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The grapes of wrath john steinbeck rhetorical essay
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The grapes of wrath john steinbeck rhetorical essay
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Day in and day out we observe certain problematic behavior. Although we may not always confront these behaviors, subconsciously, we decide whether or not they are right. Individuals must not be bystanders to injustice. We must offer solutions to the problems thrown at us. Using our sense of right versus wrong we must stand up and fight against injustice, or it will never end.
By taking a stand against wrongdoings when we see them, it creates a storm of opportunity for others to join. Taking value in our morals and our conscience's decision of right versus wrong we become strong organizations against corruption. Henry David Thoreau in the second part of his essay “Civil Disobedience” asks us whether or not we should be content to obey unjust laws, or “endeavor to amend them” (Thoreau 5). We, as humans, do not “rest satisfied knowing that [we] are cheated” (Thoreau 4), and we should not. We need to fight for what we believe in whether or not we are part of the majority. As Stephanie Ericsson quotes in her essay “The Ways We Lie”, “You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything” (Ericsson 6). Even if being a part of the minority doesn't put a dent in the injustice, it will at least open the eyes of people who would never have realized they were being cheated. By identifying wrongdoings in our world we remain active in our duties as humans.
In some cases, like in the cases of the migrant farmers of John Steinbeck's book “The Grapes of Wrath”, there truly is no eliminating injustice. As hard as the people attempt to stand up for themselves they cannot escape the wrath of banks, technology, or native Californians. The people cannot even catch a break at the car dealership where dealers jack up the price of cars by pu...
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...d this man would still be dishonest to his customers. He fixed the leak in a few days, and hopefully learned a lesson – don't con your customers.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and injustice will not be defeated in one day either. We must persevere through corruption, and mistreatment to guide our fellow man towards justice. On the path of fighting injustice we may be defeated, but opening eyes to the corruption we face is well worth it. Our moral values will guide us through the path of unjustness. The monster that is injustice stands little chance against the swords of equity.
Works Cited
Ericsson, Stephanie. “The Ways We Lie.” 50 Essays. Ed. Samuel Cohen. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2004. Print.
Thoreau, Henry David."Civil Disobedience". New York: Signet Classics, 1980. Print.
Steinbeck, John. “The Grapes of Wrath.” New York: Penguin Books, 1976. Print.
In The Ways We Lie, Stephanie Ericsson expresses the inevitability of lying and the way it is casually incorporated into our everyday lives. She personally brings light to all the forms of lying and some that are often not recognized as a lie. Ericsson questions the reasons and validity behind lies by highlighting the effects and consequences.
Shulevitz, Judith. The Liberation of Lying: What Wolff gets and the frauds don’t. 2008. Retrieved from
A Critique of “The Truth about Lying: Has Lying Gotten a Bad Rap” by Allison Kornet
How does California seem to modern America? Violent. Crowded. Filled with bad people. People who live in cities and have lost touch with the earth. These people are portrayed in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath as Californians. Yet, people from the Midwest flocked to California seeking prosperity and opportunity. Their land had been taken by the banks and turned into cotton fields. They were left homeless and desperate. These people sought to work in the fields where they could eat a peach or sit under a tree to relax.
Not all rules are always agreed on by every individual. Oftentimes people tend to keep to themselves about their differentiating views, but others fight for what they believe in. In order to make any type of progress for a specific cause, effort and determination needs to be put into a person’s every attempt towards a positive development. Individuals who rebel against an authoritarian society are often faced with the challenges to fight for what they believe in in order to make a change.
Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur, a Frenchman living in America, wrote many letters to Europeans telling them of the great opportunities for immigrants to America and its generous, welcoming, paternal government. However, a study of the farm workers ' experiences in America does not always paint a rosy picture. In particular, John Steinbeck and Cesar Chavez portrayed the dire circumstances of farm workers during the Great Depression (1930 's) and the 1960 's. Today my interview with a farm worker shows that farm workers today still face injustices.
