Leal 2Carlos LealMs. HowittEnglish Lang. / Comp. APApril 1, 2014The Grapes of Wrath by John SteinbeckJohn Steinbeck was born in 1902 in Salinas, California, and went on to write many novels, often social criticisms of the hardships found in America. He came from a middle class family but was privileged enough to attend Stanford University, though he never graduated. He experienced his first widespread success as an author in 1935 with Tortilla Flat, a more humor oriented book, which he moved on from in his later novels. In 1939, he published The Grapes of Wrath, a serious social criticism told through the story of migrant farmers moving from Oklahoma to California, and largely considered his best work (John Steinbeck). The Grapes of Wrath deals with the problems facing Americans in the 1930s, namely the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. The Dust Bowl was the devastation of the Great Plains region as severe dust storms blew away crops and the topsoil that had been exposed due to bad agricultural practices the previous decade. This caused many farming families to lose their farms, and forced them to seek a better life elsewhere; this westward trek made by unfortunate farmers (nicknamed Okies) was captured by Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath (About the Dust Bowl.).Steinbeck spoke to all America when writing The Grapes of Wrath. He hoped to expose the injustices faced by the migrant farmers on their journey and in California, like extortion from car salesmen, prejudice from Californians, mistreatment by the police, and being paid meager (and often unlivable) wages by the landowners. The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck hoped, would reveal the appalling lack of sympathy rich landowners in California had for the poor farmers. Steinbeck emphasizes the importance of the whole, rather than the individual, through Jim Casys preaching. At breakfast he explains to the family how he got thinkin how mankin was holy when it was one thing (page 110). Later, he reinforces the idea through Tom Joad; as Tom prepares to run away, he tells his mother [Casy said] he foun he jus got a little piece of a great big soulI know now a fella aint no good alone (page 570). The purpose of the whole being stronger than the sum of the individuals was Steinbecks way of advocating unions as a way to combat the inequity that the migrant farmers faced in California, evidenced by Jim Casy organizing a strike. The concept of banding together to overcome is also explored in a different manner, by the merging of families on their way to California. The Wilsons and the Joads come together for a time to help each other out. Their cooperation allows Granpa Joad to go in peace, in the tent borrowed from the Wilsons. The Wilsons similarly benefit from the alliance when the Joads help them with their car troubles. Steinbeck uses the families to illustrate the benefit of coalitions, and the benefit of being selfless and caring towards others, a contrast to the lack of care shown elsewhere in the book.Through The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck also comments on the economic inequality at the time. Tom Joad complains about how theres one fella with a million acres, while a hunderd thousan good farmers is starvin (page 571). The difference in economic standing is further evidenced by the outright inhumane practices the landowners employed to keep the farmers subdued and powerless. They reduced wages to the point that a whole days work by a whole family was insufficient enough to buy them dinner that night; and when the workers banded together to protest, they were easily replaced by another family also desperate for work. Then the cycle began once again, to the dismay of countless families, but of no consequence to the rich landowners. Casy notices the corrupt system, warning Tom: Now theyre payin you five. When they bust this here strike-ya think theyll pay five?The reason The Grapes of Wrath is considered Steinbecks best work, and why it has remained an important book to this day, is that it captures many of the problems in the 1930s to such a degree that the reader cant help but sympathize. The Joads are an innocent and good family, who has fallen on hard times; they meet with cruel injustice, but at the same time, in the middle of it all, they are able to find and bring out the best in humanity. They show compassion and empathy, like Rose of Sharon nursing the man at the end of the book. In turn, they see some reciprocating or doing the same, like the waitress Mae and the cook Al who mercifully help out a starving man and his sons, and the truck drivers who witness and tip them extra. The Grapes of Wrath will continue to be an American classic for as long as we continue to value the goodness of humanity, and the goodwill the Joads and countless other Okies showed during their most difficult journey.

Works Cited"About The Dust Bowl."About The Dust Bowl. University of Illinois, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. ."John Steinbeck - Biographical".Nobelprize.org.Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 23 Mar 2014.