing gives insight on the devastating effects of the Dust Bowl on thousands of families and those who helped them. While Steinbeck's novel focuses on the Joad's family journey, he also includes writing of the general struggle of many families at the time. In John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the usage of the term “Okies” degrades the workers, while the personification of the cars help depict the struggle of the journey, to exemplify the adaptation the migrant workers had to make to survive the new life.

    Read More

  • The Grapes of Warath by John Steinbeck

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    Would you ever do anything honorably to protect those you love? Well, a man in John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath did just that. The book is about a man and his two kids decide to go to California during the Dust Bowl. The man tries to buy 10 cents worth of bread though Mae, the waitress refuses to sell him the bread due to it costing 15 cents instead of 10. Since he is on a tight budget, he uses his insistent and inflexible humility to change her behavior towards him.

    Read More

  • John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    The stories, novels, films and photographs surrounding the Dust Bowl crisis and the Vietnam War have been marred with various issues about historical reconstructions. Whereas historical critics have raised questions about the real cause of migration of south westerners during the Dust Bowl crisis, their representatives have given conflicting accounts on the events surrounding the Odyssey. Steinbeck, in his book, The Grapes of Wrath, explains that the migration of farmers from Oklahoma was caused by the harsh drought that followed the Dust Bowl Odyssey (Davidson & Lytle, 2009a). On the other hand, critics argue that the findings are not based on statistics. According to historians, novelists like Steinbeck normally base their historical stories on exaggeration and should rely on facts and statistics. For example, the number of farmers who migrated into California is exaggerated. When James Gregory, a current historian, went through the Census Bureau statistics, he found out that only 43% of people living in Oklahoma were farmers during the Dust Bowl crisis. According to historical critics, other causes for the migration might have been the agricultural reorganization and mechanization, as portrayed by a tractor in The Grapes of Wrath.

    Read More

  • Industrialization During The Gilded Age Essay

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    Economically, industries in America erupted with new opportunities for individuals to thrive, however, leaving many farmers and workers in the dust. At this time, cheap labor was in high demand and those willing to accept it were mostly composed of immigrants. Furthermore,

    Read More

  • The Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck: The Strength Of Unity

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Strength of Unity A sense of community was a necessity for many Americans during the era of the Great Depression. With the drought in the Dust Bowl and other catastrophes, many were forced to relocate elsewhere in attempt to survive. The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, illustrates the importance of unity during privation through the idea that members of society must work in unison to achieve a common goal. Steinbeck demonstrates this theme through multiple aspects in the book.

    Read More

  • The Amazing John Steinbeck

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Ernest Steinbeck Jr. was born February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. (The Biography Channel) His family was never wealthy, but they were middle-class, and his father John Ernest Steinbeck had several jobs to keep food on the table, and his mother Olive Hamilton was a school teacher. He was the third child of four children, and all of his siblings were girls. His father owned a feed-and-grain store, managed a flour shop, and was Monterrey County treasurer. (The Biography Channel) His father was a mason and his mother was a member of Eastern Star. (ANB) John Steinbeck sr. and Olive Hamilton were immigrants and were very rooted into the community; they established their identities this way. His parents believed it was good to expose their children to culture when they were little. They went to the theater often in San Francisco. His parents also had a variety of literature in the house for the children to read. Steinbeck’s biggest influence in his career was when he had been given a copy of Malory’s Morte d’Arthur at the age of nine. (Stephan) His mother and John Steinbeck's family lived in the "fertile agricultural valley,” and with that he formed an appreciation early for the Salinas Valley land, which he used in most of his later novels. (Wyatt) As a kid Steinbeck was shy and quite, but very smart. At the age of fifteen Steinbeck was "encouraged by his freshman English teacher to write," (ANB) and from then he knew he wanted to become a writer. He would often lock himself away in his bedroom and write. After high school he worked as a laborer in a sugar factory in Salinas, California, a laborer in mills, and a ranch hand. (Stephan)

    Read More

  • Intercalary Themes In 'The Grapes Of Wrath'

    354 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck uses intercalary chapters to provide background for the various themes of the novel, as well to set the tone of the novel".

    Read More

  • Race And Race In The Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    Incomprehensibly, The Grapes of Wrath is both a praiseworthy radical investigation of the abuse of horticultural workers and the climaxes in the thirties of a verifiably racist focusing on whites as victimized people. The novel barely specifies the Mexican and Filipino migrant workers who commanded the California fields and plantations into the late thirties, rather intimating that Anglo-Saxo...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Family In The Grapes Of Wrath

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    “A mother knows what her child has gone through, even if she didn’t see it herself” Pramoedya Ananta Toer. The relationship between a mother and her child is said to be the strongest bond that two people can have. I asked my mother what it was like to give birth to another human being and she said that “Having the opportunity and privilege to bring another human into this world is the highest honor and gift a person can do” Michele Dieterich. In the book,The Grapes of Wrath, Ma Joad acts as the maternal character throughout the book and relates to the theme of families stick together.

    Read More

  • Essay On Migrant Workers

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    This was especially true for every worker that worked on any farm. With there being so many migrants looking for work it resulted in low pay for everyone(Migrant Workers of..). Any job they had did, they were getting paid at starvation wages(National Farm Worker Ministry). Their earnings often ranged from seventy-five cents to $1.25 a day(The Great Depression). For that reason, migrants were the lowest paid workers in the country(Mapes, Kathy). Even if a family had every member in it working, they still weren’t making

    Read More

  • The Rice Bowl

    2171 Words  | 5 Pages

    Some moved to the San Joaquin Valley seeking employment as fruit pickers and farm hands. Work was scarce and the farms would exploit children with low wages instead hiring adults. Unlike seasonal workers who moved after harvest, the new crowd remained instead of migrating. They came to this region destitute and because they could not make decent wages, they lived in squalor, in tents, in shantytowns, and anywhere they could rest their weary bones. Out of this misery came John Ste...

    Read More

More about The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Open Document