The Great Depression in Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” Essay

Introduction

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck won the Pulitzer and the Noble prize and is regarded as one of the classics of modern American literature. It related the story of the Joad sharecropping family, caught in the throes of The Great Depression. They are hit hard by the drought, financial hardship, and the changing agricultural industry. They move to California in search of jobs, land, and to lead a life of dignity. The novel speaks of the stark economic and social hardships the family faces. This paper answers some key questions about the theme and key characters in the novel. Consider this quote by Casy as Steinbeck uses him as his alter ego to voice the misery of the immigrants moving on Route 66 “Two hundred and fifty thousand people over the road. Fifty thousand old cars—wounded, steaming. Wrecks along the road, abandoned. Well, what happened to them? What happened to the folks in that car? Did they walk? Where are they? Where does the courage come from? Where does the terrible faith come from?”

Federal migrant worker camp at Weedpatch

1. Weedpatch as a representation of the socialist ideal: Weedpatch, a representation of the socialist ideal, finds special mention in the novel. It seemed to the Joad family like an oasis in the desert. Westwood is a refugee camp run by the government, and there are no policemen to enforce brutal discipline. The farmers are able to make the rules, ensure that everything runs smoothly, and they also help the people to get jobs in the nearby farms. The place serves as an ideal worker’s paradise, run by the farmers and managed by them. The nearby townpeople resent this camp as they feel threatened by the presence of so many immigrant farmers. They incite the police to break up the camp and even try to create trouble on a dance night.
2. Joad family adjusting: The Joad family is new to this concept as they have come from a harsh life, where the depression had hunted them, and the police made their lives even worse. The family adjusted to the codes of conduct in the camp, and Tom even managed to find a job picking fruits at a local farm. It is to be noted that Pa did not get a job. The farmers encouraged the whole family to join as this allowed them to exploit them further.
3. How does the socialist concept actually work for the farmworkers at Weedpatch: The socialist concept initially worked very well at the camp, and everyone was happy to be a part of the camp. There was trouble with the women’s committee set up in the camp that looked after women’s affairs.
4. Why do the Joads ultimately leave Weedpatch: The camp initially helped the Joad family to gather themselves and live in peace for some time, without worrying about the hardships they had faced on the road, and there was no worry even from the police. Tom managed to find a job and was able to provide food for the family. But pretty soon, work around the camp dried out, and the family realized that they had to move to keep from starving to death as there was nothing left to eat.
5. Significance of Weedpatch: Weedpatch was the ironic utopia that the immigrants could hope for. They believed that they had found a sanctuary in the camp as their own people managed it, and they could find jobs nearby. The ideal goal of the migrant was to find a safe place and a job so that the family could survive. But again, Steinbeck has shown how fickle security was for the migrants, as the nearby townspeople did want this camp in their neighborhood. They wanted the camp to be broken up by the local police. This symbolism has been effectively used as it pits the hapless and poor immigrants against the rich town people who are bent on driving the immigrants out and exploiting them for cheap labor.

Tom Joad as an ideal of the American working man

1. Personal Qualities: Tom Joad had an indomitable spirit that made him to endure the hardships of the jail and his later experiences. Even though jail life was tough, he resisted the problems he faced in jail. He had become what could be called as a hardened criminal and had become self centered and concerned only with his own survival. Tom had been jailed for four years for killing a man in self-defense and he wanted to redeem himself. When he was in jail, his strong character did not make him bitter or angry but gave a strong will so that he could face all future hardships.
2. Main role along Route 66: Tom Joad joined Uncle John and the family on their migration to California. Tom’s work included caring for the family and looking after the vehicle they were going in. He was a good mechanic and had helped to repair the car of the Wilson’s family that had broken down on the road. He had to repair the car again and also asked around for jobs. When jobs came up such as picking peaches and other fruits, he worked to earn as much as he could. Tom also got involved in fights with other people and in protesting against the native population that resented their coming.
3. Toms changing role: Tom has slowly metamorphosed into a more humane person who cared for others and was willing to fight for the right to live a dignified life. He had become more receptive to the grief and hurt of others and the deaths of Granpa and Granma on Route 66 had made him more concerned about others. In the incident in the camp in the desert, he fights beside Floyd Knowles who is trying to get a signed contract from the farmer for the work offered. He manages to fight off the cops who have come to beat and arrest Fred and gets almost arrested by the cops but the pastor Casy takes the blame on himself else Tom would be on serious trouble since he was on parole.
4. What happens to Tom as a worker in the field at Pixley: The Joad family had heard that there was work available to pick peaches and that they would be paid 5 cents for each box. But then later Jim comes to know that the farm owners had decided to illegally and unfairly reduce the rate to 2 and half cents. Jim is organizing a strike against the owners and the police to know about this. They rush in to quell the unrest and beat Jim on the head, killing him. This make Tom very angry and he fights with the policemen and kills the one who had killed Jim. In the confusion, Tom manages to run off but he has been hit on the face and his nose is broken. The policemen have raised a serious alert about him and he knows that his broken nose will get him identified easily. So he decides to hide in a cave until it heals and Ma Joad gives him food every now and then.
5. Tom is a forceful character in the novel and it speaks eloquently about the depression era and the hardships the general population faced. The character reveals the desperation and the helplessness and the unending injustice that was their share of life’s burden. The character evokes the diehard character of the general American who was willing to put up with hardship and ready to do honest work but was ready to fight when the injustice became too much to bear.

Jim Casy and his character

1. Casy at the beginning of the novel: Casy is a preacher by profession but the hardships he has faced and the misery of the people in the Great Depression era and the draught have forced him to abandon his calling. One of his quotes are “The people in flight from the terror behind—strange things happen to them, some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that the faith is refired forever”. He has of late lost his calling for god and does not preach any more. When Tom was young he had listened to the Pastors sermons and to many people, Casy was a pillar of hope. But now he does not believe in God but still believes however mean are gods creation and should not be judged harshly. He was pious in his leanings and goes by the book, perhaps inuring himself from the fate of his people and finding comfort in his holy task.
2. Change in Casy’s Character: The character of Casy has changed as the story progresses. Earlier he has turned philosophical and deeply embittered by the suffering and misery and could not do anything about it since there was only the depression and drought both of which made his people miserable. Later when he starts on his journey to California from to Oklahoma, he sees the unjustness and needless hardships inflicted by the rich and crooked farm owners who were bent on exploiting the poor migrants by paying them very low wages, that would not be sufficient to feed even a family. The Route 66 has had a profound effect on him and he has made this quote “66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and n ownership, from the desert’s slow northward invasion, from the twisting winds that howl up out of Texas, from the floods that bring no richness to the land and steal what little richness is there. From all of these the people are in flight, and the come into 66 from…side roads….66 is the mother road, the road of flight.”
3. Casy’s change in attitude towards women: Casy earlier had a detached view about women. But then he saw the stoic courage of Grandma who died in the desert crossing but did not complain at all and encouraged the people to move on. She dies silently and the family is forced to abandon her body with the coroner as they do not have money to bury her. He realizes the hardships a woman can bear and the courage that they have.
4. Casy as a Christ figure: Casy was a priest at the beginning but had later left his calling, as he was disillusioned by the misery he saw. As the story progresses, turns slowly into a pillar of hope and support among the immigrants who do not have any hopes left and feel that even god has abandoned them. Casy’s presence seems like the great healer and an analogy could be made to him with Christ, as one who was leading the oppressed immigrants out of the slave like conditions in which they lived.

References

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 2232-2244. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003.

.