Oppression In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck effectively uses the rhetorical strategy of pathos to illuminate the dehumanization of migrant workers during the Great Depression. His story revolves around the Joad family, as they travel from Oklahoma to California in search of work. Steinbeck appeals to the reader’s empathy

Steinbeck exploits a disturbing and melancholy tone in The Grapes of Wrath in order to describe the desolation and destitution of California, once the Joad family arrives. A majority of the novel supports Steinbeck’s disturbing tone, especially with the novel set during the Great Depression; moreover, the setting of the novel proves parallel with Steinbeck’s disturbing tone. Many families traveled to California in attempts to begin a better life; however, many of the migrants discovered that California’s lifestyle did not meet any of the expectation many of the families had. The poverty, low wages, and unemployment that the Okies faced in California proved disappointing, and Steinbeck continually illustrates the struggles the Okies face to

In 2008, Rudra Sabaratnam, the CEO of the City of Angels Medical Center, committed health care fraud when he attempted to extort money from Medicare and Medi-Cal. He was wealthy, yet, his greed for more money led him to cheat the taxpayer-funded healthcare programs of millions of dollars, depriving the people who actually need the help and money. The greed that Sabaratnam had was partly caused by the profit seeking capitalist system. The desire for wealth in capitalist society leads to corruption and causes a divide between the rich and the poor, so perhaps a system that supports equality and fairness is a better choice. The Eastern-European expression,“Capitalism is man exploiting man; communism is just the opposite,” summarizes one of

One’s status states evidently played a significant role in the book. For example, when Jed and Sol were caught due to public indecency, they were not arrested. When the cop became conscious of Jed’s last name, and the family he belonged to, the cop saluted Jed and even offered to escort him (and Sol) home. In term of not having to pay the consequences of their actions, the same transpired at the end of the book, when they were able to get away with the murder of Colonel Grier. Due to their parents’ they any traces that would expose their involvement in the accident were taken care of. The people their parents compared to take their place were of a lower status, and people who did not have the powered to fight for their innocence.

    Steinbeck's political views are quite evident within The Grapes of Wrath. The subject of much controversy, The Grapes of Wrath serves as a social protest and commentary. Steinbeck's views as expressed through the novel tie directly into the Marxist ideals on communism.

The 1930’s era was an incredibly tumultuous time for the United States. The stock market crash of 1929 and the Dust Bowl exacerbated the already high tensions between the rich and the poor. These tensions were also present and becoming a growing problem within the justice system of this era. As the country plunged into the depths of the Depression, the poor treatment of men and women imprisoned within the country’s jails deteriorated as well. The Dust Bowl along with the economic conditions the country, at the time led to the disparate treatment of prisoners at this time. Prejudices against certain groups of people during this time were very strong. This prejudice was demonstrated in John Steinbeck’s, The Grapes of Wrath, especially

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 the farms outside his native Salinas and also visited the squatter camps near Bakersfield (Lisca 12-14). These visits to the squatter camps led to his creation of the Weedpatch camp in "Grapes of Wrath".

Similar to a cactus’ bloom in the heat of the desert, through adversity humanity prospers and processes. Society, as a whole, has experienced, at least once, hardships in their lifetime, and through these trying situations people acquire compassion. Being familiar with challenges, people more readily accepts the distress of others and offer required assistance during times of difficulty. Although adversity is seen as the creator of contempt and hatred because of its negative effects on mentality, adversity fosters compassion through the creation of empathy, morality, and association in a person with others in a calamity.

As a major literary figure since the 1930s, Steinbeck displays in his writing a characteristic respect for the poor and oppressed. In many of his novels, his characters show signs of a quiet dignity and courage for which Steinbeck has a great admiration. For instance, in The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck describes the unrelenting struggle of the people who depend on the soil for their livelihood. One element helping give this novel an added touch of harmony is Steinbeck’s ability to bind these two ideas into one story: the never ending struggle to survive and primacy of the family.

Throughout the last three centuries, the United States of America has prospered on the ideals of liberty and justice for all. Although these ideas are expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Pledge of Allegiance, it has not been enforced in the states. The Pledge of Allegiance claims “liberty and justice for all” but the United States has not lived up to that claim. There are economic issues, sexism, and racism which makes the claim untrue. In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, this claim is solidified by these three elements. The government in this novel, along with modern culture has not lived up to the claim of “liberty and justice for all”.

Every individual fights the many battles of struggle and despair. However, that is what keeps humans thriving for life; the hope that they will make it through troubling times. This is no different in John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath. The Joad family, who are from a small farming area in Oklahoma, has to deal with the struggles of the dust bowl during The Great Depression. Even though there is struggle there is still hope. The hope the Joad and migrant families have is what keeps them pushing and thriving to survive.

Throughout American history, one thing remains constant: United States citizens discriminating against each other. In the 1930s, the rich California landowners acted as though they were racially superior to the incoming migrant workers, or as they were called, “Okies”. Today, we see the same type of behavior coming from our police officers. Shootings of black citizens by white police officers has become a major issue in our nation, and it has gone so far that NFL players kneel for the national anthem before games to draw attention to the issue and that violence has broken out in cities like Charlottesville, Virginia. President Trump has been forced to comment on the issue, which has only lead to more controversy, as he stated that he believes

At the mention of the name, "John Steinbeck," many associations can be made to the classic works produced by the man. However, he did not begin his life as a successful writer. Growing up in Salinas, California, Steinbeck lived the life of a common man, working to survive in the Land of Promise. He began to develop a taste for writing; however, he studied marine biology while he attended Stanford University. Without graduating with a degree, Steinbeck began working as a laborer and reporter for the American in New York City. After realizing that he was not meeting his goals, or at least coming close to them, Steinbeck moved back to California where he continued to work in various odd jobs while he pursuing his career as a professional

"There is only one way in which one can endure man's inhumanity towards man and that is to try, in ones own life, to exemplify man's humanity to man." Alon Palon said this in regard to humanity, and characters such as Louis Zamperini, the Joad family, and many of those who lived through the dust bowl experienced antipathy from others, but also exemplified benevolence to those in need.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,” by Martin Luther King Jr. In 1939, John Steinbeck wrote his story, The Grapes of Wrath. The Grapes of Wrath takes place during the Great Depression, and is a story about a family called the Joads who must leave their own home in Oklahoma to look for work in California, the promised land, because the bank had forced them off their land.Throughout the story, the Joads struggle to survive with the little food and money they have, stay together, and to find a well paying job. By the end of the story, half of the family has died or left, leaving the other half to fend for themselves for the harsh rainy season to come. Through the hardships of the Joads and others, John Steinbeck