Both Stephanie Ericsson’s essay “The Way We Lie” and William F. Buckley, Jr.’s essay “Why Don’t We Complain” analyze different ways people use lies to help and hurt themselves in their daily lives and how lies influence American culture. Through personal experience and examples Ericsson showed the way people lie to get what they want or to look more lovely. She showed that it is almost impossible to eliminate lies from people’s lives, how American culture has adopted many lies, and how so much is based on simple, "harmless" lies. In Buckley’s essay, he is uncomfortable that in some situations people do not complain. They could use their complaints to make some change. When people are used to keeping silent avoid problems or waiting someone else to solve the problem.
Throughout history, social and economic affairs have separated people into the rich and poor, with those in authoritative roles struggling to defend their position. Those in power have often taken advantage of those under them. In Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, severe droughts led to massive agricultural collapse in Oklahoma. The Joads were forced to leave their home in search of employment opportunities in California. Migrants often faced prejudice and aggression from the Californians. Landowners, taking advantage of the migrants desperate need for work, often treated them poorly, paying them wages too low to live on and containing them within dirty camps. Workers suffering was not only evoked the failing land, but by human heartlessness towards one another. Large banks and businesses ignored the fact that “… a majority of the people are hungry and cold…” (Steinbeck 238) Large corporations were only concerned with their own financial prospects and not the well being of the people. In Miller’s Deat...
The debate between silently obeying the law and loudly resisting in the face of injustice is one that has existed since the birth of this country. Those who resist see the obedient citizens as ignorant of what goes on around them. On the other hand, those that are obedient see resistors as radicals. I believe that resistance, whether it be peaceful or violent, is justified. In this paper, I will refer to works by Frederick Douglass, Stephanie Camp, and Deborah Gray White to show that resistance is important to challenge injustices, whether it be slavery in the 1800s or inaction against racism at colleges in 2015.
Later in life, Steinbeck wrote a book called “In Dubious Battle”, which made him known as sympathetic to the labor conditions in California. Because of this, Steinbeck accepted assignments to write articles about the migrants working in California. Steinbeck had been aware of the labor problems in his state of California, but for these articles he wanted to experience it firsthand. For inspiration for his articles, and also what would turn out to be the inspiration for “Grapes of Wrath”, he visited t...
Civil disobedience, is often the last step that people take to bring attention to a topic or subject that they feel strongly about. Every day is full of unjust rulings that may not be to everyone’s liking. Many people fight for what they believe in even if the outcome is bleak. You are your own self and you will always have your opinion that may not match all other citizen’s. Civil disobedience has escalated to a majority of non- violent protesting, although there are some cases including violence. It is a form of rebelling against what they feel is unfair or unconstitutional. Showing civil disobedience is an act that you must be willing to accept the legal consequences, which may include incarceration.
Justice is often misconceived as injustice, and thus some essential matters that require more legal attentions than the others are neglected; ergo, some individuals aim to change that. The principles of civil disobedience, which are advocated in both “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. to the society, is present up to this time in the U.S. for that purpose.
Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is a realistic novel that mimics life and offers social commentary too. It offers many windows on real life in midwest America in the 1930s. But it also offers a powerful social commentary, directly in the intercalary chapters and indirectly in the places and people it portrays. Typical of very many, the Joads are driven off the land by far away banks and set out on a journey to California to find a better life. However the journey breaks up the family, their dreams are not realized and their fortunes disappear. What promised to be the land of milk and honey turns to sour grapes. The hopes and dreams of a generation turned to wrath. Steinbeck opens up this catastrophe for public scrutiny.
Last but not least, injustice does not provide the most good for the most number of people. Just acts spawn other just acts just like unjust acts spawn other unjust acts. If everyone behaved unjustly, mankind would return to a state of nature (everyone is for themselves) which would be very unprofitable for the unjust individual due to a decreased likelihood of survival. An action is clearly unprofitable for the unjust individual if it would eventually create a hostile environment for him. Hence, one should set an example for others by living a just life which would create a better environment for him as well as for others.
The most effective way to achieve something in our world also happens to be the most difficult to do. The two most effective methods of achieving something is taking or winning. Taking a stand is the most courageous act a person can do because often times they are going against the common belief of the people around them. All great leaders have one thing in common and that is that they are brave enough to take a stand. Taking a stand is more important and has a bigger effect on the world than winning does.