The Marxist Theory In John Steinbeck's Grapes Of Wrath

A globally recognized presumption is the aspiration to further one’s economic status. Human nature demands that man fend for himself and achieving greater financial and material stability surely satiates that need. However, acting in a manner that opposes that primal instinct is an ability that differentiates between man and beast. The challenge to deny oneself that desire for personal gain in order to care for a brother is presented clearly within novel Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck as each individual or group is faced with the choice to allow wealth to rule their lives, or to hold fast to the beliefs, camaraderie, and harmony that defines decency in humans.

According to the Marxist theory, the wealth and power’s influence in the novel

Steinbach displays a clear distaste of this gross imbalance of power that existed between the wealthy and the average, everyday citizen that was impoverished by the Dust Bowl. The novel expresses dissatisfaction largely through the tyranny of the prominent banks and major landowners, both of whom are compared to monsters and largely credited for the disaster that befell the country.“A bank isn't like a man. Or an owner with fifty thousand acres, he isn't like a man either. That's the monster.” ( Steinbeck_______) In addition, the natural fluctuation of power is displayed as the rich rise in rank, eventually angering the down-trodden to the point of retaliation in search of the equilibrium of wealth and

Materialism in these instances may seem far more justified but results in dissociation from spirituality nonetheless. One of the farmers portrayed in the Grapes of Wrath falls prey to this “necessary materialism”, betraying his fellow farmers for limited monetary gain. "But for your three dollars a day fifteen or twenty families can't eat at all. Nearly a hundred people have to go out and wander on the roads for your three dollars a day. Is that right? And the driver said, Can't think of that. Got to think of my own kids.” (Steinbach 48) The basic belief system of the farmers was that loyalty to one another was the only way to overcome hardship. Part of the farmers’ culture was also to care for for others’ needs above one’s own. When the tractor driver abandoned the other farmers, he relinquished a part of his heritage and sacrificed a major part of the moral code he had previously held and shared with his people. Morals and heritage compose some of the major components of spirituality, thus the farmer rejected his spirituality in favor of