Okie

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

In American Exodus, James N. Gregory presents the struggles and misconceptions of the Okie migrant, their defiance to cultural oppression and the change they brought. To analyze the brunt force of the Dust Bowl and the Depression of the Great Plain region; he traces the movement from route 66, evaluates the reception in California, and shows how the migrants both accommodated and left from the culture of the Golden State. Throughout the book, he dismisses many of the stereotypes created by John Steinbeck’s

Migrant families were subject to being alienated and called names. The first time Tom hears the term Okie he asks someone what it means, and he learns that, "Okie use' ta mean you was from Oklahoma. Now it means you're a dirty son-of-a-bitch. Okie means you're scum" (Page chapter 18). This quote shows the hatred Californians had for the migrant families who were looking for a new start. "Okie" became a derogatory term used by Californians who feared that the people migrating from the Midwest would

We as Americans have seen our share of violence whether it is first hand, through the media, or in history books. We have seen the pain and struggle that these people must go through in order to survive. This novel, The Grapes of Wrath, relates to some of the many times of violence and cruelty that this America has seen. During the Dust Bowl, hundreds of thousands of southerners faced many hardships, which is the basis of the novel called The Grapes of Wrath. It was written to portray the harsh

According to Oklahoma Historical Society, an “Okie” is an Oklahoma individual who migrated due to work. This term started being used in a derogatory way in the 1930’s towards agriculture workers when they were not welcomed into other states as they tried to escape severe dust storms. This term becomes relevant to Sonora Babb’s novel, Whose Names Are Unknown, due to the fact that the characters would be considered as “Okies”. Throughout the essay, I will be discussing Professor Bruce Ander’s main

Okies were quite numerous. First, the issue of race created large problems; most people in California were not particularly fond of immigrants from foreign lands, people who could not even speak their English. The locals were also displeased with the Okie “squatter camps” that were springing up all around, although race riots were not as big an issue in these places. Another difference was demographics. Most Asian and Mexican laborers were young single males; these men would form into groups of six

Empathy is vital to trust- but what if that understanding is absent, or if sympathy is not given as needed? Such is the case of The Grapes of Wrath, where class differences rule over a turbulent and aggressive rivalry. The novel follows the struggling lower class, oppressed by the corrupt upper class, who cannot understand their hardships. This lack of understanding and willingness to sympathize with the lower class boosts tensions and further emphasizes differences between the classes, leading to

Anyways, the Okie Migration was the largest migration of people in the United States (www.history.com). Around 2.5 million people went on the Okie Migration, with roughly 440,000 of them being from Oklahoma (www.history.com). The Okie Migration is widely known around the United States due to the classic story of Okie migrants in San Joaquin Valley (www.okhistory.org). Furthermore, the migration also showed how many Americans survived and overcame one of the hardest times in United States history

Pecunia Præstat Hominibus A United Kingdoms survey found that child-parent relationships are breaking down as parents put work before their children, especially in middle class families (Ross). This statistic can explain many of the darker portions of our culture, from the lack of complete families to the increase of drug abuse. Yet one may wonder how this is in any way connected to the novel, The Grapes of Wrath. However, both the statistic and the novel have a similar theme- Money being placed

AP Language, Per. 5 12 January 2013 Grapes of Wrath Analysis The cold, soaked earth, which was a source of life not too long ago, abducts a young child while the mother can only watch hopelessly as the husband shovels mounds of dirt. This event is not too different than most that citizens living during the Dust Bowl had to deal with. The self-destructive nature caused the American people to keep expanding and shaping the land as they saw fit. Because of this they overworked the land which, combined